When we launched KISS III in November, we proved two things:
1) We're now proficient enough at this rocket stuff to do a launch
campaign off the tops of our heads, without using checklists;
2) Launch campaigns run a *lot* smoother if you use checklists. :-)
I whinged about this after we got back, and had to take most of the
blame for it since I abdicated my RCO role without arranging a
replacement. After I got done whinging, I studied the new pressure
system and sat down and wrote a new checklist. It's a lot simpler
than the old one.
With the old checklist, I had adopted the philosophy that the
checklist should be the ultimate fount of procedural knowledge, and
that following the checklist religiously would ensure that no unsafe
operation could possibly occur. I also designed it to be stepped into
at any point with perfect safety, which meant doing things like safing
all the switches every few minutes. It was 28 pages, and included
every single step that needed to be carried out to safely run a test,
many of them several times. ("Vent valve to VENT. Confirm valve
operation. Vent valve to OFF. Confirm valve operation. Fire valve
to FIRE. Confirm valve operation...") It looked and sounded a lot
like NASA Mission Control. It was safe, but it was slow.
The new checklist is three pages, double spaced, with a large font,
and is set up to support five tests per printout. It's more like a
pilot's checklist than a NASA launch procedure. In fact, if I put it
in smaller type and had multiple columns, like pilot's checklists do,
it probably would fit on one page. This is intended to allow me to
run flight tests remotely, from the OP. There's no reason the RCO has
to be in the blockhouse with the rest of the crew, as long as the RSO
is watching everything up close and personal. Comm is cheap; we're
going to have lots of it.
I farmed this out to active ERPS members for a couple weeks, and got
no feedback, so I'm going to assume it's ready for use. Comments and
questions welcome, flames to /dev/null.
*****
Item # Where Who What Detail
1 Pad Crew Erect tower
2 Assembly Area PM Mission brief
3 Assembly Area RCO Tech brief HTP load, pressure,
freq, procedure changes
4 Assembly Area RCO Radio check
5 Assembly Area RSO Safety brief
6 Assembly Area Pyro Op Safety brief
7 Assembly Area Rigger Pack recovery system
8 Assembly Area Crew Mate rocket
9 Pad Crew Load rocket on rail
10 Pad Crew Electrical connections
11 Pad Crew Pneumatic connections
12 Pad Crew Test solenoids Vent, fire, return
13a N/A PropsO Go/No Go for fueling
13b Helm Go/No Go for fueling
13c RSO Go/No Go for fueling
13d Pyro Op Go/No Go for fueling
14 Pad PropsO Fuel rocket
RSO
15a N/A Rigger Go/No Go for pyro arm
15b RSO Go/No Go for pyro arm
15c Pyro Op Go/No Go for pyro arm
16 Pad Rigger Arm pyro
RSO
17 Trench Tracon Permission to launch in 5 minutes?
18a N/A Helm Go/No Go for pressurization
18b PropsO Go/No Go for pressurization
18c RSO Go/No Go for pressurization
18d Pyro Op Go/No Go for pressurization
19 Blockhouse Helm Pressurize rocket
20 All Crew Check air & ground traffic
21a Trench Reco Verify no air or ground traffic
21b Blockhouse RSO Verify no air or ground traffic
21c OP OP Verify no air or ground traffic
21a N/A PropsO Go/No Go for launch
21b Helm Go/No Go for launch
21c RSO Go/No Go for launch
21d PM Go/No Go for launch
22 Trench Tracon Permission to launch?
23 N/A Pyro Op Go/No Go for launch
24 Trench PAO Videotape launch
25 Blockhouse Helm Launch rocket
26 OP OP Track rocket to landing
27 N/A Pyro Op Go/No Go for recovery
28 Trench Tracon Notify Tracon we're back down
29 Field Reco Recover rocket
PropsO
Rigger
30 Field PropsO Rinse rocket
31 Field Reco Return recovery module to assembly
area
Rigger
32 Field Reco Return propulsion module to pad
PropsO
33 Pad PropsO Load propulsion module on rail
34 Crew Electrical connections
35 Crew Pneumatic connections
36 Blockhouse Helm Nitrogen purge propulsion module
37 Pad Crew Return propulsion module to assembly
area
*****
It's a lot prettier in Excel. :-)
BTW, if anyone wants to write procedures for how they do what they do,
that would be great, and would contribute to our 501(c)(3) education
requirement, help new members come up to speed, and look good on the
web site. If liability concerns make you want to withhold such
information from public view, that's fine too; I'm comfortable posting
this checklist publicly because it's as generic as it is.
-R
--
"You haven't been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3."
-- Paul Crickmore
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