In 1959, a cement mixer with a full load of cement, wrecked near Winganon, Oklahoma 🇺🇸
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@isaackuo @archaeohistories except the capsule had no thrusters on it.
@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories
That's a piece of Art, and congratulations to the locals for maintaining it.
(Actually the capsule would have had thrusters: there would be Capsule:Flotation Bag:Heat Shield:Thruster Pack, with the thruster pack held on by straps so it could be jettisoned after deceleration but before hitting atmosphere. On one mission they re-entered with the thruster pack attached because the flotation bag light had come on and they were concerned about the heat shield.)
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I suspect it has stayed on the ground for 67 years because of its novelty and notoriety more than the expense of removing it. Locals probably like talking about it--------------until one of their own plow into it.
Renting a crane for four hours and a truck to haul it away is not a big expense. Municipalities use these machines a lot.
@davevolek That's definitely more likely but I am a little jaded by hearing about places where local government's get stuck because they need almost line item approval for stuff. The street my aunt lives on in a rural California community is an absolute wreck because they can't get enough people to vote to repave it.
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In 1959, a cement mixer with a full load of cement, wrecked near Winganon, Oklahoma
By the time a tow truck came to haul it away, all of cement had hardened inside of mixer. Tow truck was not able to remove all wreckage at same time because of weight, and decided to haul only cab/frame and would come back for detached mixer later, which never happened.
Today, 67 years later, it still sits where it fell. Locals have painted it and added "rocket thrusters" to make it look like a space capsule.
@archaeohistories Lt. Google Streetview liegt der heute noch da
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@davevolek That's definitely more likely but I am a little jaded by hearing about places where local government's get stuck because they need almost line item approval for stuff. The street my aunt lives on in a rural California community is an absolute wreck because they can't get enough people to vote to repave it.
I would need more info to proffer any perspective on your California situation. But it sounds like a situation where local governance is ineffective. I can see several possible reasons for this.
Maybe another sign that American democracy is failing?
BTW, I am an inventor of a new democracy. Check out my byline if interested.
I'm pretty sure this new democracy would find a way to pave that road.
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In 1959, a cement mixer with a full load of cement, wrecked near Winganon, Oklahoma
By the time a tow truck came to haul it away, all of cement had hardened inside of mixer. Tow truck was not able to remove all wreckage at same time because of weight, and decided to haul only cab/frame and would come back for detached mixer later, which never happened.
Today, 67 years later, it still sits where it fell. Locals have painted it and added "rocket thrusters" to make it look like a space capsule.
This is about four miles from my brother's farm.
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Cute, but a big hazard if a vehicle has to leave the road. I would move this thing off.
Or at least further away from the road. A crane could do this in less than four hours. Much cheaper than having a vehicle plow into it.
@davevolek it's a really small town population of about 500 and it's not even in town...probably a lot of other things than that to worry about causing a car accident. Looking at the map, might be a struggle to get a crane out there cheeply.
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@davevolek it's a really small town population of about 500 and it's not even in town...probably a lot of other things than that to worry about causing a car accident. Looking at the map, might be a struggle to get a crane out there cheeply.
The photo looks like a rural highway to me. This means fairly high speeds. If a car "hits the ditch," a bumpy ride turns into a fatal accident.
I suspect the jurisdiction belongs to whoever owns the highway. It could be the state or it could be the county.
A couple of heavy tow wreckers could move this machine. Less than $5000.
But there may be political pressure to keep the machine in place. It does look cute.
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@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories
That's a piece of Art, and congratulations to the locals for maintaining it.
(Actually the capsule would have had thrusters: there would be Capsule:Flotation Bag:Heat Shield:Thruster Pack, with the thruster pack held on by straps so it could be jettisoned after deceleration but before hitting atmosphere. On one mission they re-entered with the thruster pack attached because the flotation bag light had come on and they were concerned about the heat shield.)
@Cadbury_Moose @isaackuo @archaeohistories there has never been a capsule with thrusters on them from Apollo on.
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@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories
That's a piece of Art, and congratulations to the locals for maintaining it.
(Actually the capsule would have had thrusters: there would be Capsule:Flotation Bag:Heat Shield:Thruster Pack, with the thruster pack held on by straps so it could be jettisoned after deceleration but before hitting atmosphere. On one mission they re-entered with the thruster pack attached because the flotation bag light had come on and they were concerned about the heat shield.)
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@LanceJZ @archaeohistories They added fake thrusters to it.
@isaackuo @archaeohistories no duh.
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The photo looks like a rural highway to me. This means fairly high speeds. If a car "hits the ditch," a bumpy ride turns into a fatal accident.
I suspect the jurisdiction belongs to whoever owns the highway. It could be the state or it could be the county.
A couple of heavy tow wreckers could move this machine. Less than $5000.
But there may be political pressure to keep the machine in place. It does look cute.
@davevolek based on Google maps image I things crushed oiled gravel.
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I suspect it has stayed on the ground for 67 years because of its novelty and notoriety more than the expense of removing it. Locals probably like talking about it--------------until one of their own plow into it.
Renting a crane for four hours and a truck to haul it away is not a big expense. Municipalities use these machines a lot.
@davevolek @Chigaze @archaeohistories Or build guard rails at that location and keep the visitor attraction and historic site intact.
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@Cadbury_Moose @isaackuo @archaeohistories there has never been a capsule with thrusters on them from Apollo on.
@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories
Back then they were still in the Mercury or Gemini programmes, and the capsule *did* have thrusters.
I don't have my copy of "The Right Stuff" to hand, but the incident with the "Air Cushion Inflation" warning light and the decision to re-enter with the thruster pack attached was given to the astronaut _without_ telling them why. (So it would have been Mercury.) Continued... (1/2)
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@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories
Back then they were still in the Mercury or Gemini programmes, and the capsule *did* have thrusters.
I don't have my copy of "The Right Stuff" to hand, but the incident with the "Air Cushion Inflation" warning light and the decision to re-enter with the thruster pack attached was given to the astronaut _without_ telling them why. (So it would have been Mercury.) Continued... (1/2)
@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories
Mission Control were "concerned" that if the air cushion (meant to absorb the shock of landing) had inflated prematurely it would have dislodged the heat shield, and they'd have a total loss of the capsule (with extra-crispy occupant). They elected to re-enter with the thruster pack attached, and it melted with bits going past the window as the descent continued. Thankfully the warning light was due to a wiring fault. (2/last)
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@davevolek based on Google maps image I things crushed oiled gravel.
There may indeed be more to the story.
I come from a rural background. Many people drive 80 kph (50 mph) on these roads. And they hit the ditch more often.
There might be some weight restrictions that prohibit big trucks on this road. The pavement in the photo (or oily gravel) looks a little on the weak side to me.
Anyways, we need more info to know why this thing has remained in the ditch for 67 years.
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In 1959, a cement mixer with a full load of cement, wrecked near Winganon, Oklahoma
By the time a tow truck came to haul it away, all of cement had hardened inside of mixer. Tow truck was not able to remove all wreckage at same time because of weight, and decided to haul only cab/frame and would come back for detached mixer later, which never happened.
Today, 67 years later, it still sits where it fell. Locals have painted it and added "rocket thrusters" to make it look like a space capsule.
@archaeohistories I love that idea, why not do fun with it...
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@LanceJZ @isaackuo @archaeohistories
That's a piece of Art, and congratulations to the locals for maintaining it.
(Actually the capsule would have had thrusters: there would be Capsule:Flotation Bag:Heat Shield:Thruster Pack, with the thruster pack held on by straps so it could be jettisoned after deceleration but before hitting atmosphere. On one mission they re-entered with the thruster pack attached because the flotation bag light had come on and they were concerned about the heat shield.)
@Cadbury_Moose @LanceJZ @archaeohistories While this is true of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo capsules (including the Apollo service module), a reusable capsule could enter nose first rather than tail first.
Nuclear missile reentry heat shields are blunt cones entering nose first.
That said, Dragon does do tail first reentry, placing the thrusters on the sides rather than the tail. I just think it "looks" wrong.
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@Cadbury_Moose @isaackuo @archaeohistories there has never been a capsule with thrusters on them from Apollo on.
@LanceJZ @Cadbury_Moose @archaeohistories This is what people think of when they think of the Apollo "capsule". It has a big main thruster in the tail, and lots of thruster clusters all over the place.
That's the reason why the artists modifying the cement mixer tank felt the need to add thrusters. It didn't look right without them, because the overall shape looks like a capsule plus its service module.
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@LanceJZ @Cadbury_Moose @archaeohistories This is what people think of when they think of the Apollo "capsule". It has a big main thruster in the tail, and lots of thruster clusters all over the place.
That's the reason why the artists modifying the cement mixer tank felt the need to add thrusters. It didn't look right without them, because the overall shape looks like a capsule plus its service module.
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@archaeohistories I love that idea, why not do fun with it...
@capngloval @archaeohistories I love stories like this where it has a happy ending or something fun is made as a result of it
