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SLS and Orion

NASA Changes Paint Job on SLS Again

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
August 11, 2017
Filed under
NASA Changes Paint Job on SLS Again

NASA Announces New SLS Markings
“The markings on the outside of the complete boosters look like black-and-white checkerboards and serve as “targets” for cameras located in strategic locations on and around the vehicle and will be used for photogrammetry, the science of using photography to help measure distances between objects.”
https://media2.spaceref.com/news/2015/15-210-sls.jpgNASA Adopts Disco Era Paint Scheme for SLS, earlier post (2015)
“OK – the Core stage color makes sense. But why do the SRBs have a disco-era paint scheme – like you’d expect to see on a 70s muscle car? Does this make the rocket go faster or easier to track? Did the SLS program formally decide on this?”
https://media2.spaceref.com/news/sls.130.jpgSLS, Saturn V, And Ares V Color Schemes, earlier post (2011)
“NASA PAO says that the white/black coloration of the SLS stages that evokes memories of the Saturn V is there for the same reason: to aid in tracking during ascent. … despite the official PAO response, I am now told by several people at NASA with the utmost reliability and knowledge on this issue that the depiction of the SLS in Saturn V-esque paint scheme was done at the discretion of the graphic artist to evoke memories of the Saturn V. My understanding is that they will paint it – but what it will look like no one really knows.”
Keith’s note: Note that NASA does not even mention the official color scheme from 2015. After all that money has been spent to change the color of the rocket and pay graphic artists to produced animations and graphics which can no longer be used NASA comes up with yet another series of cartons depicting how the SLS will look. Let’s see what next year’s color scheme looks like – given all the delays in the SLS program this is not the last one we’ll see.

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

25 responses to “NASA Changes Paint Job on SLS Again”

  1. Jeff2Space says:
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    The “swooshes” may have looked cool, but from an engineering point of view, I’m sure the tried and true checkerboard type pattern is easier for engineers trying analyze footage from long range tracking cameras.

    • ThomasLMatula says:
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      Yes, Clyde Tombaugh knew what he was going when he designed them for the early flights at WSMR.

    • muomega0 says:
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      Oh…and i thought it was to mirror the history of Checker Cabs.

      “The final Checker A11/A12s were manufactured in 1982, when Checker exited the automobile manufacturing business. The company continued operation at partial capacity making parts for General Motors until January 2009 when it declared bankruptcy.”

      • Paul F. Dietz says:
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        The cabs I see around Chicago seem to all be hybrids (Priuses, mostly). I’m amazed Checker kept up as long as it did with such old designs.

        • Michael Spencer says:
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          Had a friend with a Checker. You are right about old designs, but the main thing about Checker- couldn’t kill it. They ran forever, unlike many of the cars coming out of Detroit in the bad days of the 80s±.

          Chevy 283 in it as I recall.

        • muomega0 says:
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          Capital Costs vs Total Cost of Ownership, Short Term vs Long Term Gains. Long history of CEOs to individuals focus only on the daily cash flow and ignoring other costs.

  2. Johnhouboltsmyspiritanimal says:
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    Maybe they think with every paint scheme change the clock is reset and folks will forget just how long it is taking to get to the first crewed test flight. But no amount of paint can cover the embarrassment of taking 17 years (2006-2023) and $40B that this boondoggle is costing taxpayers for SLS/Orion/ksc upgrade.

  3. Michael Spencer says:
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    Don’t overplay this. I suppose they have graphic artists on staff. And I could change a 3D model in an hour or so; it’s simple mapping. And I’m an old fart.

    On the other hand, there are probably a couple of committees to review the thing, plus questions.

    • fcrary says:
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      And, I’m sure, once they generated the old animations, the got a long list of suggested changes. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the effort of regenerating the animations ends up going into incorporating those suggestions, not into changing the paint scheme.

      • Michael Spencer says:
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        That last shot I saw from Cassini was so detailed I immediately thought of Photoshop!

        • Paul451 says:
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          It doesn’t help when they super-impose a CG image of the probe itself in the foreground of an image taken by the probe’s cameras. Way to confuse things, jerks.

  4. Robert Rice says:
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    Wow….they backed out on the racing stripes….ill use the word wimps…..I have far harsher words I’d like to use

  5. Daniel Woodard says:
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    The high contrast black and white paint scheme was first used in the early days of rocketry to facilitate tracking by eye in weather that might be either bright or overcast. According the the “Rocket Manual for Amateurs”, which I read more years ago than I care to count, the original pattern consisted of black and white stripes the length of the rocket and was called a “harlequin” pattern, after the classical costume of a court jester. The later version reversed the stripe colors about half way along the rocket body giving the checkerboard appearance and was called a “half-harlequin”.

  6. Tally-ho says:
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    You see the same thing on crash test dummies. Makes perfect sense…not that it would crash. Knock on molded Avcoat.

  7. Robert van de Walle says:
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    Maybe someone didn’t like how the swoosh design looked as it wrapped the full circumference of the booster.

  8. Vladislaw says:
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    Finally, now this should shut the naysayers up and show them that REAL progress is being made on the SLS.

  9. Winner says:
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    The jobs program marches on.
    Shall we have chrome fittings?

  10. Ben Russell-Gough says:
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    Is this the consequence of the rule that there has to be ‘ten healthy centres’?