NM that had been building trailers and vans for instrumentation/telemetry jobs,
and the engineers there were confident they could build it. The MLV utilizes the
motor and drive wheel system of a Michigan brand large articulated front loader.
The part in front of the articulation point uses the articulation hardware from the
original. PSL added a structure and a boom and gave the vehicle a 7.3 m (24 ft)
wheelbase that used solid foam-filled wheels that could be removed for ease of
transportation.
While the vehicle is transportable, it is primarily used at the Fort Sumner facility where it delivers heavy lift payload capabilities. It has two configurations, one
is for transporting on a highway and the other is for launch. Transitioning from the
road configuration to the launch configuration can be accomplished by a team of
four people in four hours; the reverse takes six hours. In its launch configuration
the MLV weighs over 50 tons, measures approximately 13 m (42.65 ft) long by
7 m (23 ft) wide (across its widest point), and has a launch boom that can be raised
about 12 m (39 ft) above the ground.
This one-of-a-kind vehicle was delivered to Fort Sumner in 1991, then declared
operational during the fall campaign the next year. It is used along with a spool
mounted in a large bulldozer-type vehicle that holds the semi-inflated balloon at
launch time. The MLV dynamic launch capabilities are for balloons with a gross
inflation of 6,727 kg (14,800 lb) while the suspended load of 3,636 kg (8,000 lb)
is some 680 kg (1,500 lb) greater than Tiny Tim could handle.
The MLV was called “Big Bill” after the nickname for Bill Harrison, one of the
NSBF mechanical technicians who grew up in Palestine and started working at the
balloon base when he was young. Being the primary driver of Tiny Tim, he went
on to inherit the new vehicle.
Over the years, other launchers were built for the other launch sites, including
in Antarctica. The extreme width of the tread in the back relative to the front of the
current vehicle at the Fort Sumner provides the necessary lateral stability for the
great weight of the payload, especially if there is even the slightest wind. Some
launchers at other sites had additional outriggers to provide this function. There
was another MLV version that held the balloon in place prior to launch.
For a 6:31 minute video of a launch in Kiruna, Sweden that shows a lot of ground
support equipment and the launch, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oxd9- Wl- Qg
The Boss
From the start of the balloon operations at Williams Field the launch method was
the dynamic technique. The launch vehicle used during the first 15 years was the
“Delta III”, a special Antarctic truck which had a large crane to hold the payloads.
But it had low maneuverability and a load capacity of only 2,038 kg (4,500 lb).
3.4 Support Equipment 51
and the engineers there were confident they could build it. The MLV utilizes the
motor and drive wheel system of a Michigan brand large articulated front loader.
The part in front of the articulation point uses the articulation hardware from the
original. PSL added a structure and a boom and gave the vehicle a 7.3 m (24 ft)
wheelbase that used solid foam-filled wheels that could be removed for ease of
transportation.
While the vehicle is transportable, it is primarily used at the Fort Sumner facility where it delivers heavy lift payload capabilities. It has two configurations, one
is for transporting on a highway and the other is for launch. Transitioning from the
road configuration to the launch configuration can be accomplished by a team of
four people in four hours; the reverse takes six hours. In its launch configuration
the MLV weighs over 50 tons, measures approximately 13 m (42.65 ft) long by
7 m (23 ft) wide (across its widest point), and has a launch boom that can be raised
about 12 m (39 ft) above the ground.
This one-of-a-kind vehicle was delivered to Fort Sumner in 1991, then declared
operational during the fall campaign the next year. It is used along with a spool
mounted in a large bulldozer-type vehicle that holds the semi-inflated balloon at
launch time. The MLV dynamic launch capabilities are for balloons with a gross
inflation of 6,727 kg (14,800 lb) while the suspended load of 3,636 kg (8,000 lb)
is some 680 kg (1,500 lb) greater than Tiny Tim could handle.
The MLV was called “Big Bill” after the nickname for Bill Harrison, one of the
NSBF mechanical technicians who grew up in Palestine and started working at the
balloon base when he was young. Being the primary driver of Tiny Tim, he went
on to inherit the new vehicle.
Over the years, other launchers were built for the other launch sites, including
in Antarctica. The extreme width of the tread in the back relative to the front of the
current vehicle at the Fort Sumner provides the necessary lateral stability for the
great weight of the payload, especially if there is even the slightest wind. Some
launchers at other sites had additional outriggers to provide this function. There
was another MLV version that held the balloon in place prior to launch.
For a 6:31 minute video of a launch in Kiruna, Sweden that shows a lot of ground
support equipment and the launch, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oxd9- Wl- Qg
The Boss
From the start of the balloon operations at Williams Field the launch method was
the dynamic technique. The launch vehicle used during the first 15 years was the
“Delta III”, a special Antarctic truck which had a large crane to hold the payloads.
But it had low maneuverability and a load capacity of only 2,038 kg (4,500 lb).
3.4 Support Equipment 51