NASA has plans to send a robotic science rover to Mars in 2020, with humans to follow about 15 years later. Yet the mission literally couldn’t get off the ground without Conrad Shipyard’s Amelia, La., facility. That’s where NASA’s 310' barge Pegasus has recently finished being refurbished.
NASA's Pegasus.The barge, which carried NASA’s space shuttle flights’ external tanks and other hardware, will now carry the core stage of the agency’s Space Launch System. The core stage, which is currently under construction at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, is made up of the engine section, liquid hydrogen tank, intertank, liquid oxygen tank and forward skirt.
Because the core stage is 59' longer, 50' taller and more than 500,000 lbs. heavier than the shuttle, Conrad had to build a new 165' center section for the barge.
“I went over to Mississippi to see the barge at Stennis [Space Center] where it had been stored since 2011, I believe. It was in good shape. They took care of it,” said David J. Mercer, Conrad’s project manager for the refurb. “But we had to cut out a 110 foot section and put in a new heavier duty 165-foot section, a new canopy, increase the ballast system. All cables had to be reworked. It was an interesting project.” The barge modifications were designed by the Corps of Engineers’ Marine Design Center, Philadelphia and the Bristol Harbor Group, Bristol, R.I.
Pegasus left Conrad last week and is back in Bay St. Louis, Miss., at Stennis Space Center. It’s next move will be to the Michoud facility and then on to NASA’s Marshal Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., to deliver the core stage structural test articles for testing to ensure that the articles can withstand the tremendous stresses of launch.
Eventually, Pegasus will cross the Gulf of Mexico to deliver the Space Launch System to the Kennedy Space Center. The barge is carrying precious cargo that, if damaged during any of its moves by water, could set the program back and cost taxpayers a lot of money. Think of Pegasus as the most expensive, state-of-the-art egg carton ever built.
You can read my full story about the barge Pegasus in the upcoming October issue of WorkBoat.
