Pad Assignment Procedures

by Warren Massey, LUNAR #007

Recently it has become apparent that there is lack of understanding about our method for assigning launch pads and the reasoning behind that method. I am speaking of the process whereby you have to stand in one line to get your rocket RSO'd and then wait in a second line to get a pad assignment.

We came to this somewhat cumbersome method because the old method of having the RSO assign a pad immediately after inspecting the rocket was not working. It was not working because some of the rockets that were already on the pads misfired. The misfires could then lead to a conflict between the person who currently held the pad and wanted to fix the problem which caused the misfire and the person who had been pre-assigned the pad and wanted to load and fly his rocket. If the LCO decided instead to allow the people who had misfires to go out and attempt to fix their rockets before allowing the next group in to load their rockets, then long delays were introduced into the launching process.

This is why we try to use the two-line system anytime a pad cannot be immediately assigned. The two-line process allows the time-consuming inspections to proceed continuously while the pad assignments are buffered and happen quickly as empty pads come available. If a rocket misfires and needs to be fixed then the RSO can assign around the pad and the person can attempt to fix the problem that caused the misfire while everyone else is loading the empty pads. Note that if the rocket misfires a second time and there is a backlog of people waiting to fly and the LCO is doing his job properly then the person will have his flight card returned to him and he will be asked to pull his rocket off the pad. If he wants to then fix it and recycle it through the RSO and pad assignment later, he may.

Admittedly the two-line system does create confusion and you end up with people in the wrong line, etc. If we had yet another volunteer worker, separate from the RSO to handle only pad assignments, it would be easier to understand since people could be trained to go from the RSO station to the pad assignment station. But, that would require yet another volunteer worker and volunteers can be hard to come by. The idea of a separate person to handle pad assignments is not new, checkout the flight card manager talked about at:

http://members.aol.com/RocketWeb/geneseo/nysignup.htm

However, in the spirit of open-mindedness, democracy and a weariness of defending the two-line system, your club is willing to solicit the membership's opinion on how this should be handled. We could:

1. Keep the two-line system as it has been explained and used in the past.

2. Keep the two-line system but add another volunteer position for a Pad Assignment Manager. This would open up one more opportunity per hour to earn flight cards and the coveted I-can-cut-in-line-because-I'm-a-volunteer-worker Gold Card. Note that if we don't have enough volunteers coming forward to staff all the positions we have agreed to staff, then we would be justified in holding up the launch for this too.

3. Let the RSO pre-assign a pad after inspecting the rocket. If a rocket misfires, the LCO will give the person one chance to go out and fix the rocket. No new rockets will be added to the empty pads at this time.

4. Let the RSO pre-assign a pad after inspecting the rocket. If a rocket misfires, the LCO will give the person back their flight card and instruct them to pull their rocket off the pad and, if they want to attempt again to fly it, fix it and recycle it through the system.

It gets down to how you're going to piss people off. You can:

You pick. One vote per member. Just put your name, member number and "choice for how we handle pad assignments" (1, 2, 3 or 4 as described above; or if you have a brilliant way of solving this problem, write-ins are welcome!) on a piece of paper and drop it off at the Registration desk at the September launch or mail it to the address shown in this newsletter by October 1st. We'll try to implement the desired method at the October and subsequent launches.

Information date: September 14, 1997 lk