Please adjust your plans for our scheduled club launch this coming weekend. Please Note: copy and paste to your browser if the embedded text doesn’t copy thru…..
http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPyhQoY6BdkOyoCAGixyPg!/?ss=110210&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=STELPRDB5337554&navid=180000000000000&pnavid=null&position=News&ttype=detail&pname=Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests Pawnee National Grassland- News & Events
Pawnee National Grassland Temporary Closures and Delayed Opening
Release Date: Oct 31, 2011
Contact(s): Reghan Cloudman
Greeley, Colo. (October 31, 2011) – Recent wet conditions have caused road damage and muddy conditions on the Pawnee National Grassland, leading to temporary closures and a delayed opening of the Main OHV Area.
The Main OHV Area on the Pawnee National Grassland will be opening later than usual due to wet and muddy conditions. The Forest Service Roads (FSR) leading into the area, 45 and 640, are closed until further notice. The area, located northwest of Briggsdale, was scheduled to open on Nov. 1, but current conditions are not conducive to motor vehicle travel. The Main OHV Area is typically open from Nov. 1 to April 9.
Two areas have also been temporarily closed to motor vehicle travel. The gate to the McGrew (FSR 96) allotment was closed due to extensive road damage. There is also a barricade into the Coal (FSR 219) allotment due to road damage. Both of these are popular with recreational shooters. These areas are not closed to all use, just to motorized travel. Users can still hike into the area.
To find out the latest, please call the Pawnee National Grassland office at 970-346-5000 or check the web at www.fs.usda.gov/arp.
Attention: What this means is that our launch opportunity has been moved to the ATLAS Site for SATURDAY ONLY and that the planned TRA Research launch for Sunday has been cancelled.
The extended weather forecast for Saturday, November 5, does not look particularly inviting for rocketry activities. While it is still too early to make the final GO/NO GO decision based on the forecast, please watch for a follow up message.
Any updates on the launch status?
Not happening. NCR’s scheduled November launch has been cancelled. Apologies for the late notice. Weather concerns (Cold, Cloud cover and Wind) and launch site conditions (snow and mud) have made this the most sensible decision.
NO LAUNCH. Regrettably, we won’t be out on the range.
Funny, I thought NCR's Creed of the Rocketeer was: "neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change will keep us from launching our appointed rounds." Especially after this most recent Oktoberfest experience. I mean, what is a little quicksand mixed with frostbite on top of the blast doors of an Atlas missile silo. Been there, done that! 8)
There is a LOT of snow out east and it would NOT have been fun. Flyers would have had to shovel snow off the pad to set up. Skipping today was a great call! (Though I'd have enjoyed coming out...)
BEAR, the concrete pad at the Atlas site was part of the LOX cooling system and is called a spray pad. They had a recirculating evaporative chilled water system the sprayed water over the pad which then recirculated back through the system through a 1/2 dozen pipes that you'll find embedded in the pad.
There are no blast doors there, just a horizontal silo buried under a mound of dirt with a 40 ton retractable roof 140' x 40', Kinda like a sectional garage door with the sections made of concrete in a steel frame on a chain driven retraction system. Everything at the Atlas site is under 6'-8' of dirt. I have a site map and can show you where the service building, silo and personnel entry portal are if we ever are out there at the same time.
Do a Google search for "Atlas E Silo" and you should find some maps and perhaps even an aerial shot of our particular silo (Briggsdale) if you dig enough.
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