Capture and pivot installation fittings
Systems and methods for manufacturing a payload fairing are disclosed herein. The systems and method nest scaffolding within a shell of a payload fairing to allow for humans to inspect and otherwise manually work on the interior surface of the fairing during the manufacturing process. The disclosed fairing manufacturing systems and method have a capture and pivot installation fitting that includes a capture bucket on a mold and pivot pin on a nose scaffolding. The pivot pin fits or locks within the capture bucket, thereby forming a capture bucket-pivot pin engagement. The capture bucket-pivot pin engagement controls position and restricts movement to rotation around a single axis while restricting translational movement along all axes. The capture bucket-pivot pin engagement constrains translation along all axes. The capture bucket-pivot pin engagement also constrains rotation around all axes except one to permit the inner bowl to be raised or lowered within the mold.
1 . A system for accessing a surface of a payload fairing, the system comprising:
a mold including
a nose end including
a first capture bucket on a first side, and
a second capture bucket on a second side,
two opposing sides,
a back end,
a cavity defined by the opposing sides and the nose end and the back end; and
a nose scaffolding including
a first ballast on a first side, and
a second ballast on a second side,
each of the ballasts including
a pivot pin structured to engage a guide portion of an access frame shaped to fit within the cavity, and
a stabilizer bar structured to stabilize the guide portion of the access frame when the guide portion is engaged with the pivot pin.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second ballasts further comprise stabilizer bars configured to engage cavities of the first and second capture buckets, respectively.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the nose scaffolding further comprises an access platform structured to permit an operator to access a surface of a half-shell of a payload fairing supported within the cavity of the mold.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the nose scaffolding further comprises an attachment bar including feet on opposing sides of the attachment bar, the feet configured to support or stabilize the nose scaffolding against an upper surface of the mold.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second capture buckets includes two sets of posts, the posts extending from a base in a same direction.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the nose scaffolding includes an attachment bracket structure to provide an attachment point to engage with a lift device.
7 . The system of claim 5 , wherein each set of posts includes two posts separated by a distance.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein each set of posts includes a catch located between the posts, the catch being structured to lock or engage one of the pivot pins.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein each set of posts includes a support surface located between the posts, the support surface being structured to support one of the pivot pins.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein each set of posts includes a slope located between the posts, the slope being structured to transition one of the pivot pins from the support surface to the catch.
11 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the attachment bracket is located at a point on the nose scaffolding to cause the nose scaffolding to tilt to a desired angle relative to a horizontal axis when the nose scaffolding is free-floating in the air when held by the lift device, the desired angle being 35° to 55°.
12 . A system for installing scaffolding into a mold used to form a payload fairing, the system comprising:
a mold including a cavity and a capture apparatus comprising
a first capture bucket disposed on a first side of a nose end of the mold, and
a second capture bucket disposed on a second side of the nose end of the mold;
a nose scaffolding comprising
an access frame configured to be received within the cavity,
a first pivot pin extending laterally from a first side of the access frame and a second pivot pin extending laterally from a second side of the access frame, wherein each pivot pin is structured to seat within a respective capture bucket to constrain translational motion and permit rotation about a shared axis; and
a stabilizer bar associated with at least one of the pivot pins and configured to seat within a cavity of the respective capture bucket to further inhibit relative motion between the nose scaffolding and the mold.
13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the access frame comprises an access platform configured to permit an operator to access an internal surface of a half-shell of the payload fairing when the access frame is received within the cavity.
14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the cavity of the mold comprises a concave contour that is complementary in shape to an exterior surface of the access frame.
15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the nose scaffolding further comprises an attachment bracket disposed at a location on the access frame such that the nose scaffolding assumes a tilt angle between 35 degrees and 55 degrees relative to a horizontal axis when the nose scaffolding is suspended from a lift device.
16 . The system of claim 12 , wherein each of the first pivot pin and the second pivot pin comprises a non-cylindrical cross-sectional shape configured to interface with a corresponding internal surface of the respective capture bucket.
17 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the mold further comprises one or more alignment features disposed on an upper surface of the mold and configured to facilitate positioning of the nose scaffolding during installation.
18 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the nose scaffolding further comprises a spreader bar configured to distribute load between multiple lift points when the nose scaffolding is suspended by the lift device.
19 . The system of claim 12 , wherein each of the first capture bucket and the second capture bucket comprises a base and a pair of posts extending from the base in a common direction, the pair of posts being arranged to define a guide region.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the guide region comprises a support surface and a sloped surface, the sloped surface configured to guide one of the first pivot pin or the second pivot pin into a catch disposed between the pair of posts.