Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Air Force uses lasers to preserve space historyPublished Sept. 3, 2014
                    
                    By Jennifer Schneider
                    
                    
                    Air Force Civil Engineering Center Public Affairs
            **JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) --**The site of one of America's proudest achievements is now little more than a weed-riddled concrete pad, surrounded by twisted, rusting metal.
Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 14 is best known as the launch site for NASA's "Friendship 7," the flight that brought John Glenn fame as the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. Now, more than 50 years later, the complex and other National Historic Landmarks are rapidly falling into decay.
"Some of these complexes are in poor shape," said Tom Penders, the cultural resources manager for the Air Force's 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. "A couple (of the structures) are on the verge of collapsing, so I wanted highly detailed documentation before something happens."
The site is situated near the Atlantic Ocean, where salty winds create a highly corrosive environment. Challenged by limited funding for major preservation projects, the Air Force has turned to cutting-edge technology to document and preserve Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's historic launch structures, before it's too late.
The 45th SW partnered with the University of South Florida's Alliance for Integrated Spatial Technologies, or AIST, to implement a solution: the use of a laser scanner to survey, map and create virtual-model videos of six of the highest-priority historic launch complexes.
"We consider many of these structures to be endangered species, meaning that they are unique and sometimes the last of their kind, and we are looking at ways to preserve them digitally and holistically, as well as improve chances for effective stabilization and maintenance," said Dr. Lori Collins, the co-director of the AIST program at USF.
The scanners, developed by FARO Technologies of Lake Mary, use lasers to create high-speed, 360-degree scans, and are able to measure approximately a million data points per second of everything within 360 yards. The three-dimensional images are so accurate that millimeter-sized details are able to be examined and analyzed.
"It not only costs far less and takes much less time, but also provides an accurate, detailed record of the historic properties than can be achieved by traditional documentation methods," said Heidi Mowery, the cultural resources manager at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center's installation support team at Patrick AFB, who assisted the wing with project funding requirements.
With scanning and field operations complete, the project is now focusing on modeling, visualization and other digital products for possible future maintenance and stabilization of the structures, as well as for education and outreach efforts.
"Digital documentation will, in this case, not only be used for preservation and archival recording efforts, but for visualization through online, classroom and other applications, promoting education and outreach," Collins said. "Already, data from this project has been used in courses at USF on heritage preservation, museum visualizations and field method applications, and much more is planned in the way of teaching and training using heritage as a theme."
The scans can also provide a unique opportunity for the public to take an electronic tour of the historic facilities.
"I would like to see people taking a virtual tour of CCAFS and visiting the launch complexes, seeing them past and present," Penders said. "With cuts in budgets and ever changing launch requirements, touring CCAFS is on hold or could be stopped in the future if needed. This presents an alternative to a physical tour."
The next phase of the project is scheduled to begin in 2015, and will include terrestrial laser scanning and 3-D spatial technologies to identify, evaluate and document baseline conditions at the launch complexes. With baselines established, the project will evaluate condition changes and deterioration over five years of continued monitoring.
The resulting information will help the 45th Space Wing plan and prioritize future preservations and restorations efforts, Mowery said.
In addition to preserving space history, the wing plans to apply the technology to other projects at CCAFS and Patrick in the future.
"Several of the early settlers' cemeteries here have grave markers that are degrading, plus their location close to the Banana River make them susceptible to rising waters," Penders said. "I also want to use this methodology at Patrick (AFB) on the few remaining World War II facilities, as well as downrange on Antigua and Ascension Island."Air Force history 



history 



landmark 



Cape Canaveral 



Florida 



AFCEC 



civil engineering 



engineering 



science 



architecture 



space Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil