1/06/02

     There's a factor in construction of the nacelle struts that I hadn't quite figured in - lighting them.  You can see that they're lit in the pictures below:

    

(these are large images if you click on them, as they're wallpaper)

 

 

The nacelle struts house the impulse thrusters, so there is a red glow at aft as well as topside-fore.  If you examine the strut on the left in the picture above you'll see the part I mean.

     This actually gave me pause for a while - how should this be done?  The slits (louvers) in the back are more narrow than any file that could go through.  Do I use a micro drill, then wire or something to carve them out?  Once that's done, what do I do to provide a surface, use a glass cover slip perhaps?

 

     I figured it out though - I just filed away the plastic from the inside, just before I broke through.  Then I put two LEDs together facing in opposite directions so they shone through the thinned plastic.    I put mylar paper where I didn't want the light to shine through (everywhere around the red LEDs, essentially.  I think I'll surround the cavity and LEDs with caulk on final assembly so as to ensure there is no light leakage out the edges of the struts.)

     Here you can see the LEDs facing away from each other inside a "hands" tool in preparation for soldering.  I then attached the wires and they'll go through the hinge to the shuttle bay / rear of engineering with the rest of the wires.