Broom waver positions available....

[Alex Fraser]

One of the ticklish problems of working with large rocket stages filled 
with liquid hydrogen concerned the danger of hydrogen leaks. As one 
authority on rocket fuel wrote, "All sorts of precautions have to be 
taken to make sure that oxygen doesn't get into the stuff, freeze, and 
produce a murderously touchy explosive." There was an added, perverse 
character about leaks that produced hydrogen fires-in daylight, the 
flame was invisible. It was possible to inadvertently blunder into the 
searing flame. As Harold Felix, who managed SACTO operations in the late 
1960s, put it, "You don't want to go into a countdown of firing if you 
got leaks. It is a good way to blow up stages." But how to detect an 
invisible fire? Douglas used infrared TV cameras, but they still did not 
provide visibility at every angle. Just to make certain, SACTO had a 
special examination crew, outfitted with protective clothing and 
equipped with brooms. The men "walked down" the stage, from the top 
scaffolding to the bottom, extending their brooms ahead of them.
If the broom suddenly sprouted into flame, the men knew they had 
discovered a hydrogen leak. Still, accidents could happen, even when 
extra precaution was taken.

 From the book "Stages to Saturn"










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