Mobile rocket service tower

A rocket assembly apparatus comprising:

• a vertical assembly building comprising a floor, walls and a roof and adapted to house a multi-stage rocket in a vertical position,
• said vertical assembly building being free of any fixed internal structure adjacent to said rocket, so that an unobstructed work space is provided around the entire circumference of the rocket for substantially the entire vertical height of the rocket;
• a mobile rocket service tower adapted to operate in said unobstructed work space for providing personnel access to said rocket at a plurality of vertical and circumferential locations, said tower comprising,
• an elongated rigid body,
• wheels for supporting said body on the floor of said vertical assembly building for movement around the entire circumference of the rocket,
• a positive locking mechanism on said body engageable with said floor of said vertical assembly building for selectively locking said tower into a fixed position on said floor,
• a plurality of cantilevered access platforms extending outwardly from at least one side of said tower body,
• at least some of said access platforms having arcuate outer edges adapted to conform to the outer surface of said rocket at a selected vertical elevation, and
• vertical access means in said body for providing vertical access to each of said platforms,
• whereby personnel working on the rocket may have access to desired portions of the rocket by moving the tower to a desired circumferential position with respect to the rocket and accessing the rocket by means of one or more of the cantilevered access platforms.