May 2nd, 2005
going vab opf pad museum class rpsf assembly marine disassembly back
 Discovery (STS-114) sits on Pad 39B the week its May launch was postponed to the middle of July |
 Rotating Service Structure surrounds Discovery |
 Cathy, Jon, Lisa, and David are ready to undergo a launch pad operations overview |
 Discovery sits on a Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) |
 Pad surface flame deflector trench |
 Protects the pad surface from intense heat of launch |
 Flame trench is 490ft long, 58ft wide & 40ft high |
 Two movable flame deflectors on each side of the flame trench |
 View through the MLP at the the launch stack |
 External Tank hydrogen vent line and access arm |
 The crew pose in front of the stack |
 Red boxes cover explosive nuts which release the SRBs from the pad at launch |
 Space Shuttle Main Engines and Tail of Discovery |
 The camera that broadcasts Space Shuttle Main Engine startup during launch |
 Close up of the three shuttle main engines |
 Jon, Lisa, David, and Cathy under the SSMEs |
 Launch Pad 39A off in the distance |
 Swamps and Atlantic Ocean off in the distance |
 Owl ball to scare away birds in front of the Sound Suppression Water System storage tank |
 Emergency Exit System down 1,200ft long wires |
 Eyeball level with the External Tank |
 It's a long way down there to bottom |
 David braves the bouncing scaffolding for a photo op |
 So, can you guess who's afraid of heights? |
 Reaction Control System on nose of Discovery |
 Lisa, Jon, and David control their reaction to being photographed |
 Forward single attachment point of the Shuttle to the External Tank |
 The reason why your glasses are roped to your head |
 GOX Vent Arm vents gaseous oxygen from top of External Tank when in use before launch |
 David out again on a ledge for a good shot |
 Favorite crew photo spot by the external tank |
 Checkout the slidewire emergency escape system |
 Three persons per basket down a 1,200ft wire to the emergency shelter bunker way below |
 Should we catch the elevator down or have a four person basket race to the shelter below? |
 Orbiter Access Arm (OAA) allows access to the orbiter crew hatch |
 The Astronaut's walkway to enter Discovery |
 The gang prepares to enter the "White Room" |
 Behold the pathway to Discovery! |
 Lisa and Cathy in the "White Room" |
 Jon and David pose at Discovery's hatch |
 David takes a shot of the interior of Discovery |
 Technicians work inside or perhaps are on break |
 Crawlerway leads back to the VAB 4.24 miles away |
 Crawler Transporter rests just outside the gate |
 Thrust Vector Control Hydraulic Servicing to SRB |
 Giant hinge supports the Rotating Service Structure |
 RSS provides access & protects the orbiter during changeout & servicing of payloads at the launch pad |
 The RSS rotates 120 degrees along a circular twin-rail track that crosses the flame trench |
 Crawler Transporters weigh 6 million lbs unloaded and each track shoe weighs 1 ton |
 At a max speed of 2mph, the crawler should not be able to run down the overview crew |
 The flattop vehicles are about 20ft high, 131ft long & 114ft wide, about the size of a baseball diamond |
 I told you we should have filled the tank! |
going vab opf pad museum class rpsf assembly marine disassembly back