We’ve heard a lot about the space shuttle program recently, after Discovery’s final launch last week. There are two more shuttle launches planned – Endeavour on April 19 and Atlantis on June 28 this year. After that, the shuttles are scrapped and the US will be relying on the Russians for trips to the International Space Station.
But I think it’s nice to have a reminder of the sheer scale involved. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center recently tweeted these photos of the Endeavour being readied for launch. Here’s the Endeavour being transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where it will be joined to booster rockets and an external fuel tank for takeoff.
The VAB is the world’s largest single-story building: it’s 160m tall, 218m long and 158m wide. So how do you get a massive shuttle like that upright, and move it around the assembly building? With a really big winch:
And here’s a shot of it still on the winch and now joined with the fuel tank and booster rockets. That fuel tank holds 535,000 gallons (2,026,244 liters) of liquid oxygen and hydrogen!
For more photos – including the Endeavour being driven through a shuttle-shaped doorway! – check out Universe Today’s post.
Last year, this brilliant video was made showing the process of moving the shuttle to the VAB and then to the launch.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZrFC988Thc]
Incredible!
Images posted to Twitter by NASAKennedy.