The loading process takes almost three hours.Īt seven seconds until liftoff, the three main engines are started almost simultaneously. About nine hours before launch, the external tank is filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. These activities include putting the payload in the payload bay, loading hypergolic propellants and hosting the crew for a countdown rehearsal.Ībout 18 hours before launch, the Rotating Service Structure - a mobile portion of the launch pad that protects the vehicle and provides worker access while the Space Shuttle is at the pad - is rolled away. The Shuttle will stay at the pad for at least a month, undergoing final preparations for flight. It is then rolled out to one of two launch pads, a trip that takes six to eight hours. Once mated, the Space Shuttle assembly will spend about a week in the VAB undergoing extensive testing. The orbiter is transported to the VAB and bolted to the external tank. Then the huge external tank is lowered into place and connected to the SRBs. They start with the aft skirt (the flared bottom section), then continue with the four main solid rocket propellant segments, and finish with the forward segment and nose cap. One of two massive Crawler Transporters moves a Mobile Launcher Platform into the VAB, where crews begin building the two SRBs. While processing of the Space Shuttle orbiter continues in the OPF, other Kennedy workers begin assembling the rest of the Space Shuttle system. Image to left: After lifting to a vertical position, the orbiter Atlantis is moved toward the solid rocket booster and external tank below for mating before rollout to the launch pad for mission STS-112. Consumable fluids and gases are loaded aboard, and the final step in OPF orbiter processing is weighing the orbiter to determine its center of gravity.įinally, all ground support and access equipment is removed, and the orbiter is ready to be mated to the external tank and Solid Rocket Boosters in the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Routine servicing includes reconfiguring orbiter systems for flight, performing routine maintenance, replacing parts and installing new mission flight kits and payloads. Any damage to the TPS - including the roughly 25,000 tiles that cover much of the orbiter's body - must be repaired before the vehicle launches again. The orbiter's thermal protection system (TPS), certain structural parts, landing gear and other systems are inspected for damage. Credit: NASAĭuring processing, orbiter components are inspected, removed, repaired or replaced as needed. Image to right: Accompanied by workers and Security, Atlantis moves along the tow-way from the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility to the Orbiter Processing Facility. The orbiter is raised off of its landing gear and leveled, and an elaborate arrangement of scaffolding and platforms provide access to all parts of the vehicle. Here, the process of preparing the Space Shuttle for its next launch begins. Once on the ground, the orbiter is rolled into one of three bays of the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). It either returns from a mission in space, touching down on the 15,000-foot Shuttle Landing Facility runway, or is ferried on the back of a Boeing 747 from another site, such as Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The Space Shuttle orbiter arrives at Kennedy in one of two ways. Image to left: After rollback of the Rotating Service Structure, Space Shuttle Endeavour is spotlighted against the still-black sky of pre-dawn. NASA's Space Shuttle fleet includes three orbiters: Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. The Space Shuttle actually comprises four major components: the two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), the large orange external tank, and the orbiter itself. Kennedy Space Center holds the honor of being the world's only Space Shuttle launch site.
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