Space Shuttle - Behind the scene pictures

[ferryrider42]

Below is a link to another forum featuring some behind the scene pictures of the space shuttle being prepared for launch.

bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB11&Number=1016238

[Northern Exploration]

The giant building that the shuttle is married to the solid rocket boosters and the fuel tank is called the Vehicle Assembly Building from the time when the Saturn V rockets were assembled there. If you are ever in Florida the Kennedy Space Centre tour is really interesting. It was many years ago that I went on it. The building is absolutely massive, we were allowed a look inside one of the two bays. In the other they were prepping for the next shuttle mission. The building is as tall as a skyscraper but is square around not tall and slender like an office building. Something like four Shaw towers taped put together gives you an idea. The Saturn V was a giant rocket and would tower over the Shuttle if they were put side by side. The tour bus we were on could drive its whole nose into one of the five engines that were on the bottom of the first stage. Seeing a Shuttle launch has always been on my "To Do" list. The last time I was in Florida the timing was right except the previous shuttle tragedy had cancelled all flights. The transporter the moves the shuttle at walking pace to the launch pad is also absolutely massive. Towers over the tour bus.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

Yes, mine, too. We were there two years ago, and security was much tighter than it was traditionally. There was still some damage apparent from the hurricane force winds that had hit the VAB a couple of months earlier. I have some photos from that trip...I'll post them tomorrow.

Still an incredible place to visit...the Apollo display is breath-taking.

A few more insider shuttle photos through a friend:








I forget which mission these are from, but with the crew photo below and a little digging, I'm sure one could figure it out.

[ProudCanuck]

Here it is... the crew is from STS-114.

From Wikipedia:
STS-114 was the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. The Space Shuttle Discovery launched at 10:39 a.m. EDT (14:39 UTC), July 26, 2005. The launch, 907 days (approx. 29 months) after the loss of Columbia, was approved despite unresolved fuel sensor anomalies in the external tank; those anomalies had prevented the shuttle from launching on July 13, its originally scheduled date.

The mission was completed on August 9, 2005. Due to the poor weather at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, the shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, a secondary landing site.

The problem that resulted in the destruction of Columbia — debris separating from the external tank during ascent — unexpectedly recurred during the launch of Discovery. As a result, NASA decided on July 27 to postpone future shuttle flights pending additional modifications to the flight hardware. On July 4, 2006, NASA resumed shuttle flight with STS-121.