KSC-04pd-2388

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The media tour Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Assembly and Refurbishment Facility where Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) segments are refurbished. In the background can be seen the frustum and nose cap of an SRB. The media event featured the movement of the first SRB segments to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking for Return to Flight mission STS-114. Two SRBs support the liftoff of the Space Shuttle on a launch. The twin 149-foot tall, 12-foot diameter SRBs provide the main propulsion system during launch to place the orbiters in the proper orbit around the Earth. They operate parallel with the Space Shuttle main engines for the first two minutes of flight and jettison away from the orbiter, with help from the Booster Separation Motors, about 26.3 nautical miles above the Earth’s surface.