KSC-06pd1984
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The camera captures an optical illusion of a dragonfly above the reedy water near Launch Pad 39B seems to be heading for Space Shuttle Atlantis. The shuttle, sitting on the mobile launcher platform, is being moved off the pad by the crawler-transporter and rolling back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion off the pad was at 10:04 a.m. EDT. The crawler is 131 feet long, 113 feet wide and 20 feet high. It weights 5.5 million pounds unloaded. The combined weight of crawler, mobile launcher platform and a space shuttle is 12 million pounds. Unloaded, the crawler moves at 2 mph. Loaded, the snail's pace slows to 1 mph. The rollback is a safety precaution as the area waits for the arrival of Tropical Storm Ernesto. The storm is forecast to be bringing 58-mph to 70-mph winds in the next 24 hours. The shuttle will be moved into high bay 2, on the southwest side of the VAB, for protection from the storm. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley
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Details
NASA ID
KSC-06pd1984
Date Created
August 29, 2006
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
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