KSC-08pd2804

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A daylight view at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A shows the payload canister at left still attached to the payload changeout room where transfer of the payload will take place. The payload comprises four carriers holding various equipment for the STS-125 mission aboard space shuttle Atlantis to service NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. At center is Atlantis, atop the mobile launcher platform that straddles the flame trench below. At right is the 300,000-gallon water tank that supplies the deluge of water for sound suppression during liftoff. The PCR is the enclosed, environmentally controlled portion of the rotating service structure that supports cargo delivery to the pad and subsequent vertical installation into the shuttle’s payload bay. Launch of Atlantis is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller