KSC-2010-4438

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's new mobile launcher, or ML, support structure stands next to the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB. It took about two years to construct the launcher in the Mobile Launcher Park site, north of the VAB. The 355-foot-tall structure will support NASA's future human spaceflight program. The base of the launcher is lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the heavier load of the tower and a taller rocket. The next step will be to add ground support equipment, such as umbilicals and access arms, for future rocket launches. For information on NASA's future plans, visit www.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett