KSC-05-S-00029

The arrival in Florida of the External Tank that will help launch the next Space Shuttle marks an important milestone in processing for flight. Technicians at Kennedy Space Center can then begin final preparation and checkout of the hardware for the next mission. The tank is first removed from the barge that carried it to Florida, and moved into the Vehicle Assembly Building transfer aisle. Processing the components for any Space Shuttle launch entails the choreography of massive, yet delicate, flight hardware. Inside the VAB, the tank is placed in the upright position in one of the building's giant high bays, where the checkout work begins. After the tank processing is complete, it is joined to the twin Solid Rocket Boosters, and preparations to join the orbiter to the stack begin. When all is ready, the orbiter is carefully lifted and attached. With testing complete, the entire stack is rolled to the launch pad. Moving at one mile per hour, one of the huge crawler transporters has the heavy task of moving the Mobile Launcher Platform and assembled launch vehicle. With a combined weight of 12 million pounds, it makes the slow journey to one of the two launch pads at Kennedy's Complex 39. After final preparations at the pad, the vehicle is fueled, the astronauts are strapped in, and it's 3... 2... 1 and liftoff_