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A lesser known part of the launch pad is the Rotating Service
Structure,
which is on the left in this image. It is essentially a large
rotating door that folds and covers the Orbiter. At the
bottom
of the vertical column on the left is a large set of wheels that ride
on a circular track. By covering the Orbiter with the RSS, it
allows easy access to the payload bay. For a view of the
Shuttle with the RSS covering it, click here
(from STS-95).
Once it arrives on the pad, the Canister is lifted in front of the
Payload Changeout Room (PCR). Then, our hardware
is tranferred in one massive move into the room, and then Canister
is then removed. After that, the RSS is rotated to
cover the orbiter, its doors are opened, and our hardware is
transferred
into the Orbiter. Note the large hinge column
on the right of the image. The RSS rotates around this point.
Columbia on its launchpad (39A), ready for launch. Actually,
not quite. Her payload has not been installed yet,
and the yellow bars on the payload bay doors that are used to open
the doors have not been removed yet.
At the same time that this photo was shot, Sean O'Keefe, the new NASA
Administrator, was present
for a pad visit. Weather was excellent, the sky was a
cloudless
blue.
At the Orbiter access hatch. On the cover (left) is the name
of the orbiter, and below
the step ramp is the mission and orbiter designation. Since
no
flash was allowed, the picture is a little fuzzy.
View from the other side (different day with camcorder), courtesy Rus
Burgess. In the
background is one of my colleques, Mike Schools (NSI).
Once we have 10 or fewer days to go till launch, KSC puts up a sign
with a counter showing
days until the launch. It is always exciting to drive into
work
every day and see it go down gradually.
In the case of a pad emergency when the crew is in the Shuttle, they
can leave the launch pad
very quickly by jumping into these slide wire baskets, hitting a pedal,
and sliding away from the pad down a cable. Wheeeee......
View of the entire cargo bay. The ARUBA is visible on the
radiator
on the left edge of the image.
E-mail me
for a HUGE
version of
this image.
Closeup of the MULE carrier, which holds the radiator. Note
the
end of the Shuttle robot arm on the left side of the image (port side).
As is the tradition with the HST project, we have a formal launch party
at the Patrick Air Force Base Officer's Club.
This occurred on Feb 26, 2002, three days before launch.
We had several additional guests from Aruba for the launch.
From
left to right,
Nilton Lacle (editor of the Aruba newspaper 'Diario'), Rosaria Lacle,
Ed, Stephanie, Agnes,
Christopher, Ed's Mom, Gideon Chong. Not shown is Jan Poets,
who covered the events
with video.