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Pre-Sp@ce Fl!ght Act!v!t!e$

Publié le 30 mai 2008 par Abassi Nejia

WELCOME

Shuttle "Discovery":
Pre-Flight Activities, Rarely Seen by the General Public

These photos deserve a wide viewing audience: the amount of thought and engineering that goes into every launch is immense; each successful take-off represents the Mankind's finest effort, and is a wonder to behold.

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External tank arrives by barge from Louisiana:
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External tank approaches Vertical Assembly Building (VAB):
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Removing external tank:
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Preparing to lift the tank to vertical:
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Lifting the tank:
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Solid rockets are attached:
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Orbiter: External tank with Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB):
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Engines are attached to the shuttle in the Orbiter Processing Facility:
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Shuttle in sling ready for lift in VAB:
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Shuttle has been moved to VAB and will be attached to external tank:
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Shuttle is attached:
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Payload Preparation in Space Station Processing Facility:
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Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM):
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Payload carrier leaves Canister Rotation Facility:
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Payload being moved to Launch Pad:
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Lifting payload into position for insertion into "Discovery"
when it arrives at the pad:
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Shuttle "Discovery" leaves VAB:
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Trip to launch:
Length - 3 1/2 mi
Time - 6-8 hours
Arrow indicates the Launch Pad.
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Crawler Control
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"Discovery" arrives at Pad:
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Payload is also inside the Launch Pad:
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Ready for Launch:
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We Have Lift Off !
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