The Crawler Transporter, adorned by a celebratory banner, supports the Mobile Launch Platform above it. Note the worker at lower right, dwarfed by the caterpilar tracks. |
The long crawl to Pad 39A is now indisputably underway. |
Suddenly, at 11:35 pm, I thought: "Hey, this is not as close as it was a few minutes ago."
I looked down, and there was more of the brown floor visible than there had been. I stopped walking about and looked fixedly at the solid rocket boosters against the background of the building's access platforms and the foreground of the safety railing, the better to judge any motion.
Yes!! She was moving!
Looking down at the 35 metre wide crawler transporter I could make out its caterpillar treads moving.
They were actually rolling the vehicle and we were still inside the VAB!
STS 132 is driven out of the Vehicle Assembly Building by astronaut Ken Ham. |
Like medieval castle drawbridges, the work platforms of the Vehicle Assembly Building are raised to allow passage of the Atlantis. |
Halfway to the door. |
My initial photos could not show the entire space shuttle, even with a wide angle lens, because I as so close to this magnificent vehicle. As it receeded from us more and more of the stack fitted into a single frame. Even now it fills two photos (above and below). |
Ever so slowly, centimetre by centimetre, the stack receded from us. The External Tank led the way, followed by the Orbiter.
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Text, images and audio Copyright to Andrew Rennnie, 2010