Reflected Beauty

Atlantis moves past the waters of the Turn Basin as it begins its traverse along the Saturn Causeway toward Pad 39A, some five kilometres away.
STS 132 at 12:43 am, some 40 minutes after leaving the Vehicle Assembly Building.

It was now 12:30 am and the Shuttle, illuminated by floodlights, slowly rolled out past the Barge Turning Basin lagoon and along the crawlerway towards the launch pad.

I took lots of photos of it, some with reflections in the waters of the turning basin, others with the United States flag flying proudly at the top of the flagpole beside the famous, but tonight dormant, countdown clock.

At 1:37 am, my last view of the Atlantis, shortly before the floodlights were switched off. Framing it are the distant four illuminated lightning masts of the Aries launch site, Pad 39B. To the right are the welcoming lights of the destination of its six hour journey, Pad 39A.

An hour later, at 1:45 am the stack had moved so far down the crawlerway there was no point illuminating it any more. The floodlights were doused, and the gleaming white shuttle and bright orange tank "vanished".

It was time to call it a night, and head off to Titusville for a quick nap.

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