![]() In 2011 NASA removed both the fixed and rotating service structures from their pad at LC-39B to make way for a new generation of launch vehicles. The FSS on Pad 39A was constructed from most of the top of the umbilical tower of Mobile Launcher 2, while the FSS that was on 39B was constructed from most of the top of the umbilical tower of Mobile Launcher 3 (Mobile Launcher 3 would later become Mobile Launcher Platform 1 for the Shuttle). The RSS contained the Payload Changeout Room, which offered "clean" access to the orbiter's payload bay, protection from the elements, and protection in winds up to 60 knots (110 km/h). The FSS permitted access to the Shuttle via a retractable arm and a "beanie cap" to capture vented LOX from the external tank. Kennedy Space Center ĭuring the Space Shuttle program, the structures at the Launch Complex 39 pads contained a two-piece access tower system, the Fixed Service Structure (FSS) and the Rotating Service Structure (RSS). Immediately before ignition of the rocket's motors, all connections between the tower and the craft are severed, and the bridges over which these connections pass often quickly swing away to prevent damage to the structure or vehicle. Space Shuttle Discovery is carried by a Crawler-transporter, a launch tower is visible in the backgroundĪ service structure is a steel framework or tower that is built on a rocket launch pad to facilitate assembly and servicing.Īn umbilical tower also usually includes an elevator which allows maintenance and crew access. Follow for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter and on Facebook. You can follow senior writer Clara Moskowitz on Twitter ClaraMoskowitz. "The entire system is completely cleaned out so there's not even a modicum of toxic chemicals left, so 20 years from now, someone standing under a shuttle doesn't get dripped on," Beutel said. Once they are safe, they'll be shipped back and reinstalled on the orbiters before they are sent to museums. Those systems have been removed and sent to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for intensive cleaning. New York's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum will also get a shuttle, the test vehicle Enterprise (currently housed at the Smithsonian), which never made it to space.īefore Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis can be put on display, they must be processed to remove all hazardous parts and materials, especially any residual rocket fuel lingering in the Forward Reaction Control System and the Orbital Maneuvering Systems Engines. NASA named the three recipients of the flown shuttles earlier this year, crushing the hopes of about 20 other museums that had lobbied to host an orbiter. Sometime next summer Endeavour will travel across the country atop a special Boeing 747 jet to the California Science Center in Los Angeles, where it will live out its days. Atlantis is due to travel almost seven miles to the Visitors Center in early 2013.įor the time being, Endeavour will rest dormant inside the VAB, which was where NASA stacked orbiters with their external tanks and solid rocket boosters in preparation for launch. Work is also ongoing inside the nearby Orbiter Processing Facility-2, where Atlantis is being prepped for its retirement home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Center, down the road.Ītlantis was the last shuttle to fly it landed July 21, finishing the 135th and final mission of the 30-year space shuttle program. ![]() Thursday's double-shuttle move will allow technicians to work on Discovery inside the OPF-1 in preparation for shipping it to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center outside Washington, D.C., around April 2012. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttles Discovery and Endeavour part company outside Orbiter Processing Facility-3 (OPF-3) where they paused for a unique "nose-to-nose" photo opportunity.
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