The STS-131 astronauts pause after arriving at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for launch. They are, from left: Mission Specialists Clayton Anderson, Naoko Yamazaki, Stephanie Wilson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger and Rick Mastracchio, Pilot James P. Dutton, Jr., and Commander Alan Poindexter.
As the STS-131 crew members arrive at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for launch, they are greeted by the center director, and former astronaut, Bob Cabana
External Tank Hydrogen Vent Umbilical and Intertank Access Arm
Flanked by a solid rocket booster and external tank at left, STS-88 crew members pose for a group photograph near the top of the fixed service structure at Launch Pad 39A. They are (front to back) Mission Commander Robert D. Cabana, Mission Specialist Nancy J. Currie, Pilot Frederick W. "Rick" Sturckow, Mission Specialists Jerry L. Ross, James H. Newman, and (at right) Sergei Krikalev, a Russian cosmonaut. The crew was at Kennedy Space Center to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT), a dress rehearsal for launch. The intertank access arm is shown on the lower left side edge of the image within the black half-circle.
Emergency Egress System
Members practice emergency egress from the 195-foot level of the fixed service structure on Launch Pad 39A
Flame Trench-Deflector System
With the rotating service structure rolled back, Space Shuttle Discovery is revealed, poised for launch on mission STS-102 at 6:42 a.m. EST March 8. It sits on the mobile launcher platform, which straddles the flame trench below that helps deflect the intense heat of launch. Situated above the external tank is the gaseous oxygen vent arm with the "beanie cap," a vent hood.
Hypergolic Storage
The orbiter's orbital maneuvering system and reaction control system burn monomethyl hydrazine as a fuel and nitrogen tetroxide as an oxidizer. These hypergolic fluids are stored in well-separated areas on the southwest and southeast corners of the pads, respectively. Transfer lines convey the fluids through the fixed service structure to the hypergolic umbilical system located on the rotating service structure, with its three pairs of umbilicals attaching to the orbiter.
Launch Pad/Mobile Launcher Platform Interfaces
For the fourth time in Space Shuttle Program history, 350,000 gallons of water are being released on a Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) at Launch Pad 39A during a water sound suppression test. Because of the unusual event, media and workers watch from nearby vantage points on the fixed service structure (left). This test is being conducted following the replacement of the six main system valves, which had been in place since the beginning of the Shuttle Program and had reached the end of their service life.
Fixed Service Structure
On Launch Pad 39A, a rescue team member and astronaut-suited worker approach landing in a slidewire basket reaching from the fixed service structure in the background during an emergency egress scenario. The four-hour exercise simulated normal launch countdown operations. It tested the team's rescue approaches on the fixed service structure, slidewire basket evacuation as well as communications and coordination
Orbiter Access Arm
Situated above the external tank is the gaseous oxygen vent arm with the "beanie cap," a vent hood. The orbiter access arm is extended from the fixed service structure (left) to the orbiter. An environmentally controlled chamber, known as the White Room, is at the end of the arm, providing entrance for the astronaut crew into the orbiter. In the distance, behind the space shuttle, can be seen the Atlantic Ocean
Launch Complex 39
The early morning sun is caught between Space Shuttle Discovery and its external tank on Launch Pad 39A. On the right is the rotating service structure, not yet closed around the shuttle. At far left is the 300,000-gallon water tank that is part of the sound suppression system during launch.
Rotating Service Structure
Less than 24 hours before launch of STS-102, photographers capture the rollback of the rotating service structure from around Space Shuttle Discovery on Launch Pad 39B. Poised above the external tank is the gaseous oxygen vent arm with the "beanie cap," a vent hood. The rotating structure provides protected access to the orbiter for changeout and servicing of payloads. It is supported by a rotating bridge that pivots about a vertical axis on the west side of the pad's flame trench.
Shuttle-Era Pad Modifications
The launch pads are taken out of service every three to five years for maintenance and modifications. This "Mod Period" lasts six to nine months, during which several contractors are tasked with specific modifications.
Sound Suppression System
Water is released onto the mobile launcher platform on Launch Pad 39A at the start of a water sound suppression test. Workers and the media (left) are on hand to witness the rare event. This test is being conducted following the replacement of the six main system valves, which had been in place since the beginning of the Shuttle Program and had reached the end of their service life. Also, the hydraulic portion of the valve actuators has been redesigned and simplified to reduce maintenance costs.
Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen Storage
Liquid oxygen used as an oxidizer by the orbiter main engines is stored in a 900,000-gallon tank on the pad's northwest corner, while the liquid hydrogen used as a fuel is kept in an 850,000-gallon tank on the northeast corner. The propellants are transferred from the storage tanks in vacuum-jacketed lines that feed into the orbiter and external tank via the tail service masts on the mobile launcher platform. This aerial photo captures Launch Pads 39B (left) and 39A (right). Space Shuttle Discovery waits on pad 39A for launch on mission STS-92 Oct. 5, 2000. The ball-shaped structures at left of the pads are storage tanks of the cryogenic liquid propellants for the orbiter's main engines.