All pictures were taken from the last prototype of the Crawler Transporter model during its assembly, so various stages from the construction are depicted. Everything is paper made, and part of the kit. I did a lot to make the building instructions as clear as possible, however this additional reference might be helpful.
If you still are not sure about purchasing a kit, these pictures hopefully are a good appetizer ;) !
Enjoy ;) !
Approaching the VAB We all know it’s big. However it is hard to get a grip, how big it really is. It’s there at the horizon, and driving seems not bring you closer. Each stripe of the American flag has the width of a standard road lane.
At the Gate of the VAB Some things are hard to believe. For example the fact, that you have just entered the VAB. History happened right here, and still happens. The orange balloon in the back actually is the external fuel tank for the Endeavour, that has just arrived the day before.
Look up The ceiling of the VAB, 160m above you. Sometimes, even looking up can make you dizzy.
Endeavour’s External Fuel Tank It had just arrived a few days before and was about to be erected. However, the horizontal position makes it even more impressive.
Close up Getting so close to real space hardware that you are used to know from TV only, has a sense of unreal fantasy and total excitement.
Hidden in the side bay Yes. It’s the Discovery. All you can see is the external fuel tank, and the MLP. The orbiter and the boosters are hidden behind an iron spider web.
The Mobile Launcher Platform Like the Crawler Transporters, it stems from the days of the moon landing program. The LUT was removed, and two additional openings for the boosters added.On the floor you can see the Crawler way.
The Writing on the Wall Here you can sign the wall of the VAB. Truly a big thing to put your name on !
The Ceiling It takes a few moments to realize, that the ceiling of the hall you’ve just entered in fact is the belly of the orbiter, in this case the heat shield of the Endeavour.
The Tiles These are the famous tiles for the heat shield of the orbiter. They are incredible light weighted, even more incredible heat resistant and absolutely most incredible expensive. The price for one (1) tile is $ 10,000. To the left you see the material used for the rest of the orbiter’s surface, that is covered with heat resistant tissue.
The Endeavour Looking towards the front you see the connection pipe to the external fuel tank.
Endeavour Seen from the front, the spacecraft now is more easily to recognize.
The Wing’s leading Edge We all know how vulnerable it is. To avoid any accidental damage, it is covered with sheets of soft tissue.
Main Landing Gear Endeavour’s right main landing gear. The French among you will be pleased to read that the tires are manufactured by Michelin.
Side View Standing within reach of the Endeavour without really seeing her could make you crazy. However, touching it with your own hands sure is an experience you only share with a few people on this planet.
The Backyard The engines and the vertical tail are removed thus giving you view to some inner organs and a lot of maintenance piping around. However, you never would think of a whole orbiter behind all this, would you ?
The Space Shuttle... ... is the most complex machine on earth. Once you see behind the screens you can understand why. It’s not only the orbiter, it’s all the infrastructure behind.
The Office If you always wanted to know, how an office in the shadow of the Shuttle looks like - voilá.
The Secret Walking over to High Bay 1, I came across this schedule board *ggg*. Now, seven months later, STS 135 is official and confirmed (at least to my knowledge), so no problem to show it here ;) - the time table above however will be delayed I guess.
Robert D. Cabana It became totally quiet when this gentleman entered OPF 1 and we had a short but very friendly meet & greet. Afterwards I learned, who Robert Cabana really is. A space shuttle veteran with over 1,000 hours in space logged, and the director of the Kennedy Space Center.
The Atlantis Officially kept and maintained as emergency backup, it was already quite sure that she will fly one more time. Good luck on your last missions, Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis !
