Space Shuttle Launch

Photographs of Space Shuttle rollouts at Kennedy Space Center, highlighting the vehicles on crawlers, surrounded by launch facilities and postures.

Rollout of Space Shuttle Discovery and Crawler
Rollout of Space Shuttle Discovery and Crawler
258 assets in this story
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Atlantis hurtles into the clear blue sky as it lifts off on mission STS-110. Liftoff occurred at 4:44:19 p.m. EDT (20:44:19 GMT). STS-110 is the 13th assembly flight to the International Space Station
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The Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March, 31, 2010. The launch of the Soyuz spacecraft with Expedition 23 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Russia, Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko of Russia, and NASA Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell Dyson is scheduled for Friday, April 2, 2010 at 10:04 a.m. Kazakhstan time.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Orion crew module, stacked atop its service module, begins its move from the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, or PHSF, to the Launch Abort System Facility, or LASF, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft for Exploration Flight Test-1 was fueled in the PHSF. Inside the LASF, the Launch Abort System will be installed around the Orion spacecraft ahead of its December flight test.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to an altitude of 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface. The two-orbit, four-hour flight test will help engineers evalu
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Launch Pad 1 is seen as the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft is rolled out to the launch pad by train on Monday, April 17, 2017 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for April 20 and will carry Expedition 51 Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA into orbit to begin their four and a half month mission on the International Space Station.
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Space shuttle flat design isolated on white Vector Image
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The Soyuz TMA-11M rocket, adorned with the logo of the Sochi Olympic Organizing Committee and other related artwork, arrives at the launch pad by train on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for November 7 and will send Expedition 38 Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA and Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.
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Memorial beacon, burial at sea, outer harbour, Emden, East Frisia, Germany, Europe
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle a href='.._.._subjects_atlantis.htm' Atlantis _a (right) inches its way at 1 mph atop the crawler-transporter back to the a href='.._.._subjects_vab.htm' Vehicle Assembly Building _a from a href='.._.._subjects_lc39a.htm' Launch Pad 39A _a (upper left). A panorama view from the top of the VAB shows the proximity of the pad to the Atlantic Ocean (background) plus the 3.4-mile crawlerway leading from the pad to the VAB. The water areas on both sides of the crawlerway are part of the Banana River. In the VAB workers will conduct inspections, make continuity checks and conduct X-ray analysis on the 36 solid rocket booster cables located inside each boosters external system tunnel. An extensive evaluation of NASAs SRB cable inventory revealed conductor damage in four (of about 200) cables on the shelf. Shuttle managers decided to prove the integrity of the system tunnel cables already on Atlantis before launching. The launch has been rescheduled n
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Shuttle Orbiter Columbia move from OPF and mate to external tank in VAB.
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a rocket start at the traditonal rocket festival or Bun Bang Fai in Ban Si Than in the Provinz Amnat Charoen in the northwest of Ubon Ratchathani in the Region of Isan in Northeast Thailand in Thailand.

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The gantry arms are seen closing around the Soyuz rocket in this long exposure photograph, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 57 crewmembers Nick Hague of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch on October 11 and will spend the next six months living and working aboard the International Space Station.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- External tank No. 117 leaves the parking area at NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building. It is heading for the barge waiting at the Turn Basin in the Launch Complex 39 Area. The tank is being shipped to NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana for modifications. The barge will be moved to Port Canaveral where one of NASAs solid rocket booster retrieval ships will take it and tow it around the Florida peninsula to Michoud.
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The Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft is rolled out by train on its way to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. The launch of the Soyuz spacecraft with Expedition 29 Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Dan Burbank and Russian Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin is scheduled for 10:14 a.m. local time on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011.
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AS-506 lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center July 16, 1969. This sixth flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, developed under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, delivered astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to lunar orbit. Better known as Apollo 11, the mission marked the first manned lunar landing.
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Space Ship The Fist Russian Space Ship on the Background of the Cloudy Sky Copyright: xZoonar.com/gkunax 2338238
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Vintage Photograph. Pre Launch of Douglas "Thor-Able" missile.
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The Soyuz rocket is transported by train to the launch pad, Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, will launch March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station.
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A Japanese H-IIA rocket with the NASA-Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory onboard is seen on launch pad 1 of the Tanegashima Space Center, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, Tanegashima, Japan. Once launched, the GPM spacecraft will collect information that unifies data from an international network of existing and future satellites to map global rainfall and snowfall every three hours.
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Launch of a Titan IIIC standard launch vehicle 5. Base: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Workers walking behind Space Shuttle Discovery appear miniscule against the gigantic vehicle as it crawls to Launch Pad 39B. Discovery will be flying on mission STS-102 to the International Space Station. Its payload is the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, a moving van,” to carry laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies to and from the Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle. The flight will also carry the Expedition Two crew up to the Space Station, replacing Expedition One, who will return to Earth on Discovery. Launch is scheduled for March 8 at 6:45 a.m. EST
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VIP Event including ribbon cutting at the Saturn V Facility. Overview of visitors.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Bumper V-2 is the first missile launched at Cape Canaveral on July 24, 1950.
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S75-24007 (24 March 1975) --- The Saturn 1B space vehicle for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission, with its launch umbilical tower, rides atop a huge crawler-transporter as it moves slowly away from the Vehicle Assembly Building on its 4.24-mile journey to Pad B, Launch Complex 39, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The ASTP vehicle is composed of a Saturn 1B (first) stage, a Saturn IVB (second) stage, and a payload consisting of a Command/Service Module and a Docking Module. The joint U.S.-USSR ASTP docking mission in Earth orbit is scheduled for July 1975.
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Aggregat 4 Or V-2 Rocket. Historic Technical Museum Peenemunde. Germany, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
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Aftermath - Miscellaneous - 26-HK-46-40. high aerial view of destroyed bridge span, possibly I-10. Hurricane Katrina
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Crew Model Water Landing Module Assessment Photographs taken at Aberdeen Test Facility Aberdeen MD.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, agency Fire Rescue personnel direct an agency helicopter in for a landing during a training exercise.The activity taking place in Kennedy's Launch Complex 39 turn-basin parking lot was only one of several drills. It was part of a new training program that was developed by Kennedy's Fire Rescue department along with NASA Aircraft Operations to sharpen the skills needed to help rescue personnel learn how to collaborate with helicopter pilots in taking injured patients to hospitals as quickly as possible.
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John F. Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, North America
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Artwork: "Space Shuttle" Artist: Carmen Gibbs. Country: Unknown
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The Orion heat shield from Exploration Flight Test-1, secured on a transporter, arrives at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The heat shield was moved from the Launch Abort System Facility. The heat shield is being transferred from the Orion Program to the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, Landing and Recovery Operations. In the VAB, the heat shield will be integrated with the Orion ground test article and used for future underway recovery testing.
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Aerial view of Crawlerway
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Pegasus barge approaches the turn basin dock in the Launch Complex 39 Area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Onboard the barge is the external tank No. 123, designated to launch Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-116 in December. At left is the 525-foot-high Vehicle Assembly Building where the external tank will go after offloading from the barge. The tank, which was shipped from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, has undergone major safety changes, including removal of the protuberance air load ramps. Mission STS-116 will deliver the P5 truss segment, a SPACEHAB module and other key components to the International Space Station. Launch is currently scheduled no earlier than Dec. 14.
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Rocket shooting into vast, desert sky, Black Rock Desert, Nevada
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VA261 - Ariane 5 lifts off from the Guiana Space Center. 117th and final flight after 27 years of service.
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Germany, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Baltic Sea, Pomeranian Bay, Usedom Island, Peenemünde, Historical-Technical Museum, Ballistic Missile A4
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Across the Turn Basin at NASAs Kennedy Space Center looms the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). In front of the massive doors is Space Shuttle Discovery, atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, wending its way slowly to Launch Pad 39B. First motion out of the VAB was at 2 04 p.m. EDT. The Mobile Launcher Platform is moved by the Crawler-Transporter underneath. The Crawler is 20 feet high, 131 feet long and 114 feet wide. It moves on eight tracks, each containing 57 shoes, or cleats, weighing one ton each. Loaded with the Space Shuttle, the Crawler can move at a maximum speed of approximately 1 mile an hour. A leveling system in the Crawler keeps the Shuttle vertical while negotiating the 5 percent grade leading to the top of the launch pad. Launch of Discovery on its Return to Flight mission, STS-114, is targeted for May 15 with a launch window that extends to June 3. During its 12-day mission, Discoverys seven-person crew will test new hardware and techniques to
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STS-132 ET-136 OFFLOAD FROM BARGE AND XFER TO VAB
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Dark gray clouds hover over the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, part of a strong weather system that included crosswinds and anvil clouds blowing across the state. The weather concerns prevented space shuttle Endeavour and its crew from returning to Kennedy, the primary end-of-mission landing site. Instead, Endeavour landed safely at 4:25 p.m. at Edwards Air Force Base in California after traveling more than 6.6 million miles in space. The main landing gear touched down at Edwards at 4:25:06 p.m. EST. The nose landing gear touched down at 4:25:21 p.m. and wheel stop was at 4:26:03 p.m. The STS-126 mission was the 27th flight to the International Space Station, carrying equipment and supplies in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The mission featured four spacewalks and work to prepare the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions.
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Several concept designs for Artemis crew transportation vehicles (CTV) are lined up at Launch Complex 39B at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 11, 2022. Canoo Technologies Inc., was awarded a contract to design and provide the next generation of CTVs for the Artemis crewed missions. Representatives with Canoo were at the spaceport demonstrating the environmentally friendly fleet of vehicles. Artemis II will be the first Artemis mission flying crew aboard Orion. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.
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The Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) test vehicle en route to the launch pad on May 22, 2019.
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John F. Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, North America
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The Soyuz rocket is seen as it is transported to the launch pad by train, Thursday, July 18, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 60 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Andrew Morgan of NASA, and flight engineer Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft at 12:28 p.m. Eastern time (9:28 p.m. Baikonur time) , on Saturday, July 20.
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The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen during sunrise on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, Sunday, April 21, 2013. NASA's commercial space partner, Orbital Sciences Corporation, is scheduled to test launch its first Antares later in the day.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The newly arrived space shuttle Endeavour is reflected in the water near Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Riding atop a crawler-transporter attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, Endeavour's 3.4-mile trek, known as "rollout," began at the Vehicle Assembly Building at 7:56 p.m. EST March 10 and ended at 3:49 a.m. EST, nearly eight hours later. This is Endeavour's final scheduled rollout. Endeavour and its six-member crew will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper and micrometeoroid debris shields to the International Space Station on the shuttle's final spaceflight, STS-134. Launch is targeted for 7:48 p.m. EDT April 19.
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The test version of Orion attached to the Launch Abort System for the Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test is moved on a transport at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 22, 2019, along the 21.5 mile trek to Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in preparation for its launch this summer. In the background is the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building. During AA-2, a test version of Orion will launch on a booster to more than six miles in altitude, where Orions launch abort system will pull the capsule and its crew away to safety if an emergency occurs during ascent on the Space Launch System rocket. The AA-2 elements will be stacked together at the launch pad over the next several weeks. The launch is planned for July 2 and is a critical safety test that helps pave the way for Artemis missions near the Moon, and will enable astronauts to set foot on the lunar surface by 2024.
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The Soyuz rocket is seen after being rolled out by train to the launch pad, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 57 crewmembers Nick Hague of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch on October 11 and will spend the next six months living and working aboard the International Space Station.
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Total Force - The Super Guppy made a VERY rare stop at Tinker Air Force Base today for some gas on its way to Florida. The NASA aircraft was delivering an Orion Heatshield for a mission expected a few years from now.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The external tank for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope makes the turn toward the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The tank arrived at the turn basin earlier in the day aboard the Pegasus barge. Inside the building, the tank will be raised to vertical, lifted and moved into a checkout cell. Stacking of the tank and solid rocket boosters is scheduled for Aug. 7. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the massive open door of the Vehicle Assembly Building welcomes External Tank-138. The external fuel tank arrived in Florida on July 13, from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. ET-138, the last newly manufactured tank, was originally designated to fly on Endeavour's STS-134 mission to the International Space Station, but later reassigned to fly on space shuttle Atlantis' final mission, STS-135.
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France, Normandy, Eure, Vernon, Roundabout with a rocket decoration. Model of the Ariane rocket
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- President John F. Kennedy honors John H. Glenn Jr. at Hangar S, Cape Canaveral, Florida, after his historic three-orbit mission aboard Friendship 7.
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A Russian security member monitors the railroad tracks as the Soyuz rocket rolls out to the launch pad Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz is scheduled to launch the crew of Expedition 19 and a spaceflight participant on March 26, 2009.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The redesigned external fuel tank, designated ET-118, is transported on the road toward the Vehicle Assembly Building, seen at right. The tank, which arrived at KSC aboard the Pegasus barge after a journey from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, will be moved into the VAB and lifted into a checkout cell for further work. ET-118, which will fly with many major safety changes, including the removal of the protuberance air load ramps, will launch Space Shuttle Atlantis on the next space shuttle mission, STS-115.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman (left) and Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig talk to the media gathered on the crawlerway on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The Daytona International Speedway show car, shown here, is in sharp contrast to the crawler-transporter that usually travels the special road to the pad. Newman is visiting Kennedy in honor of NASA's 50th anniversary and the 50th running of NASCAR's Daytona 500 in February. NASA presented Newman two green racing flags that were flown last February aboard space shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission to the International Space Station. One flag was given to Newman, the second was presented to Daytona 500 Experience General Manager Kim Isemann. A third flag that was flown will be kept by NASA for public display. The connection between NASA and Daytona's International Speedway extends beyond their close proximity to one another. During recent years, technology developed for
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Crew members of space shuttle mission STS-120 prepare to board the bus that will transport them to Launch Pad 39A.
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