Beyond Apollo is a space history blog. I was going to write at this point that this post isn't about space history, but then I noticed to my consternation that it is. The images below date from March 11, 1989, going on a quarter-century ago. Except for the last, I snapped them with my little film camera. I post them now because of all the excitement in Los Angeles about the Space Shuttle Endeavour* *(which, I just realized with a start, was still being assembled when these pictures were taken). Enjoy!
This is Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 (OPF-2) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.
The doors open, revealing the tail end of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The three main engines are visible; their bells have red covers.
NASA's objective on this fine spring evening was to move Atlantis from OPF-2 to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where it would be mated to its twin Solid Rocket Boosters and External Tank. To do this, the ground team attached an airport-type tractor by a tow bar to the orbiter's front landing gear.
I was one of about 40 Press people on hand to watch the move, which was typically a routine operation. We were positioned about 100 meters from OPF-2, between the edge of the concrete tarmac and a drainage ditch (the latter reputedly home to at least one alligator).
Atlantis's tail is about six stories tall. The orbiter weighed about 75 tons without a payload in its 18.5-meter-long payload bay. Each orbiter cost about $1.2 billion.
"Uh, is it just me, or is the orbiter getting kind of close?"
"It's just you."
"Okay. Good."
By this point it was obvious even to the Press that something
was wrong. Yet Atlantis still rolled back, and back, and back. . .
By the time Atlantis stopped, its portside landing gear wheel (center) was 20 cm in front of my sneaker toes. The top of the tire came up a little higher than my waist. I could read the individual labels on the 20,000+ ceramic heat shield tiles above my head on Atlantis's belly.
Agitated discussions broke out among the KSC ground team members, who had become mixed with us Press folks. The fellow in the sunglasses (left) is just realizing that people are recording this for posterity.
My close encounter with $1.2 billion from another perspective. You can make out the edge of the drainage ditch on the right, under Atlantis's wing tip.
At about this point a kindly gentleman with a machine gun (center) inquired as to whether we might like to move over a few meters. Needless to say, we were happy to oblige.
Closeup of the crew compartment. I was amazed at the roughness of the orbiter's surfaces.
Atlantis rolls off to the VAB (background), none the worse for its close encounter with my toes. When next I saw it, it was climbing toward space with the Magellan Venus orbiter in its payload bay.
The arrow marks the target (me) (NASA photo #KSC-89P-255).
