KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour waits on Launch Pad 39B for launch on mission STS-97. Behind it are the orange external tank flanked by two solid rocket boosters. On either side of Endeavour’s tail are the tail service masts, which support the fluid, gas and electrical requirements of the orbiter’s liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen aft T-0 umbilicals. The masts also protect the ground half of those umbilicals from the harsh launch environment. At launch, the masts rotate backward, triggering a compressed-gas thruster and causing a protective hood to move into place and completely seal the structure from the main engine exhaust. At the end of the orbiter access arm, near the nose of Endeavour, is the White Room, an environmental chamber that provides both entrance to the orbiter and emergency egress, if needed. The arm remains extended until 7 minutes, 24 seconds before launch. The arm extends from the Fixed Service Structure. In the center of Endeavour are the payload bay doors. Endeavour is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at 10:06 p.m. EST KSC-00pp1731

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Suspended over the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Endeavour is slowly lifted into the upper levels for transfer into high bay 1 for mating with its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. After additional preparations are made, the shuttle will be rolled out to Launch Pad 39B. Endeavour is designated the rescue spacecraft for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, targeted for October. After Atlantis has safely returned from its flight, Endeavour will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for its STS-126 mission to the International Space Station, targeted for November. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-08pd2611

STS-135 - Public domain NASA photogrpaph

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crawler-transporter is enlisted to move space shuttle Endeavour from the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 1 to Launch Pad 39A. The unfueled shuttle and mobile launcher platform weigh approximately 12 million pounds. First motion out of the bay was at 4:13 a.m. EST Jan. 6. The 3.4-mile trip, known as rollout, takes about six hours. Rollout is a significant milestone in launch processing activities. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission is the International Space Station's Node 3, Tranquility, a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the station's life support systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. The module was built in Turin, Italy, by Thales Alenia Space for the European Space Agency. Space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission is targeted for launch at 4:39 a.m. EST Feb. 7. For information on the STS-130 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts130/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller KSC-2010-1028

STS-132 - Public domain NASA photogrpaph

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour waits on Launch Pad 39B for launch on mission STS-97. Behind it are the orange external tank flanked by two solid rocket boosters. On either side of Endeavour’s tail are the tail service masts, which support the fluid, gas and electrical requirements of the orbiter’s liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen aft T-0 umbilicals. The masts also protect the ground half of those umbilicals from the harsh launch environment. At launch, the masts rotate backward, triggering a compressed-gas thruster and causing a protective hood to move into place and completely seal the structure from the main engine exhaust. At the end of the orbiter access arm, near the nose of Endeavour, is the White Room, an environmental chamber that provides both entrance to the orbiter and emergency egress, if needed. The arm remains extended until 7 minutes, 24 seconds before launch. The arm extends from the Fixed Service Structure. In the center of Endeavour are the payload bay doors. Endeavour is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at 10:06 p.m. EST KSC-00pp1731

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour waits on Launch Pad 39B for launch on mission STS-97. Behind it are the orange external tank flanked by two solid rocket boosters. On either side of Endeavour’s tail are the tail service masts, which support the fluid, gas and electrical requirements of the orbiter’s liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen aft T-0 umbilicals. The masts also protect the ground half of those umbilicals from the harsh launch environment. At launch, the masts rotate backward, triggering a compressed-gas thruster and causing a protective hood to move into place and completely seal the structure from the main engine exhaust. At the end of the orbiter access arm, near the nose of Endeavour, is the White Room, an environmental chamber that provides both entrance to the orbiter and emergency egress, if needed. The arm remains extended until 7 minutes, 24 seconds before launch. The arm extends from the Fixed Service Structure. In the center of Endeavour are the payload bay doors. Endeavour is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at 10:06 p.m. EST

Space Shuttle Program

The Space Shuttle program was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972. The Space Shuttle system—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank— carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and lands as a glider. Although the concept had been explored since the late 1960s, the program formally commenced in 1972 and was the focus of NASA's manned operations after the final Apollo and Skylab flights in the mid-1970s. It started with the launch of the first shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. and finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011.