WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - This aerial view of STS-1 shows the space vehicle for the first Space Shuttle mission shortly after it was moved out of the Vehicle Assembly Builidng's High Bay 3 for the 3.5-mile journey to Pad A at Launch Complex 39. In the center background is the Launch Control Center from which countdowns for Space Shuttle missions will be conducted. The rollout to the pad took place little more than a month after the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia was rolled from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the VAB for mating on a Mobile Launcher Platform with the STS-1 external tank and solid rocket boosters.