T O P I C R E V I E W |
heng44 | Space Shuttle Columbia is rolled out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A on August 31, 1981, in preparation for STS-2. The 3.5-mile trip aboard the crawler transporter began at 4:44 am and took 6.5 hours. |
oly | Great image. Every week I look forward to this post. Thank you. |
Rick Mulheirn | Great image Ed. Ethereal and beautiful in equal measure. Thank you! |
Mike Dixon | The last rookie mission and a painted external tank. |
Jonnyed | I am not well versed in shuttle history. What is meant by "rookie mission?" Does it mean first flight for the spacecraft? |
space1 | "Rookie" refers to a member of the crew not having a previous space flight. |
Jonnyed | Thanks... so this was the last time that all crew members on the shuttle were taking their first space flights. |
David C | And in this case it's a contentious statement (dare I say meaningless), since Joe Engle was awarded his USAF astronaut wings 16 years before STS-2. |
ringo67 | Beautiful photo taken on my 11th birthday. |