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Rare Photos of a Space Shuttle Being Assembled [PICS]

bmwsporttouring.com — For all you NASA geeks out there (like me!), here's how they actually do this....

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  • alanocu, on 04/03/2008, -20/+3the tank sorta looks like the Oscar Mayer wienermobile; great pics nonetheless
  • nunquam, on 04/03/2008, -3/+89There's been a lot of Shuttle porn on digg lately. The take off video is still my favourite http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yqdf6chs_c
    • mahdaeng, on 04/03/2008, -0/+21Shuttle porn?
      • lukasmach, on 04/03/2008, -1/+2Yeah, there are tons of astronomy-related photos on digg frontpage these days. I'd almost bet somebody's trying to train talgorithm to get a story on frontpage using some proxys or something.
      • Syphon8, on 04/03/2008, -0/+334.
      • kingvik, on 04/03/2008, -0/+2Rule 34.
    • romistrub, on 04/03/2008, -0/+3The complexity of this whole process makes me think we really need to invest in a space elevator soon. Anybody here know of the progress on this endeavour (are there even plans to build one yet?)?
    • Connormac44, on 04/03/2008, -3/+1I feel like all this footage is putting our national security wildly at risk.
      Just kidding.
    • Trav3133, on 04/03/2008, -1/+1I was upset when the link was not a certain music video.
    • burnin8r28, on 04/03/2008, -0/+5this is a good one too:
      http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=f2b1D5w82yU

      btw thats a rickroll...this reply section felt empty
  • joe122370, on 04/03/2008, -18/+7they'd be rare if that hadn't been forwarded all over the world in emails for the last year or two
    • MrSidnet, on 04/03/2008, -1/+1Well, once they are on the internet, and dozens of copies could be (and most likely are) made, they are no longer rare. Just seems like the tag "Rare" is like the tag "Amazing". Just to get the extra diggs.
      Very nice gallery though.
  • BigKeg, on 04/03/2008, -27/+21The chick riding the engine looks hot!
    • Ub3rL33ch, on 04/03/2008, -2/+7pfft, freakin size queen!
    • DeadFox1, on 04/03/2008, -7/+1-1 for not saying "i'd hit that"
    • ShempRider, on 04/03/2008, -6/+2A good comment from the, well, comments section: "Hang up and drive!"
      • ShempRider, on 04/03/2008, -1/+0Oh, just bury me for re-commenting someone else's comment. At least I didn't plagiarize. That's just wrong.
    • directive0, on 04/03/2008, -1/+10Hot or not, she's got a cooler job then you do!
    • r3574r7, on 04/03/2008, -0/+2Really?
  • hazard, on 04/03/2008, -15/+3RIP
  • Arock66, on 04/03/2008, -2/+239That was a lot cooler than I was expecting.
    • GregofJersey, on 04/03/2008, -3/+1Hang up and drive!
    • RhodesSkolar, on 04/03/2008, -3/+0Pretty expensive slide show. I know a child who needs new kidneys.
    • lilSears, on 04/03/2008, -0/+4Seriously. It boggles my mind how we're able to do this time and time again with ridiculous reliability. It seems impossible to do all this. Replacing those horribly complicated engines, ripping apart the shuttle and putting it all back together and keeping everything under control during launch.
  • martynda, on 04/03/2008, -3/+47So that's why the launch platform has that huge thing on the left side! I had no idea the payload gets inserted at the launchpad.
    • TimmyA, on 04/03/2008, -0/+11Yeah, that's the Rotating Service Structure. It's also used to protect the Orbiter from weather, etc.

      Here you go: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/r ...
    • FenrisUlf, on 04/03/2008, -0/+5Yeah, I'm surprised too, I always thought they loaded the payload in the VAB. Reading the NASA link, I guess it streamlines the assembly process, and because they already needed a structure like that for various umbilicals. It also keeps the payload away from the Florida climate, no reason to have to design them to handle both space *and* swamp weather.
  • ghaltmann, on 04/03/2008, -3/+31Space is so rad.
    • mrmrok, on 04/03/2008, -8/+1especially the gap between a hottie's thighs!
  • madmax85, on 04/03/2008, -0/+15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Atlantis_on_Shu ...
  • amrhassan, on 04/03/2008, -8/+6WOW
  • om3ga, on 04/03/2008, -14/+3"External Tank in VAB" — is it just me or does it look like a giant boob?
  • zosoIV, on 04/03/2008, -8/+3When I watch a shuttle launch, I never think about the vast amount of technology it takes to make that possible. The size of those structures are just massive!
    Plus, the fuel tank looks like a giant turd.
  • neocognitism, on 04/03/2008, -17/+1Thank God this wasn't a Badastronomer submission. His writing is awful.
    • moomeep, on 04/05/2008, -1/+1wow, didn't know richard hoagland had a digg account... lol =p
  • GilliamOS, on 04/03/2008, -11/+1These are pretty low quality pictures compared to the same ones I've seen before. Guess the poster felt the need to add text to them making them even lower quality.
  • tinkafoo, on 04/03/2008, -2/+10I expected a Reliant Robin in there somewhere.

    (That's what I get for watching too much British television..)
  • itzdiceman, on 04/03/2008, -3/+198I wish we put more money into the space program. It's so much cooler than Iraq.
    • one1plus1one, on 04/03/2008, -1/+41We probably could have established a base on the moon for the price the USA is paying for the Iraq war.

      We could have thrown in other missions as well, such as a submarine mission to the ocean that is likely awaiting us under Jupiter's moon Europa, and perhaps even a human mission to one of Mars' moons, or extra funding for the private space-tourism industry.
      • Rocketbird, on 04/06/2008, -0/+1nah let's blow people up instead [/joke]
    • jjmckay, on 04/03/2008, -5/+3The private sector is starting to enter space. If you directly put your money into that then there's no need for the often corrupt and wasteful political processes. With private sector space travel, supply and demand forces can start to work to put everyday people like you and I into space without the use of coercion as the Feds do to get their monies.
      • nedev, on 04/03/2008, -1/+5NASA is "corrupt and wasteful" now? Let's not forget basic research is one of the classic market failures, and most of space flight research still falls in that category.
        • jjmckay, on 04/04/2008, -1/+1Sometimes, absolutely they are corrupt and wasteful. Doesn't mean there is no value to NASA either.. But look closely and instead of seeing just the propaganda machine, you'll see more.
      • poopz, on 04/03/2008, -1/+6did a private company land on the moon? nope
        federal tax dollars accomplished it. we can do great things if we have the right focus (as opposed to starting some stupid war in the middle east, etc etc)
        • jjmckay, on 04/04/2008, -1/+1The evidence points to the fact that we don't have the right focus on the political front. That's the point of my reply to the original post. You can hope things will change, or you can take action in the private sector to make things happen directly without the need for the political process.

          For as long as we rely on government to solve our problems, we'll have a limitless supply of problems.
      • fuzzmeister, on 04/04/2008, -1/+3Just because the government does some bad things with money doesn't mean that all government uses of money are bad. There are some types of research done by NASA that are very expensive and have no viable commercial purpose (and thus wouldn't be pursued by private industry), but are critical to the advancement of humanity.
        • jjmckay, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1True. You are off topic though. The original post requested more money into space program(s) and I answered his question by telling him he didn't have to rely on government programs for that. Its true, too. You don't have to wait for the political process. Private sector will bring space travel to the masses, government won't. I would still call space travel a type of space program.
      • BEloftyIRONS, on 04/04/2008, -0/+3I'm a libertarian. But I like NASA and doesn't bother me they are funded by the government. It is one of the most respect organization around. Just the fact we send human beings into space is something I will never not be amazed by. They are just things the private sector cannot do. Sure we had the first private space that went into space. It is still not comparable the great achievements NASA has done.
        • BEloftyIRONS, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1I'm a libertarian. But I like NASA and doesn't bother me they are funded by the government. It is one of the most respect organization around. Just the fact we send human beings into space is something I will never not be amazed by. They are just things the private sector cannot do. Sure we had the first private space craft that went into space. It is still not comparable the great achievements NASA has done. Their is room in the world for both NASA and a private space program.
  • Stone420, on 04/03/2008, -2/+25Tag for Pic 15

    "Guess were I'm calling from"
    • fullstop102, on 04/04/2008, -0/+2I was thinking more on the lines of "Mini-me Stop humping the lazzzzzer"
    • Intamin, on 04/04/2008, -0/+2"Hey are you busy?"

      "Nah, just assembling the space shuttle, what's up?"
  • carnag3aus, on 04/03/2008, -0/+8Thanks for posting, it is pretty incredible if you ask me.
    • BTConan, on 04/03/2008, -0/+4I was just about to ask you, actually. You're two steps ahead of me.
  • bobbybebob, on 04/03/2008, -2/+2thats pretty cool how they pickup the shuttle and attach it too the fuel tanks http://uploadingit.com/view/518417_56jok
    • Just, on 04/03/2008, -1/+1You do like to use uploadingit.com as your mirror dont you
      what about uploading a zipfile with all of them at once ?
  • njum, on 04/03/2008, -2/+4That is fuc*in impressive. Great! Wow!
  • mackycorp, on 04/03/2008, -7/+5It's kind of sad that I don't see a single hard hat in any of those pictures. And walking under suspended loads? Come on. At least the lady on the lift is wearing fall protection.
    • shaymein, on 04/03/2008, -1/+7i was wondering the same thing... no hard hats... but.. considering anything that would fall from those ceilings or shuttle parts would probably crush you completely...
      • davincid, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1I think the point with the hard hat's is they to protect you from bumping your head on things over head and other more minor incidents like if someone drops a wrench while working above. Not for just when space shuttles fall on top of you.
    • fandyboy, on 04/03/2008, -1/+11I don't think a hard hat is going to be much use if a space shuttle lands on your face.
    • papashawn, on 04/03/2008, -0/+2A hard hat wouldn't do much if anything landed on your face.
    • cougar618, on 04/03/2008, -2/+1I bet you wear chem goggles when you cook.
    • mackycorp, on 04/03/2008, -0/+0Yeah, sure, a hard hat won't do ***** if the shuttle falls on your head, but it can be a life saver if somebody working above you drops a wrench. I've had industrial (and nuclear) safety drilled into my brain for the past few years because of where I work. Noticing this crap becomes second nature.

      And no, I don't wear chem goggles to cook....I wear a thermal bunny suit.
  • charlie763, on 04/03/2008, -1/+5I like this one: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y164/E30TECH/shut ...

    And I can't talk on my mobile phone while driving?
    • DevinOlsen, on 04/03/2008, -0/+2I think it's a headset to communicate with the guy moving the thing that she's sitting on. She's probably telling him where it needs to go..
    • PawtucketPat, on 04/03/2008, -0/+1I dugg this article for that pic. Now I just need to know where I can get that engine :)
  • thedogfatherx, on 04/03/2008, -0/+9I love these kinds of submissions. Thanks!
    • jonnyboy1544, on 04/03/2008, -1/+1Where do they put that foam that comes off on reentry and kills people??
  • Stone420, on 04/03/2008, -0/+2Movie from crawler to launch to space.
    Really nice views

    http://2.0web.tv/index.php?option=com_seyret&task= ...
    • antdude, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1Too bad it doesn't show more details.
  • directive0, on 04/03/2008, -3/+4Imagine those cables snapped with that stuff just hanging there? That would be an expensive accident.
    • BenKenobi88, on 04/03/2008, -0/+5Pretty sure any accident with NASA will be an expensive one...
  • neocognitism, on 04/03/2008, -13/+3Thank God this wasn't a Badastronomer submission. His writing is awful.

    I mean, it sucks ass, and so do his fans.
  • martinherrera, on 04/03/2008, -9/+3enter fake British Accent---

    Does that make you Horny?
  • dmallymally, on 04/03/2008, -0/+2Very cool. our teachers used to let us go outside so we could watch them go up. we lived hours away but you could def still see them.
  • krolm, on 04/03/2008, -4/+5looks like a pain in the ass to assemble. ikea needs to make them a manual.
    • warp25, on 04/03/2008, -0/+6but they'll have a few screws leftover at the end... then what do you do?
      • Misogyny, on 04/03/2008, -0/+5Put 'em in the box with all the leftover heat-tiles and o-rings.
  • synyster, on 04/03/2008, -0/+6amazed by those engineering works, i can only say EPIC!
  • Sharky35, on 04/03/2008, -5/+2In one pic... it looks like the person steering the engine into the Shuttle is talking on her cell phone.
    • MforMike, on 04/03/2008, -1/+2shes talking to the indian guy at tech support
  • IphtashuFitz, on 04/03/2008, -0/+7Interesting. I always assumed that the payload was installed into the shuttle while in the vertical assembly building. The photos show that the payload is brought out to the launchpad in its own container and hoisted into the launch assembly before the shuttle is brought out to the pad. So payloads are installed after the shuttle is at the pad.
  • vroom101, on 04/03/2008, -0/+7High-res look-down from 525 feet (160 meters) at Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-79) atop the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP): http://chamorrobible.org/images/photos/gpw-2005112 ...
    via photo 3 -> http://chamorrobible.org/gpw/gpw-20051129.htm
  • yngtimmy, on 04/03/2008, -0/+15Amazing how big everything is, and how every piece of equipment is custom made specifically for each job it does. I know she's almost 30 years old but I will miss seeing it launch. Somehow a rocket doesn't hold the awe of the space shuttle.
    • billbugger, on 04/03/2008, -0/+1i've been the the air and space museum near dulles virginia. They have one of the shuttles on display there. It looks big in the pictures here, but it's hard to understand how big it really is until your standing right next to it and you realize your car can fit into 1 of it's engines.
  • Spartandog, on 04/03/2008, -0/+4Wow, the sheer scale of things at NASA! People wonder why it's so expensive to send anything into space. Just the fact that you have to build special cranes to move those large parts alone must cost millions, plus all the crew to build those parts and keep them running. Factor in the engineers, scientists and maintenance, the outside contractors, the fuel for all those vehicles, and I haven't even mentioned the actual shuttle yet. Mind-boggling.
  • directive0, on 04/03/2008, -0/+10You know, I'm going to miss the shuttles when they're retired. It's actually a very beautiful airframe.
  • bbhart, on 04/03/2008, -1/+25VAB = Vehicle Assembly Building... not Vertical

    Nice pics, though.
    • FeartheKnighted, on 04/03/2008, -2/+1I'm glad someone finally caught that. n00bs
    • casuallyevil, on 04/03/2008, -1/+4Well, it USED to be called the vertical assembly building - so it's kind of the opposite of n00b.
  • EldenChang, on 04/03/2008, -0/+2amazing pictures!
  • DresNightfire, on 04/03/2008, -2/+3Discovery was always my favorite shuttle for over 10 years now.
  • warp25, on 04/03/2008, -0/+4Far out... it blows my mind how much engineering was needed just to assemble the shuttle. That's not even counting the people that design that thing in the first place.

    Looks like my dream of having a transformable Mecha in my lifetime faaaaar away.. sigh.
  • chussy, on 04/03/2008, -3/+1that lady speaking on her phone isn't good OHS
  • seantubridy, on 04/03/2008, -0/+15What an amazing piece of machinery. Looking at how complex all that is, it's amazing that things don't go wrong more often than they do.
  • ngross, on 04/03/2008, -2/+1With all the technology we have we cant figure out a better way to get those things into space?! Maybe a huge slingshot similar to a rail gun?
    Looking at these pictures, its amazing to see what humans are capable of.
  • DarKnight90, on 04/03/2008, -1/+17Best post on Digg today.
  • Flatlineskillz, on 04/03/2008, -0/+3Anyone else think its strange how beat up the bottom part of the shuttle looks in the 17th Pic from the top right before its lifted up and attached to the SRBs and ET? Thats where its exposed to the majority of the heat of re-entry IIRC. It looks like its covered in bird crap.
  • lburgguy, on 04/03/2008, -0/+34Why did it take 20 years for me to see cool pics of the Shuttle like that??
    • jjmckay, on 04/03/2008, -0/+1Maybe for the same reason as to why did it took the government 20 years to get people phones in the old Communist countries. Government work doesn't reward extra motivation. In encourages the opposite, actually.
  • Emery, on 04/03/2008, -4/+1How many of you read the caption in the first pic as 'External tank arrives by barge from Microsoft' ?
  • hovy101, on 04/03/2008, -5/+0Did anyone see the image of the lady using her cell phone while she inserted the engine???
    • mrSt1klBak, on 04/03/2008, -0/+1Did you see the two dozen posts that mention that picture???
  • itsswanny, on 04/03/2008, -6/+1These would be cooler if I hadn't received them in a forward from my grandma two years ago.
    • randomerratum, on 06/10/2008, -0/+2Your grandma would be cooler if she hadn't forwarded them to you two years ago.
  • Slowface, on 04/03/2008, -0/+32I'd like to see an assembly manual for that:
    "Congratulations on purchasing your very own space shuttle Discovery!
    Step 1: After lifting external tank (A) to vertical position, attach your solid rockets (B,C) (sold separately) ..."
    • Intamin, on 04/04/2008, -0/+1They could practice with LEGOs. I remember my LEGO space shuttle kit, it was awesome, until my mom stepped on it one day by accident.
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