Technicians hoisted Discovery to the vertical position overnight in preparation to attach the orbiter to the external tank during the coming week.
Discovery will roll out to the launch pad on Sept. 30 in preparation for an Oct. 23 launch on a construction mission to the International Space Station.
2 comments:
Why do they just let it hang there? You would think that once lifted they would get it mated as soon as possible to avoid creating stresses on the airframe.
The fixture that lifts the orbiter creates less stress on the airframe than how it attaches to the ET. All of these factors were calculated into the original design. If you worked on this system you would know why it hangs as long as it does.
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