{author}        National Aeronautics and Space Administration

{date}          06-Apr-2005

{description}   KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. The broad, brilliant blue Florida sky
                silhouettes Space Shuttle Discovery as it creeps along the
                crawlerway toward the horizon, and Launch Pad 39B at NASAs
                Kennedy Space Center. First motion of the Shuttle out of the
                Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) was at 2:04 p.m. EDT. The Mobile
                Launcher Platform is moved by the Crawler-Transporter underneath.
                The Crawler is 20 feet high, 131 feet long and 114 feet wide. It
                moves on eight tracks, each containing 57 shoes, or cleats,
                weighing one ton each. Loaded with the Space Shuttle, the Crawler
                can move at a maximum speed of approximately 1 mile an hour. A
                leveling system in the Crawler keeps the Shuttle vertical while
                negotiating the 5 percent grade leading to the top of the launch
                pad. Launch of Discovery on its Return to Flight mission, STS-
                114, is targeted for May 15 with a launch window that extends to
                June 3. During its 12-day mission, Discoverys seven-person crew
                will test new hardware and techniques to improve Shuttle safety,
                as well as deliver supplies to the International Space Station.
                Discovery was moved on March 29 from the Orbiter Processing
                Facility to the VAB and attached to its propulsion elements, a
                redesigned ET and twin SRBs.

{highres}       3008 x 2000

{highsize}      840301

{hightype}      JPEG

{keywords}      NASA,KSC,Kennedy Space Center

{lowres}        320 x 212

{lowsize}       77727

{lowtype}       GIF

{mediumres}     1024 x 680

{mediumsize}    139141

{mediumtype}    JPEG

{number}        KSC-05PD-0604

{slideres}      120 x 108

{slidesize}     15500

{slidetype}     GIF

{tinyres}       100 x 66

{tinysize}      8288

{tinytype}      GIF

{title}         KSC-05PD-0604

{type}          Image

{end}