"Thunderbird 2 is GO!"

Thunderbird 2 is to conduct a photo reconnaissance of all 50 States in the USA. Once a photo is taken the current pilot will post the photos on the mission board. Upon completing the reconnaissance of all 50 States Thunderbird 2 is to continue it's mission towards Central and South America to conduct further photo reconnaissance.

The workhorse of International Rescue's fleet, Thunderbird 2 carries all heavy rescue equipment to the danger zone in one of six massive equipment pods. Upon landing, Thunderbird 2 rises up on four telescoping legs, leaving the pod on the ground. The pod door opens to reveal... well, what amazing machine do you think will come down the ramp this week?
Thunderbird 2 Specification
Pilot
Virgil Tracy, third son of Jeff Tracy. Virgil has an artistic temperament, is a competent pianist and also paints.
Hangar
Secret cavern behind the cliff face below the cliff house, which also has Brains' workshops and maintenance machinery and the equipment pod conveyor belt.
Access to Vehicle
Virgil leans against a full-length rocket painting in the main house, which tips him onto a slide-chute car that takes him via TB1's hangar and an extending boarding tube to the flightdeck of TB2, where hitting the footplate causes his pilot seat to unfold and lock down. A separate passenger lift descends directly from the main house kitchen, arriving after preflight checks.
Launch Sequence
The artificial cliff face retracts below ground, a ramp folds down over the gap and TB2 rolls out onto the island's small airstrip. To accommodate TB2's huge wingspan, the palm trees lining the strip swing over in their buckets and TB2 proceeds to the end of the strip, where a ramp raises it to 30° and a blast-deflector rises behind the main engines. TB2 blasts off with rocket assist.
Power Plant
Nuclear reactor for main power, situated aft. Lateral turbine engines, with bled off vectored thrust nozzles under the main body fore and aft, for low-level loitering, hover and VTOL capability. Tail boom ramjet array for high altitude speed cruising, when the airframe of TB2 functions like a lifting-body. Rocket assisted rear boost, and VTOL boost, for takeoff.
Equipment
Six pods, carried centrally, containing various machines. Dorsal hatch with air-to-air rescue equipment and retracting missile launcher. Ventral hatch with medium grapple. Forward ventral retracting nose cannon. Lateral observation windows with magnetic limpet guns. One pod has a ventral hatch and large grapple for retrieving larger tracked vehicles.
Pod Rescue Vehicles
Elevator Cars: one master, three robot slave vehicles, six-wheelers with pneumatic elevating platforms, designed to track and catch aircraft landing without undercarriage.
Recovery Vehicles: one master, one robot slave, tracked vehicles each firing twin magnetic limpet grapples to haul trapped machines out of pits or back over precipices.
The Mole: tunnelling machine with screw-thread cutting drill and lateral tracks for returning up bore shaft; carried to bore site on a tracked vehicle which elevates to drill.
The Firefly: fireproof, rubble-clearing tractor with scoop blade and nitro cannon for shifting stubborn debris, used with the Domo or the Mole in fire emergencies.
The Domo: Demolition and Object Moving Operator, a tracked vehicle with three large sucker cup arms, used for restraining walls of collapsing buildings, in case of earthquake or fire.
Transmitter Truck: all-terrain quad-tracked vehicle with steerable front track set, supporting a parabolic transmitter for deep-space telemetry; operates from mountain tops.
The Monobrake: low-cut vehicle with elevating platform, for service and rescue inside monorail tunnels, half-tracked.
The Tunneller: tracked vehicle with claw scoops and water jets, for clearing fallen mineshaft and tunnel entrances.
The Hoverbed: small vehicle with large upwards-blowing fan unit, used as a mattress for catching people trapped in high places who have to jump to safety.
The Neutraliser: small tracked vehicle with sonic beam gun designed to disable the timers and arming circuits on terrorist bombs.
The Laser Cutter: small tractor with single cutting laser beam, to handle larger cases where forced entry is needed than is possible with handheld cutting equipment.
Rescue Pack Cannon: similar tractor which fires shells which are capsules of personal rescue equipment, such as rope, harnesses or medical supplies.
Thunderbird 4: miniature submarine launched from pod 4, which is released into the sea while Thunderbird 2 is hovering. A ramp extends from the pod into the sea to retrieve later.