6 Feb 11
T-38 Talon Trainer/Chase Plane T-38 Jets are used by NASA as both trainers for Shuttle Commanders and Pilots as well as Observation and Chase Planes for shuttle landings. It is the world's only supersonic trainer.
Astronauts often use the T-38s to travel back and forth between the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Texas and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, a flight of about 2.5 hours.
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6 Feb 11
Major Tom w/ Saturn V Capsule This was a bit before Major Tom's time but here he is with a Saturn V Capsule.
Did you know the Saturn V Rocket, at 363', was 3 feet taller then the Washington Monument, this is about as long as an American Football Field including the End-zones!
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6 Feb 11
Crawler-Transporter Here you can see one of NASAs 2 crawler-transporters which moved the assembled Shuttle mounted atop the Mobile Launcher Platform to the launch pad.
It weighs almost 3,000 tons when unloaded and top speeds are 2mph unloaded, 1mph loaded, though it often will not even reach that. And talk about a gas guzzler it gets 125.7 gal/mi or about 42 feet per gallon.
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6 Feb 11
VAB - Vehicle Assembly Building Here is the VAB were the shuttle is turned verticle and attached to the External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs).
It is 526 feet (160.3 m) tall, and to give you a idea of scale each of the Stripes you see on the US flag painted on its side is 8 feet wide, it also happens to be the largest painted US flag in the world.
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6 Feb 11
Launch Pad 39A w/ Discovery STS-133 Here the Shuttle Discovery sits on Pad 39A in preparation for launch as STS-133, after a delay due to hydrogen leaks it is next scheduled for launch attempt on 2/24/11... a fluke problem that added one more possible night launch to the schedule.
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6 Feb 11
Major Tom w/ Alan Shepard's Corvette Yes this Corvette really belongs to Alan Shepard and was loaned to KSC to be shown at the Saturn V Rocket Center.
Major Tom wanted to take a cruise but I had to pull rank and stop him.
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6 Feb 11
Major Tom & Major Snoopy Snoopy has been a long time part of the space program. When asked by NASA about letting Snoopy become a part of the safety awareness program his designer Charles Schultz loved the idea so much he granted a loyalty free license to NASA.
One of NASAs most prestigious awards is the "Silver Snoopy".
From Wikipedia:
The Silver Snoopy award is a special honor awarded to NASA employees and contractors for outstanding achievements related to human flight safety or mission success.
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6 Feb 11
Major Tom and Main Shuttle Engine This one brought back memories of the roar of the engines during takeoff. This picture is at Cache GCBD49 - "STS-107 Columbia (was Kennedy Space Center)".
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6 Feb 11
Major Tom saw some old friends Not all of Major Toms old buddies are retired, these 3 friends of his still have full time jobs.
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6 Feb 11
Major Tom in Apollo Capsule All the other astronaut would complain about being cramped in the Apollo Capsule, but Major Tom doesn't understand why as he thought there was plenty of room.
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6 Feb 11
Major Tom sets foot on the Moon Ok, it is a moon rock, and the one where he actually had his foot on the moon rock didn't come out. I had to be really sneaky pulling off this shot as muggles were around and NASA security likes to keep an eye on this item as it is the only moon rock the public can actually touch. All the security glass kept reflecting the flash but I managed to get this one to come out.
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6 Feb 11
Major Tom & VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) Here is Major Tom with the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where shuttles undergo final assembly for liftoff, in the background.
This picture is from Cache GCBD49 - "STS-107 Columbia (was Kennedy Space Center)".
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6 Feb 11
Major Tom with STS-133 Sorry for the blurriness, I had to use full zoom to catch Shuttle Discovery on the Pad for launch as STS-133. This picture is at Cache GCBD49 - "STS-107 Columbia (was Kennedy Space Center)".
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6 Feb 11
Major Tom on Tour Bus to Cache GCBD49 at KSC
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24 Jan 11
"Major Tom" (TB22D) resting among friends. Saw at CP5, here he sits on my office desk in what should be a familiar environment including a shuttle heat tile and my "Commanders Club" annual pass to Kennedy Space Center.
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12 Nov 10
Space Dude with Alien Dude
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5 Nov 10
Major Tom with Alien Life Form This is actully my wife's dog... who doesn't really look like a dog, more like an alien. Thought it's be cool to have Major Tom pose with the extra terrestrial. =)
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29 Aug 10
Major TOM Where am I?
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16 Mar 08
Major Tom with new Spaceship
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15 Mar 08
Chloe with Major Tom and Ducky Lucky
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