SpacePod: Tour of Atlantis and the Launchpad

Jason Rhian had the chance to see Atlantis up close and personal — both in the Vehicle Assembly Building and on the launchpad. Since this is the last shuttle to go through processing and rolling to the pad, his closeup shots are especially poignant. It’s been busy at KSC: within a thirteen-hour period Kennedy Space Center saw the final rollout of the shuttle program as Atlantis headed to Launch Complex 39A, the final landing of space shuttle Endeavour as well as Endeavour’s tow back to her OPF. And inclement weather played a role, too. Jason said, “This was an amazing couple of days, a real whirlwind of activity. I, like many, am both thrilled and saddened to be covering such an important historical milestone.”

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/

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