KSC-06pd1957

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Crawler-transporter No. 2 makes its way toward Launch Pad 39B (in the background). The crawler is being moved nearby in the event the mission management team decides to roll back Space Shuttle Atlantis due to Hurricane Ernesto. The hurricane has been forecast on a heading north and east from Cuba, taking it along the eastern coast of Florida. NASA's lighted launch window extends to Sept. 13, but mission managers are hoping to launch on mission STS-115 by Sept. 7 to avoid a conflict with a Russian Soyuz rocket also bound for the International Space Station. The crawler is 131 feet long, 113 feet wide and 20 feet high. It weights 5.5 million pounds unloaded. The combined weight of crawler, mobile launcher platform and a space shuttle is 12 million pounds. Unloaded, the crawler moves at 2 mph. Loaded, the snail's pace slows to 1 mph. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett