CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the turn basin at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a tug boat keeps the barge in place for the offloading of the girder for the new mobile launcher. The new mobile launcher will be the base for the Ares rockets to launch the Orion crew exploration vehicle and the cargo vehicle. The base is being made lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the added load of the 345-foot tower and taller rocket. When the structural portion of the new mobile launcher is complete, umbilicals, access arms, communications equipment and command/control equipment will be installed. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2009-1617
