Paul Gutierrez congratulates employees for preparing the solid rocket booster aft skirt for mission STS-114 on schedule.

Paul Gutierrez, United Space Alliance associate program manager for the Solid Rocket Booster Element, congratulates employees in the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility for preparing the first (left) solid rocket booster aft skirt for mission STS-114 on schedule. The segment, seen behind Gutierrez, will be transferred to the Rotation Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) for stacking. At the RPSF an aft motor segment and an external tank attach ring will be installed. The stack will then be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for further build-up. This is the first transfer of a large piece of hardware from SRB to Ground Operations. It is a significant milestone in the march to Return to Flight.