At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the second section of a tower for a new mobile launcher, or ML, for the Constellation Program has been secured to the first. The launcher is being built at the mobile launcher park site area, located north of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building, to support the Ares I rocket.
Installation of the first section was on Sept. 24. The tower will have multiple platforms for personnel access and be approximately 345 feet tall. The ML will provide a base to launch the Ares I which will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle, its crew and cargo to low Earth orbit. The base is being made lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the heavier load of the tower and taller rocket. For information on the Ares I, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ares. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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