This view of a crawler transporter to the Mobile Launcher east park site is taken from the roof of the VAB.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this view of a crawler-transporter after moving NASA's new mobile launcher (ML) support structure from a construction site, north of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), to the Mobile Launcher east park site is taken from the roof of the VAB.

The base of the launcher is lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the heavier load of the tower and a taller rocket. Once there, the ML can be outfitted with ground support equipment, such as umbilicals and access arms, for future rocket launches. It took about two years to construct the 355-foot-tall structure, which will support NASA's future human spaceflight program. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann