Mobile Launcher Platform 3
Encyclopedia
Mobile Launcher Platform
The Mobile Launcher Platform or MLP is one of three two-story structures used by NASA to support the Space Shuttle stack during its transportation from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center as well as serve as the vehicle's launch platform...
s used at Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
Launch Complex 39
Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39
Launch Complex 39 is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, USA. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built for the Apollo program, and later modified to support Space Shuttle operations. NASA began modifying LC-39 in 2007 to...
. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was used for Saturn V
Saturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
and Saturn IB
Saturn IB
The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use in the Apollo program...
launches, and it is now used by the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
.
Saturn
Apollo 4
Apollo 4, , was the first unmanned test flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, which was ultimately used by the Apollo program to send the first men to the Moon...
. Following this, it was used for two manned Apollo launches; Apollo 8
Apollo 8
Apollo 8, the second manned mission in the American Apollo space program, was the first human spaceflight to leave Earth orbit; the first to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of another celestial body; and the first crewed voyage to return to Earth from another celestial...
and Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
. After NASA decided to move Saturn IB launches from LC-34
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34 is a launch site on Cape Canaveral, Florida. LC-34 and its twin to the north, LC-37, were used by NASA as part of the Apollo Program to launch Saturn I and IB rockets from 1961 through 1968...
to LC-39, it was modified by the addition of a structure known as the Milkstool, which allowed the Saturn IB to use the same Launch Umbilical Tower as the much larger Saturn V. Three manned flights to Skylab
Skylab
Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...
, and the Apollo launch for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
-Backup crew:-Crew notes:Jack Swigert had originally been assigned as the command module pilot for the ASTP prime crew, but prior to the official announcement he was removed as punishment for his involvement in the Apollo 15 postage stamp scandal.-Soyuz crew:...
were conducted from ML-1 using the Milkstool.
Prior to the scrapping of the LUT in 2004, there had been a campaign to rebuild and preserve it as a memorial to Project Apollo. The Crew access arm is preserved at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is the visitor center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It features exhibits and displays, historic spacecraft and memorabilia, shows, two IMAX theaters, a range of bus tours of the spaceport, and the Shuttle Launch Experience, a simulated ride into...
.
Space Shuttle
Following the launch of Skylab, ML-1 was the last Mobile Launcher to be converted for use by the Space Shuttle. The Launch Umbilical Tower and Milkstool were dismantled and placed into storage, and the base of the launch platform was modified to accommodate the locations of engines on the Shuttle. The platform was redesignated MLP-3.In total, MLP-3 has been used for twenty nine Shuttle launches, starting in 1990. It is the least used of the three Mobile Launcher Platforms.
Launch history
| Date/Time (GMT) | Rocket | Mission | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 November 1967, 12:00 | Saturn V Saturn V The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload... SA-501 |
Apollo 4 Apollo 4 Apollo 4, , was the first unmanned test flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, which was ultimately used by the Apollo program to send the first men to the Moon... |
Maiden flight of Saturn V |
| 21 December 1968, 12:51 | Saturn V Saturn V The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload... SA-503 |
Apollo 8 Apollo 8 Apollo 8, the second manned mission in the American Apollo space program, was the first human spaceflight to leave Earth orbit; the first to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of another celestial body; and the first crewed voyage to return to Earth from another celestial... |
First manned flight to selenocentric orbit |
| 16 July 1969, 13:32 | Saturn V Saturn V The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload... SA-506 |
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was... |
First manned lunar landing |
| 25 May 1973, 13:00 | Saturn IB Saturn IB The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use in the Apollo program... SA-206 |
Skylab 2 Skylab 2 -Backup crew:-Support crew:*Robert L. Crippen*Richard H. Truly*Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr*William E. Thornton-Mission parameters:*Mass: 19,979 kg*Maximum Altitude: 440 km*Distance: 18,536,730.9 km... |
Manned LEO research flight |
| 28 July 1973, 11:10 | Saturn IB Saturn IB The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use in the Apollo program... SA-207 |
Skylab 3 Skylab 3 Skylab 3 was the second manned mission to Skylab. The Skylab 3 mission started July 28, 1973, with the launch of three astronauts on the Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 59 days, 11 hours and 9 minutes... |
Manned LEO research flight |
| 16 November 1974, 14:01 | Saturn IB Saturn IB The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use in the Apollo program... SA-208 |
Skylab 4 Skylab 4 Skylab 4 was the fourth Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew on board the space station. The mission started November 16, 1973 with the launch of three astronauts on a Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 84 days, 1 hour and 16 minutes... |
Manned LEO research flight |
| 15 July 1975, 19:50 | Saturn IB Saturn IB The Saturn IB was an American launch vehicle commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for use in the Apollo program... SA-210 |
ASTP Apollo Apollo-Soyuz Test Project -Backup crew:-Crew notes:Jack Swigert had originally been assigned as the command module pilot for the ASTP prime crew, but prior to the official announcement he was removed as punishment for his involvement in the Apollo 15 postage stamp scandal.-Soyuz crew:... |
ASTP ASTP ASTP might refer to:* Apollo–Soyuz Test Project* Advanced Space Transportation Program* Army Specialized Training Program... , final flight of a Saturn Saturn (rocket family) The Saturn family of American rocket boosters was developed by a team of mostly German rocket scientists led by Wernher von Braun to launch heavy payloads to Earth orbit and beyond. Originally proposed as a military satellite launcher, they were adopted as the launch vehicles for the Apollo moon... rocket |
| STS-32 STS-32 STS-32 was the 33rd mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the 9th launch of Space Shuttle Columbia. Launching on 9 January 1990, it marked the first time since STS-61-C that Pad A at Kennedy Space Center's Complex 39 was used for a launch; it also marked the first use of Mobile Launcher... |
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| STS-35 STS-35 -Crew notes:Prior to the Challenger disaster, this mission was slated to launch in March 1986 as STS-61-E. Jon McBride was originally assigned to command this mission, which would have been his second spaceflight. He chose to retire from NASA in May 1989 and was replaced as mission commander by... |
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| STS-40 STS-40 -Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 39.0°*Period: 90.4 min-Mission highlights:Launch originally set for 22 May 1991... |
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| STS-48 STS-48 -Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 57.0°*Period: 96.2 min-Mission highlights:... |
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| STS-42 STS-42 STS-42 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission with the Spacelab module. Liftoff which was originally scheduled for 8:45 EST 22 January 1992, but the launch was delayed due to weather constraints. Discovery successfully lifted off an hour later at 9:52 EST . The main goal of the mission was to study... |
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| STS-50 STS-50 -Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.6 min- Mission highlights:... |
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| STS-52 STS-52 -Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.6 min-Mission highlights:... |
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| STS-55 STS-55 -Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter landing with payload: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.7 min-Mission highlights:... |
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| STS-51 STS-51 STS-51 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission that launched the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite ACTS in September 1993. The flight also featured the deployment and retrieval of the SPAS-ORFEUS satellite and its IMAX camera, which captured spectacular footage of Discovery in space... |
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| STS-60 STS-60 STS-60 was the first mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried Sergei K. Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Discovery, which lifted off from Launch Pad 39A on 3 February 1994 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida... |
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| STS-65 STS-65 STS-65 is a Space Shuttle program mission of Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 8 July 1994. The flight was commanded by Robert D... |
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| STS-66 STS-66 STS-66 was a Space Shuttle program mission that was flown by the Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-66 launched on 3 November 1994 at 11:59:43.060 am EDT from Launch Pad 39-B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center... |
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| STS-71 STS-71 STS-71 was the third mission of the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir Program, which carried out the first Space Shuttle docking to Mir, a Russian space station. The mission used Space Shuttle Atlantis, which lifted off from launch pad 39A on 27 June 1995 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida... |
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| STS-73 STS-73 STS-73 was a Space Shuttle program mission, during October–November 1995. The mission was the second mission for the United States Microgravity Laboratory. The crew, who spent 16 days in space, were broken up into 2 teams, the red team and the blue team... |
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| STS-75 STS-75 STS-75 was a United States Space Shuttle mission, the 19th mission of the Columbia orbiter.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: payload*Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°*Period: 90.5 min-Mission objective:... |
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| STS-78 STS-78 STS-78 was the fifth dedicated Life and Microgravity Spacelab mission for the Space Shuttle program, flown partly in preparation for the International Space Station project... |
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| STS-80 STS-80 -Mission parameters:* Mass: payload* Perigee: * Apogee: * Inclination: 28.5°* Period: 91.5 min-Mission highlights:* The mission deployed two satellites and successfully recovered them after they had performed their tasks.... |
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| STS-83 STS-83 STS-83 was a mission of the United States Space Shuttle Columbia.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Landing with payload: **MSL-1 Spacelab Module: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.5°... |
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| STS-85 STS-85 STS-85 was a Space Shuttle Discovery mission to perform multiple space science packages. It was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on 7 August 1997.-Crew:-Crew notes:... |
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| STS-89 STS-89 STS-89 was a space shuttle mission to the Mir space station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour, and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 22 January 1998.-Crew:-Crew notes:... |
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| STS-88 STS-88 -Mission parameters:*Weight*Liftoff: *Landing: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Orbital Period: 92.4min-Launch attempts:-Mission highlights:Node 1, named Unity, was the first space station hardware delivered by the space shuttle. It has two Pressurized Mating Adapters , one attached to either end... |
ISS ISS The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV... assembly, delivered Unity |
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| STS-99 STS-99 STS-99 was a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission, that launched on 11 February 2000 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The primary objective of the mission was the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission project.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:... |
SRTM | ||
| STS-92 STS-92 STS-92 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Discovery. STS-92 marked the 100th mission of the Space Shuttle... |
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| STS-102 STS-102 STS-102 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Discovery and launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida... |
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| STS-105 STS-105 STS-105 was a mission of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station, launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 10 August 2001. This mission was Discoverys final mission until STS-114, because Discovery was grounded for a refit, and then all Shuttles were grounded in the wake... |
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| STS-110 STS-110 STS-110 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station on 8–19 April 2002 flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis. The main purpose was to install the S0 Truss segment, which forms the backbone of the truss structure on the station.- Crew :... |
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| STS-112 STS-112 STS-112 was an 11-day space shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by . Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched on 7 October 2002 at 19:45 UTC from the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39B to deliver the 28,000 pound Starboard 1 truss segment to the Space Station... |
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| STS-114 STS-114 -Original crew:This mission was to carry the Expedition 7 crew to the ISS and bring home the Expedition 6 crew. The original crew was to be:-Mission highlights:... |
ISS ISS The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV... logistics with MPLM |
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| STS-124 STS-124 STS-124 was a Space Shuttle mission, flown by Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station. Discovery launched on 31 May 2008 at 17:02 EDT, moved from an earlier scheduled launch date of 25 May 2008, and landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, at 11:15... |
ISS ISS The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV... assembly, carried JEM-PM Japanese Experiment Module The Japanese Experiment Module , also known with the nickname , is a Japanese science module for the International Space Station developed by JAXA. It is the largest single ISS module. The first two pieces of the module were launched on space shuttle missions STS-123 and STS-124... |
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| STS-126 STS-126 -Crew notes:Originally scheduled to fly on STS-126 was Joan E. Higginbotham, who was a mission specialist on STS-116. On 21 November 2007, NASA announced a change in the crew manifest due to Higginbotham's decision to leave NASA to take a job in the private sector. Stephen G... |
ISS ISS The ISS is the International Space Station.ISS may also refer to:* I See Stars, an American electronic rock band* ISS A/S, a Danish service company* Idea Star Singer, a Malayalam music reality show by Asianet TV... resupply, carried MPLM |
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| STS-133 STS-133 STS-133 was the 133rd mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program; during the mission, Space Shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station. It was Discoverys 39th and final mission. The mission launched on 24 February 2011, and landed on 9 March 2011... |
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| STS-135 STS-135 STS-135 was the final mission of the American Space Shuttle program. It used the orbiter Atlantis and hardware originally processed for the STS-335 contingency mission, which was not flown. STS-135 launched on 8 July and was originally scheduled to land on 20 July 2011, but the mission was... |
Final Space Shuttle mission |