The Freedom Star, one of NASA’s solid rocket booster retrieval ships, is tied up at Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida with a solid rocket booster alongside. The booster is from space shuttle Endeavour, which launched the STS-123 mission on March 11.
The space shuttle’s solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware were recovered at sea. The boosters impacted the Atlantic Ocean approximately seven minutes after liftoff. The splashdown area was a square of about 6 by 9 nautical miles located about 140 nautical miles downrange from the launch pad. The retrieval ships were stationed approximately 8 to 10 nautical miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. As soon as the boosters enter the water, the ships accelerated to a speed of 15 knots and quickly closed on the boosters, which they towed back to port. At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the expended boosters were disassembled, refurbished and reloaded with solid propellant for reuse.
Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
Mar. 12, 2008