Editing Space Shuttle program (section)

==Support vehicles==

Many other vehicles were used in support of the Space Shuttle program, mainly terrestrial transportation vehicles.

* The [[crawler-transporter]] carried the [[mobile launcher platform]] and the Space Shuttle from the [[Vehicle Assembly Building]] (VAB) to [[Launch Complex&nbsp;39]], originally built for Project Apollo.
* The [[Shuttle Carrier Aircraft]] (SCA) were two modified [[Boeing 747]]s. Either could fly an orbiter from alternative landing sites back to the [[Kennedy Space Center]].<ref name="jenkins2016">{{cite book |last= Jenkins |first= Dennis R. |title= Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon − 1972–2013|isbn=978-1-58007-249-6 |publisher= Specialty Press |date= 2016}}</ref>{{rp|I–377, 382}} These aircraft were retired to the [[Joe Davies Heritage Airpark]] at the [[Armstrong Flight Research Center]] and [[Space Center Houston]].
* A 36-wheeled transport trailer, the Orbiter Transfer System, originally built for the [[U.S. Air Force]]'s launch facility at [[Vandenberg Air Force Base]] in California (since then converted for [[Delta&nbsp;IV rocket]]s) would transport the orbiter from the landing facility to the launch pad, which allowed both "stacking" and launch without utilizing a separate VAB-style building and crawler-transporter roadway. Prior to the closing of the Vandenberg facility, orbiters were transported from the [[Orbiter Processing Facility|OPF]] to the VAB on their undercarriages, only to be raised when the orbiter was being lifted for attachment to the SRB/ET stack. The trailer allowed the transportation of the orbiter from the OPF to either the SCA [[Mate-Demate Device|"Mate-Demate"]] stand or the VAB without placing any additional stress on the undercarriage.
* The [[Crew Transport Vehicle]] (CTV), a modified airport [[Mobile lounge|jet bridge]], was used to assist astronauts to egress from the orbiter after landing. Upon entering the CTV, astronauts could take off their launch and reentry suits then proceed to chairs and beds for medical checks before being transported back to the crew quarters in the [[Operations and Checkout Building]]. Originally built for Project Apollo.
* The [[Astronaut transfer van|Astrovan]] was used to transport astronauts from the crew quarters in the Operations and Checkout Building to the launch pad on launch day. It was also used to transport astronauts back again from the Crew Transport Vehicle at the [[Shuttle Landing Facility]].
* The three locomotives serving the [[NASA Railroad]], used to transport segments of the [[Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster]]s, were determined to be no longer needed for day-to-day operation at the Kennedy Space Center. In April 2015, locomotive No. 1 was sent to [[Natchitoches Parish Port]] and No. 3 sent to the [[Madison Railroad]]. Locomotive No. 2 was sent to the [[Gold Coast Railroad Museum]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=NASA Railroad rides into sunset|url=https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2015/05/23/nasa-railroad-rides-sunset/27784213/|work=Florida Today|date=May 23, 2015|access-date=November 27, 2022|first=James|last=Dean}}</ref>

{|
|[[File:Crawler-Transporter.jpg|thumb|right|Crawler-transporter No.2 ("Franz") in a December 2004 road test after track shoe replacement]]
|[[File:Shuttle mate demate facility.jpg|thumb|right|''Atlantis'' being prepared to be mated to the [[Shuttle Carrier Aircraft]] using the [[Mate-Demate Device]] following [[STS-44]].]]
|[[File:Freedom Star with SRB.JPG|thumb|[[MV Freedom Star|MV ''Freedom Star'']] was a [[NASA recovery ship]] for the [[Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster]]s]]
|}