[Kramster]

I know that I’m going to embarrass myself by asking this question but here goes anyway -—
How is the shuttle supported-(upright) before launch?
I know that the spacecraft is not supported by the solid rocket booster nozzles on the launch pad, but how does the launch progress work?
Just askin’

[RightWhale]

spaceflightnbow.com

1517 GMT (11:17 a.m. EDT)

TI burn. The shuttle has performed the Terminal Initiation burn to begin the final phase of today’s rendezvous. The engine firing puts the shuttle on a trajectory to directly intercept the orbiting station over the next orbit and a half. This burn is the latest in a series of maneuvers performed by Discovery during its two days of chasing the station since launch Saturday.

Docking is anticipated shortly before 2 p.m. today.

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The assembly is bolted to the pad until liftoff. The bolts are explosive and ignited at the instant. This bolting down is necessary since it takes a while to develop full thrust and the assembly might flop around.