Crew transport vehicle

For the Chevrolet minivan, see Chevrolet Astro.

Shuttle era Astrovan drives in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building.

The Crew Transport Vehicle, also known as the Astrovan, is a NASA vehicle used at the Kennedy Space Center to transport astronauts from the Operations and Checkout Building to the launch pad before a launch mission, to the pad for launch dress rehearsals, and back to Operations and Checkout Building following a shuttle landing.^[1]

According to driver Ronnie King, the astronauts like the history-filled vehicle, even if it is somewhat old, and even argued against upgrading the vehicle. "We were staged to get a new one," King said, and added that word came that the rookie astronauts wanted to keep the vehicle that was a tradition of the astronauts who traveled those nine miles to the pad before them.^[1]

During the twenty-minute drive from the Operations and Checkout Building to the launch pad for shuttle launches, the Astrovan usually stops at least once along the way. An astronaut rides with the crew to the Shuttle Landing Facility, and is let off there to board the Shuttle Training Aircraft and assess local weather conditions. Senior NASA management often ride along as well, and are dropped off at the Launch Control Center.^[1]

Versions

• The current model, best known as the Astrovan, is a modified 1983 Airstream Excella motorhome, and has been in use since the STS-9 mission in November 1983.
• A Chrysler-built people mover vehicle similar to vehicles at airports in Washington and Baltimore was retrofitted to transport shuttle crew at Edwards Air Force Base.^[2]
• Early shuttle flights had fewer crew members, so they used the Apollo-era astronaut transport van. That vehicle is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's Apollo/Saturn V Center.^[1]

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  Apollo-era Astrovan interior

• 

  mobile lounge style crew transport vehicle at Edwards Air Force Base

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  mobile lounge style vehicle at Kennedy Space Center

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  Astronaut transport van used by NASA for Apollo and early Shuttle missions

See also

• Space Shuttle
• Mobile Quarantine Facility

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Mansfield, Cheryl L (2008). "Catching a Ride to Destiny". NASA.gov. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/astrovan.html. Retrieved July 13, 2009. 
2. ^ STS40 image library