Space Shuttle Pictures: Rare Behind-the-Scenes Views

Follow the Leader
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
Two astronauts walk across the gantry and away from the space shuttle Discovery during a routine practice evacuation in March 2010 for the STS-131 mission. Seven astronauts would ultimately lift off aboard Discovery from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida the following month.
The picture is part of an independent series being created by photojournalist Philip Scott Andrews to document the end of the U.S. space shuttle program. In January 2004 U.S. President George W. Bush called for the shuttles to be retired in the wake of the shuttle Columbia disaster, in which seven astronauts perished when the vehicle disintegrated during reentry.
The shuttle Atlantis lifted off on the final space shuttle mission on July 8 and is close to the end of its 12-day visit to the International Space Station (ISS).
Called Last Days: The Final Flights of the Space Shuttle, Andrews' photo project offers a unique, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lives of astronauts, the ground crew, and the shuttles themselves as the 30-year program draws to a close.
"My father [veteran photographer Scott Andrews] has covered all but two of these things—133 launches. He's a total dork when it comes to this stuff," Andrews said. "When they announced the end of the shuttle program, we decided we're going to do a big project on this thing."
As Andrews and his father started work on that project—a time-lapse video of shuttle launch preparations—"I happened to be there with my film camera, so I started shooting a separate black-and-white project" that covers several of the final shuttle launches, Andrews said. Although the photos for Last Days were all taken during the past couple years, "I picked black-and-white because I wanted to draw parallels with the classic aesthetic of the Apollo generation."
—Victoria Jaggard
Published July 18, 2011
American Graffiti
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
The hatch of the space shuttle Discovery sits open on as seen from one of several "white rooms"—special clean rooms on the two launch pad walkways and inside the three Orbiter Processing Facilities, or OPFs, at Kennedy. Anyone entering or leaving a shuttle must pass through a white room.
"The crews of shuttle missions usually come visit the orbiter before takeoff and will sign the walls" of the white room, Andrews said. Several mission patches (right) also decorate this white room in OPF 3.
"Just going on board the shuttle was a pretty profound experience," Andrews said.
"It's not easy—you have to get down on your hands and knees and crawl through that hatch. After a few minutes of shooting, I stood back and made myself realize where I was and how few people actually get to be here."
(Related: "Space Shuttle Retirement Homes Announced.")
Published July 18, 2011
Engine Work
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
Shuttle technician Sean King reaches up to put a cover on one of Discovery's smaller steering engines in OPF 3. The shuttle had just returned from a mission to the ISS and was being prepared for its next flight.
"When an orbiter returns from a mission, the OPF becomes like a cocoon for the shuttle," Andrews said. "They wheel this thing in ... and go to work, turning it around so they can send it back up into space."
For the Last Days project, Andrews wanted to do more than show the familiar faces of astronauts. "I was really interesting in some of ground-crew workers, because you never see that, and they're a large part of why a shuttle flies," he said. "These guys are blue-collar workers, they ride Harley Davidsons to work. But they just happen to go to work every day to launch spaceships."
(Related pictures: "Space Shuttle Discovery's Milestone Moments.")
Published July 18, 2011
Lift Off
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
As if already hanging from the ceiling of a museum, a space shuttle is lofted high inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a maneuver that brings the shuttle to meet the "stack"—the combined assembly of the large, orange external fuel tank and two slim, white rocket boosters. When the shuttle and stack are connected, the entire structure gets carefully rolled out to the launch pad.
"They hook up the shuttle to a crane and lift it several stories," Andrews said. "It's a convoluted process, because the VAB was designed for the [slimmer] Saturn V rockets. To get a shuttle into position, they have to spin it at an angle in the air, because the wingspan is too big.
"You see the shuttle rising up in this enormous building, bigger in volume than the Pentagon, and it's almost silent—all you can hear is the whir of the crane. It really gives you a sense of scale."
(Also see "After Space Shuttle, Does U.S. Have a Future in Space?")
Published July 18, 2011
Memorial Plaque
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
In addition to signatures and patches, a plaque dedicated to the crew of STS-107, the ill-fated Columbia mission, sits on the wall of the OPF 3 white room.
"The signatures are from astronauts and support techs, and there's also a good mix of invited guests and famous people," such as Virgin Group chair Richard Branson and actor Clint Eastwood, Andrews said.
(Related: "Virgin Galactic Unveils First Tourist Spaceship.")
Published July 18, 2011
Finding Closure
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
Sitting on the hatch of the space shuttle Discovery, astronaut Rick Mastracchio becomes the calm eye in a storm of activity during a prelaunch practice for STS-131. Around him are members of what's known as the shuttle closeout crew.
"Their job is to get the astronauts loaded into the shuttle and secured in. They're the last ones to see them before they get buttoned up and close the hatch," Andrews said.
Although Discovery would fly one more time, STS-131 was the last shuttle launch for Mastracchio. (Also see "Shuttle Astronaut's Four Most Extraordinary Moments.")
Published July 18, 2011
Switched On
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
Bundled in a clean room suit, shuttle technician Al Schmidt checks the toggle switches in the main cabin of Discovery as the shuttle gets prepped for flight for the final time in OPF 3.
"This room is extremely small, probably the size of your average cubicle. The ceilings are pretty low, and there are switches covering almost every surface," Andrews said.
Discovery launched on its final mission February 24, 2011, carrying a new storage module, a humanoid robot, and other parts and supplies to the International Space Station. The shuttle was the first to be formally retired and is now being prepared for display at the Smithsonian's Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.

Published July 18, 2011
Career Men
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
Members of the closeout crew for STS-134 get the last astronaut aboard the space shuttle Endeavour during a practice run before launch. Endeavour lifted off for the last time on May 16, 2011. (Related pictures: "Space Shuttle Endeavour's Final Mission.")
No matter how many astronauts will fly on a mission, "the closeout crew includes seven people, and most of them have been doing this job for decades," Andrews said. "They're very close with the astronauts. They have to do their job correctly for the astronauts to be safe, so there's a lot of trust."
Published July 18, 2011
Heavy Lifting
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
A technician is dwarfed by one of the three main engines as he helps guide the engine into place on the space shuttle Discovery. After each flight, the reusable main engines are removed from the shuttle for inspection and maintenance.
To prepare for the next launch, the readied engines get raised on huge forklifts inside the VAB and reattached to the shuttle. Per engine, "it takes them several hours for the whole process, which means it's two or three days to get all three engines attached," Andrews said.
(Related video: "Space Shuttle History")
Published July 18, 2011
Walk of Fame
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
Astronauts step out of the gleaming silver Astrovan during a practice session for STS-131, as seen from the gantry that surrounds the space shuttle Discovery as it sits on the launch pad in March 2010.
"The astronauts are heading to an elevator that'll take them up to the shuttle. I'm shooting from where they're coming to," near the walkway that leads to the shuttle hatch, Andrews said.
The whole event is "like a dress rehearsal for launch. They run through everything as if they're about T-minus two hours down to pushing the button to go—except of course they don't go. Then they do evacuation training for getting off the orbiter" in the event of an engine misfire or other danger while the shuttle is still at the pad.
(Related: "Five Myths of Challenger Shuttle Disaster Debunked.")
Published July 18, 2011
Enjoying the View
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
A technician enjoys a rare quiet moment next to the space shuttle Discovery inside OPF 3.
"This is one of the first pictures I made on this project," Andrews said. "This is next to the midbody of the shuttle. It's covered with what they call the 'shower curtain'—a piece of plastic probably a couple millimeters think that covers the whole payload-bay area of the shuttle. It's meant to control airflow, but it's by no means impermeable."
(Also see "Last Chance to See Orbiting Shuttle With Naked Eyes.")
Published July 18, 2011
Rear Window
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
Discovery's payload bay sits open inside OPF 3 as seen through the rear window of the shuttle's flight deck. The orbiter is being prepared for its next launch into space.
This picture is a twist on a classic scene: "You always see photos taken in space looking out this window and onto the spacewalkers," Andrews said "This is from the same window, but as seen on Earth."
(Related pictures: "Twelve Endeavour Images to Remember.")
Published July 18, 2011
Up Close and Personal
Photograph by Philip Scott Andrews
Solid rocket boosters fire as the space shuttle Atlantis rises from Earth on November 16, 2009, kicking off STS-129. This picture was taken by a remote-operated camera placed roughly 1,200 feet (366 meters) from the shuttle.
"The shuttle makes a lot of noise when it goes off, and we exploit that using microphones to trigger the camera when the sound hits," Andrews said. "There are arguments on whether you'd die or not if you stood this close during launch," he added. "Either way, it wouldn't be advisable."
Although Atlantis will soon return to Earth from STS-135, marking the end of the U.S. shuttle program, Andrews says his work on Last Days is far from over. (Related pictures: "NASA's Last Shuttle Launch a Success.")
"The end of the project is opening day at the Smithsonian," he said, referring to the unveiling of Discovery as a museum exhibit. "I'm interested in the transition of these orbiters from tools to museum artifacts, so there's a lot left to shoot."
Published July 18, 2011