Image #220105

The trip to orbit for astronauts who rode the Space Shuttle began in this specially-modified Airstream Astrovan currently on display in the Atlantis exhibit at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. For 27 years the Astrovan carried astronauts for all the Space Shuttle missions. Used only for launch rehearsals and on launch day, the Astrovan averaged nine miles a trip each way from the Astronaut Crew Quarters to the launch pad eventually racking up 26,500 miles on the odometer during its years of service.