Astronaut transfer van

The astronaut transfer van, known as the Astrovan during the Space Shuttle era, was a NASA vehicle used at the Kennedy Space Center to transport astronauts from the Operations and Checkout Building to the launch pad before a mission and for launch dress rehearsals, and back to the Operations and Checkout Building following a shuttle landing.

"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.

An astronaut rode with the crew and was let off near the Vehicle Assembly Building to board the Shuttle Training Aircraft and assess local weather conditions.

Senior NASA managers occasionally rode along as well, and were dropped off at the Launch Control Center.

[1] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.