Summary

Description	MS. STILSON: Last question. Jonathan from St. Louisville asks, during launch, why is there so much steam on the launch pad? MR. LYONS: Well, early in the program, we found that we had a lot of vibration when we launched. And this vibration was damaging some of our tile. So in an attempt to keep that from happening, we designed a system that actually floods or dumps hundreds of thousands of gallons of water onto the launch pad. And this keeps that vibration from being a problem. When the heat from the engines hit the water, it creates all the steam you see during liftoff. MS. STILSON: Doug, I know what a busy time this is for you, so it means a lot that you took time to join us today. We're all looking forward to a great launch. MR. LYONS: Well, Stephanie, it's been great to be here. And I, too, really am looking forward to Wednesday. It's going to be a great moment.
Date	2005-07-18
Source	images.nasa.gov

Licensing

Public Domain (US Government Work)