A Cape Canaveral Launch. Seen here is the launch of the Spitzer Space Telescope, Aug. 25, 2003 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), launch pad 17-B. Any mission launch is prepared according to a more or less similar process. First the craft, satellite, or probe is brought to the Astrotech Space Operation, Titusville, Fla., close to Cape Canaveral launch complexes. There, it's attached to a payload attach fitting which will connect it to the launcher, or, depending on the mission, to the last upper stage of the launch vehicle. Once that done, this ensemble is placed in a protective payload canister and transported to the launch pad. The launch pad comprises a surelevated concrete platform on which stands the launch mast, and the mobile service tower. The latter is a tall, rail-mounted metallic gantry with a chamber in its upper part. It serves to the assembly of the launcher itself. It's there, for example, that the solid rocket boosters are mounted along the main stage. It's there too that, eventually, the craft fixed to its attach or to the launcher's upper stage, is mated to the launcher. A payload fairing, that is what gives the launch vehicle its conical nose, is then placed around it. When all operations are over, the mobile service tower is rolled back as the rocket now remains there, with the launch mast (right on the picture). The latter is the last device to connect the launcher Earth, linking it with various supplies, like the fuel or the communications. Then the launch process proper starts, and ... here we go! ... Liftoff! The mission heads to space. picture courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech