launch tower
Vertical rocket support
A launch tower is a tall structure at a rocket launch site that provides access, support, and umbilical connections to a spacecraft before liftoff.
The tower typically includes platforms for crew entry, fueling lines, and electrical connections that detach at launch.
SpaceX's "chopstick" tower, designed to catch returning boosters, has expanded what launch towers can do: The launch tower caught the Super Heavy booster mid-air.
- launchpadRocket departure platform
- rocketPropulsion-driven spacecraft
- gantryOverhead spanning framework
- countdownBackward enumeration to zero
- liftoffMoment of ascent
NASA · SpaceX · umbilical · scaffolding · swing arm · ignition · blast · thrust · smoke · flames · mission · astronaut · Cape Canaveral · fueling · crew · access · arm · retract
- space explorationrockets, Saturn V, satellites, mission, Falcon Heavy
- Rocket Launchesliftoff, countdown, ignition, blast off, booster
- rocketryrocket, rockets, rocket fuel, rocket engine, rocket engines
- Apollo hardwarecommand module, lunar module, Saturn V, service module, lunar rover
- launcherscatapult, trebuchet, cannon, ballista, slingshot
- Space CoastKennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, NASA, space shuttle, astronaut