Sound Suppression Test Unleashes a Flood

Image to left: Water soaks the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) on Launch Pad 39A at the peak of a Water Sound Suppression System test. Workers and the media (left) were on hand to witness the rare event. Click image for full size version. Credit: NASA/KSC

Image to right: Huge streams of water cascade down the sides of Launch Pad 39A. Click image for full size version.

Credit: NASA/KSC

Image to left: This close-up of a "rainbird" -- one of 16 huge nozzles on the Mobile Launcher Platform -- shows the force of the water as it jets across the pad. Click image for full size version. Credit: NASA/KSC

Jeff Stuckey and Anna Heiney

NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center