To The Moon! (In a Minivan)

The Driver's Seat A partial Orion mock-up known as the ROC (reconfigurable operational cockpit) allows astronauts to evaluate the craft's control panel by going through simulations of critical stages of a mission. The ROC has already been used to resolve disputes about window design.

Pad 39-B has launched its share of historic missions, including the space shuttle Challenger, which killed seven astronauts. The first launch from 39-B was Apollo 10 --the formal dress rehearsal for Apollo 11 's landing on the moon--and it sent Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan to within 50,000 feet of the moon's surface. Coming home, the crew set what remains the record for the fastest manned vehicle: 24,791 miles per hour.

Pad 39-B could eventually inaugurate an era of less momentous but equally pioneering launches. It has been pulled from shuttle service and is already being rebuilt to launch Orion.