Mission: Apollo 16

Taken/released on: 13/12/1971

Apollo 16 Saturn V launch vehicle arrives at Launch Complex 39A

The Apollo 16 space vehicle, scheduled to launch astronauts John W. Young, Ken Mattingly II and Charles M. Duke, Jr., on a lunar landing mission March 17, was rolled out to Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday, December 13, 1971. The breakaway of the 111-meter-tall [363 feet-tall] vehicle and its mobile launcher from the Vehicle Assembly Bldg. came at 7:00 a.m. EST. The huge tracked transporter will carry the 5,715 metric-ton [12.6 million pound] load some 5.6 kilometer [3.5 miles] to the launch pad during the six hour trip. Viewing the rollout were guests from surrounding communities and an estimated 5,000 members of KSC employees' families. Command module pilot Mattingly was on hand to view a portion of the rollout. White command Young and lunar module pilot Duke was away from the center on a training exercise. After the Apollo 16 vehicle reached the pad, it will undergo a series of electrical, mechanical. and propulsion systems tests before going into the critical Flight Readiness Test January 31 through February 1 and the Countdown Demonstration Test February 24 through March 2. (Source: KSC)

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