Endeavour in the VAB

You know launch is getting close when you see a picture like this. Endeavour is currently in the VAB, or Vehicle Assembly Building, where the orbiter, external tank and solid rockets boosters are all attached and stacked vertically on the MLP, or Mobile Launch Platform. There are more acronyms that I could throw at you but I'll try to keep things simple for now. This momumental task should be completed tomorrow and at 4:00am EST on Jan 6, Endeavour will begin its rollout to the launchpad aboard the MLP. The mobile pad travels at half a mile per hour thus making the 3 1/2 mile trip out to the launch site in a mere 6 to 8 hours. The whole process is actually an engineering feat of its own.