NASA M113 Armored Escape Vehicle
Two photos of a NASA M113 at the Kennedy Space Center. The M113 Armored Personnel Carrier offered Apollo and Space Shuttle astronauts a safe vehicle to get away from the launch pad in the event of an emergency. During a shuttle launch, two M113s were at standby, less than one mile away from the launch pad - each with a crew of firefighters onboard. Another M113 was at an emergency bunker near the pad. The M113s have been retired and have been replaced by Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles which are faster and have 4-inch thick windows. In one of the photos, the iconic "Vehicle Assembly Building" (VAB) is in the background.
NASA M113 Armored Escape Vehicle
Two photos of a NASA M113 at the Kennedy Space Center. The M113 Armored Personnel Carrier offered Apollo and Space Shuttle astronauts a safe vehicle to get away from the launch pad in the event of an emergency. During a shuttle launch, two M113s were at standby, less than one mile away from the launch pad - each with a crew of firefighters onboard. Another M113 was at an emergency bunker near the pad. The M113s have been retired and have been replaced by Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles which are faster and have 4-inch thick windows. In one of the photos, the iconic "Vehicle Assembly Building" (VAB) is in the background.