When the Orbiter arrives in the VAB, it is rotated to a vertical position using the overhead cranes in the high bay and moved into one of the assembly cells for mating with the external tank, solid rocket boosters, and MLP. Normally during this time, internal power and environmental conditioning to the payload are interrupted and will not be restored until mating is complete on the MLP. There is no capability for payload access in the VAB, and no payload operations will be planned for this segment of the processing flow.
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