We do not get bumped. The trickiest part of the trip is when Welton and his crew winch the spacecraft into the belly of the plane, cross the country and then offload it. This is definitely a career highlight. The spacecraft has been covered with a sparkling metallic blanket of plastic impregnated with nickel that will not cause sparks. During key moments of the move, every member of the team is quiet, even somber.
All movement is slow and deliberate.
After the container is closed, the crew turns 50 bolts to seal it shut. Smith, who normally drives late night trailers ferrying Lockheed Martin's Titan and Atlas rockets, eased the trailer onto Colorado Highway 470, heading east. The truck is escorted by deputies in four Douglas County sheriff's patrol cars. The 8,000-pound spacecraft is moved onto an assembly dolly at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Amid stares and confusion from fellow drivers, the Mars spacecraft slowly made it way past the snow-dusted grasslands and new condominiums rising like spring crops on Denver's southwest side.