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Most crane operators don’t use words like “ballet” and “pirouette” when describing their work, but most crane operators don’t perform the delicate task of manoeuvring a space shuttle several hundred feet in the air, sometimes with only inches to spare.

The process of assembling the launch vehicles components is still controlled completely manually. Lifting the shuttle onto the external fuel tank alone calls for a team of about 16 technicians controlling two 400 tonne cranes and normally takes between 20 and 24 hours. Once the shuttle is lifted into the assembly bay between the platforms, there is just inches of clearance as you can see from this shot.

Image Credit: NASA/KMC.