The Odyssey Launch Platform - huge, unique, and fascinating - prepares to set sail for the Equator.

Dwarfed by its massive structure, passengers and crew bid farewell to onlookers 200 feet below on the pier.

The giant columns rest on pontoons, where crew secure the lines for the 3,000 mile voyage to the launch site.

The Odyssey moves out and begins to fit...

... in the camera's lens...

... until at last she reaches for the open sea.

Dr. Valery Aliev, head of the Sea Launch rocket team, watches as the rocket and its Galaxy IIIC payload sail toward the horizon.