visibility Similar

151014-N-YL073-338 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Oct. 14, 2015) Aviation

Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Araminta Mack directs an elevator operator in the hangar bay of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3).

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The “pathfinder” aircraft for space shuttle Discovery’s ferry flight pulls up beside the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on the apron of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The NASA C-9 aircraft will fly about 100 miles ahead of Discovery to scout for the safest route between destinations. Its crew includes an SCA flight engineer who studies the weather patterns along the flight path to find a route free of rain and other turbulence. The carrier aircraft, also known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, and is assigned to all remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. After its arrival at Dulles, Discovery will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on April 19. For more information on the SCA, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-013-DFRC.html. For more information on shuttle transition and retirement activities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidaki KSC-2012-2328

STS-131 - EOM - Public domain NASA photogrpaph

STS-134 - EOM - Public domain NASA photogrpaph

A 355th Fighter Wing pilot waits to taxi out his A-10

A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon receives fuel from a U.S.

Space shuttle Space Shuttle Enterprise Demate

AN F-5 Tiger II aircraft is loaded aboard a C-5 Galaxy aircraft for shipment to Jordan

code Related

EDWARDS, Calif. – Against a setting sun, space shuttle Endeavour undergoes recovery operations on Edwards Air Force Base in California after its landing. The orbiter convoy normally begins recovery operations in earnest about two hours before the shuttle is scheduled to land. Specially designed vehicles or units and a team of trained personnel “safe” the orbiter and prepare it for towing. Purge and Coolant Umbilical Access Vehicles are moved into position behind the orbiter to get access to the umbilical areas. The flight crew is replaced aboard the orbiter by exchange sup¬port personnel who prepare the orbiter for ground tow operations, install switch guards and remove data packages from any onboard experiments. After a total safety downgrade, vehicle ground personnel make numerous preparations for the towing operation, including install¬ing landing gear lock pins, disconnecting the nose landing gear drag link, positioning the towing vehicle in front of the orbiter and connecting the tow bar. The decision to land Endeavour at Edwards was made due to weather concerns at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of more than 6.6 million miles in space. Endeavour will be returned to Kennedy atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, a modified Boeing 747 jetliner. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Landis, VAFB KSC-08pd3888

EDWARDS, Calif. – On Edwards Air Force Base in California, space shuttle Endeavour undergoes recovery operations after its landing. The orbiter convoy normally begins recovery operations in earnest about two hours before the shuttle is scheduled to land. Specially designed vehicles or units and a team of trained personnel “safe” the orbiter and prepare it for towing. Purge and Coolant Umbilical Access Vehicles are moved into position behind the orbiter to get access to the umbilical areas. The flight crew is replaced aboard the orbiter by exchange sup¬port personnel who prepare the orbiter for ground tow operations, install switch guards and remove data packages from any onboard experiments. After a total safety downgrade, vehicle ground personnel make numerous preparations for the towing operation, including install¬ing landing gear lock pins, disconnecting the nose landing gear drag link, positioning the towing vehicle in front of the orbiter and connecting the tow bar. The decision to land Endeavour at Edwards was made due to weather concerns at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of more than 6.6 million miles in space. Endeavour will be returned to Kennedy atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, a modified Boeing 747 jetliner. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Landis, VAFB KSC-08pd3885

EDWARDS, Calif. – On Edwards Air Force Base in California, space shuttle Endeavour undergoes recovery operations after its landing. The orbiter convoy normally begins recovery operations in earnest about two hours before the shuttle is scheduled to land. Specially designed vehicles or units and a team of trained personnel “safe” the orbiter and prepare it for towing. Purge and Coolant Umbilical Access Vehicles are moved into position behind the orbiter to get access to the umbilical areas. The flight crew is replaced aboard the orbiter by exchange sup¬port personnel who prepare the orbiter for ground tow operations, install switch guards and remove data packages from any onboard experiments. After a total safety downgrade, vehicle ground personnel make numerous preparations for the towing operation, including install¬ing landing gear lock pins, disconnecting the nose landing gear drag link, positioning the towing vehicle in front of the orbiter and connecting the tow bar. The decision to land Endeavour at Edwards was made due to weather concerns at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of more than 6.6 million miles in space. Endeavour will be returned to Kennedy atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, a modified Boeing 747 jetliner. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Landis, VAFB KSC-08pd3886

EDWARDS, Calif. – After space shuttle Endeavour's landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, STS-126 Pilot Eric Boe examines the underside of the orbiter for any visible damage. The decision to land at Edwards was made due to weather concerns at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of over 6.6 million miles in space. The STS-126 mission was the 27th flight to the International Space Station, carrying equipment and supplies in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The mission featured four spacewalks and work to prepare the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions. Photo credit: NASA/Tom Tschida, VAFB KSC-08pd3878

EDWARDS, Calif. – At Edwards Air Force Base in California, STS-126 crew members are greeted as they exit the crew transport vehicle after landing aboard space shuttle Endeavour. Leading the crew is Commander Chris Ferguson (right) followed by Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Steve Bowen and Shane Kimbrough. The decision to land at Edwards was made due to weather concerns at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of over 6.6 million miles in space. The STS-126 mission was the 27th flight to the International Space Station, carrying equipment and supplies in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The mission featured four spacewalks and work to prepare the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions. Photo credit: NASA/Tom Tschida, VAFB KSC-08pd3877

EDWARDS, Calif. – At Edwards Air Force Base in California, STS-126 crew members are greeted as they exit the crew transport vehicle after landing aboard space shuttle Endeavour. Leading the crew is Commander Chris Ferguson (right) followed by Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Steve Bowen and Shane Kimbrough. The decision to land at Edwards was made due to weather concerns at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of over 6.6 million miles in space. The STS-126 mission was the 27th flight to the International Space Station, carrying equipment and supplies in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The mission featured four spacewalks and work to prepare the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions. Photo credit: NASA/Tom Tschida, VAFB KSC-08pd3876

EDWARDS, Calif. – After space shuttle Endeavour's landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, four of the STS-126 crew members pose for the media. From left are Pilot Eric Boe, Commander Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialists Shane Kimbrough and Steve Bowen. The decision to land at Edwards was made due to weather concerns at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of over 6.6 million miles in space. The STS-126 mission was the 27th flight to the International Space Station, carrying equipment and supplies in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The mission featured four spacewalks and work to prepare the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions. Photo credit: NASA/Tom Tschida, VAFB KSC-08pd3880

EDWARDS, Calif. – After space shuttle Endeavour's landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, four of the STS-126 crew members greet the media. From left are Mission Specialist Steve Bowen, Pilot Eric Boe, Commander Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialist Shane Kimbrough. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of over 6.6 million miles in space. The STS-126 mission was the 27th flight to the International Space Station, carrying equipment and supplies in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The mission featured four spacewalks and work to prepare the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions. Photo credit: NASA/Tom Tschida, VAFB KSC-08pd3881

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. -- The Space Shuttle Atlantis starts to deploy its braking parachute as it approaches touchdown on the runway at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Returning from mission STS-117, Atlantis landed on orbit 219 after 13 days, 20 hours and 12 minutes in space. The landing was diverted to California due to marginal weather at the Kennedy Space Center. Main gear touchdown was at 3:49:38 p.m. EDT on runway 22. Nose gear touchdown was at 3:49:49 p.m. and wheel stop was at 3:50:48 p.m. This was the 51st landing for the Space Shuttle Program at Edwards Air Force Base. The mission to the International Space Station was a success, installing and activating the S3/S4 truss and retracting the P6 arrays. The returning crew of seven includes astronaut Sunita Williams, who was flight engineer on the Expedition 15 crew. She achieved a new milestone, a record-setting flight at 194 days, 18 hours and 58 minutes, the longest single spaceflight ever by a female astronaut or cosmonaut. Photo credit: NASA/Carla Thomas KSC-07pd1616

EDWARDS, Calif. – Against a setting sun, space shuttle Endeavour undergoes recovery operations on Edwards Air Force Base in California after its landing. The orbiter convoy normally begins recovery operations in earnest about two hours before the shuttle is scheduled to land. Specially designed vehicles or units and a team of trained personnel “safe” the orbiter and prepare it for towing. Purge and Coolant Umbilical Access Vehicles are moved into position behind the orbiter to get access to the umbilical areas. The flight crew is replaced aboard the orbiter by exchange sup¬port personnel who prepare the orbiter for ground tow operations, install switch guards and remove data packages from any onboard experiments. After a total safety downgrade, vehicle ground personnel make numerous preparations for the towing operation, including install¬ing landing gear lock pins, disconnecting the nose landing gear drag link, positioning the towing vehicle in front of the orbiter and connecting the tow bar. The decision to land Endeavour at Edwards was made due to weather concerns at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of more than 6.6 million miles in space. Endeavour will be returned to Kennedy atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, a modified Boeing 747 jetliner. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Landis, VAFB KSC-08pd3887

description

Summary

EDWARDS, Calif. – Against a setting sun, space shuttle Endeavour undergoes recovery operations on Edwards Air Force Base in California after its landing. The orbiter convoy normally begins recovery operations in earnest about two hours before the shuttle is scheduled to land. Specially designed vehicles or units and a team of trained personnel “safe” the orbiter and prepare it for towing. Purge and Coolant Umbilical Access Vehicles are moved into position behind the orbiter to get access to the umbilical areas. The flight crew is replaced aboard the orbiter by exchange sup¬port personnel who prepare the orbiter for ground tow operations, install switch guards and remove data packages from any onboard experiments. After a total safety downgrade, vehicle ground personnel make numerous preparations for the towing operation, including install¬ing landing gear lock pins, disconnecting the nose landing gear drag link, positioning the towing vehicle in front of the orbiter and connecting the tow bar. The decision to land Endeavour at Edwards was made due to weather concerns at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of more than 6.6 million miles in space. Endeavour will be returned to Kennedy atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, a modified Boeing 747 jetliner. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Landis, VAFB

The Space Shuttle program was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972. The Space Shuttle system—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank— carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and lands as a glider. Although the concept had been explored since the late 1960s, the program formally commenced in 1972 and was the focus of NASA's manned operations after the final Apollo and Skylab flights in the mid-1970s. It started with the launch of the first shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. and finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011.

label_outline

Tags

ov 105 kennedy space center sun endeavour space shuttle endeavour recovery recovery operations edwards air force base california orbiter convoy orbiter convoy earnest hours two hours vehicles units team personnel safe personnel safe purge coolant access access vehicles areas crew flight crew exchange sup port exchange sup port personnel ground tow ground tow operations switch guards switch guards packages data packages onboard experiments onboard experiments safety downgrade safety downgrade vehicle ground personnel preparations gear pins nose drag link gear drag link bar tow bar land endeavour concerns weather concerns sts million million miles carrier aircraft shuttle carrier aircraft sca jetliner tony landis vafb vafb ksc air force space shuttle high resolution boeing aircrafts public domain aircraft photos nasa
date_range

Date

1960 - 1969
collections

in collections

Space Shuttle Program
place

Location

create

Source

NASA
link

Link

https://images.nasa.gov/
copyright

Copyright info

Public Domain Dedication (CC0)

label_outline Explore Onboard Experiments, Tow Bar, Coolant

LT. Dan Taylor negotiates the broken rungs of a Jacob's ladder as he climbs down from the guided missile frigate USS NICHOLAS (FFG-47) into a motor whaleboat. Taylor, a Navy Liaison Officer (NLO), will be transferred to a reflagged Kuwaiti tanker to act as a naval representative aboard the ship during an Earnest Will convoy mission in which the tankers are escorted through waters of the Gulf by U.S. naval ships

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A "towback" vehicle slowly pulls shuttle Endeavour from the Shuttle Landing Facility to Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A purge unit that pumps conditioned air into a shuttle after landing is connected to Endeavour's aft end. In the background is the massive Vehicle Assembly Building. Once inside the processing facility, Endeavour will be prepared for future public display. Endeavour's final return from space completed the 16-day, 6.5-million-mile STS-134 mission. Main gear touchdown was at 2:34:51 a.m. EDT, followed by nose gear touchdown at 2:35:04 a.m., and wheelstop at 2:35:36 a.m. Endeavour and its crew delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) and the Express Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) to the International Space Station. AMS will help researchers understand the origin of the universe and search for evidence of dark matter, strange matter and antimatter from the station. ELC-3 carried spare parts that will sustain station operations once the shuttles are retired from service. STS-134 was the 25th and final flight for Endeavour, which spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122,883,151 miles. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2011-4273

STS-86 Landing, NASA Space Shuttle Landing Facility

PRESSURE SYSTEMS - HIGH PRESSURE AIR SYSTEMS - NITROGEN PURGE - 450 COMBUSTION AIR

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - For the second time in two days, STS-121 Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson is suiting up for a launch attempt on Space Shuttle Discovery. The first launch attempt July 1 was scrubbed due to weather concerns and postponed 24 hours. The launch is the 115th shuttle flight and the 18th U.S. flight to the International Space Station. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-06pd1364

Hauling in the trawl aboard a Portuguese drag boat off Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Neffsville, Pennsylvania. Earle Landis freezing ice cream on the back porch on Thanksgiving day. When it gets hard, his son sits on the freezer to hold it down

Captain Hoy's Air Crossing Of The Rockies

TEST CELL 23 - ANALYZER SETUP - PURGE PROBE TO CAVITY

Provincetown, Massachusetts. Aboard the Frances and Marion, a Portuguese drag trawler off Cape Cod. Winchman slacking off the trawl

Provincetown, Massachusetts. Aboard the Frances and Marion, a Portuguese drag trawler, fishing off Cape Cod. All hands hauling in the trawl

Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Joshua Carpenter, from

Topics

ov 105 kennedy space center sun endeavour space shuttle endeavour recovery recovery operations edwards air force base california orbiter convoy orbiter convoy earnest hours two hours vehicles units team personnel safe personnel safe purge coolant access access vehicles areas crew flight crew exchange sup port exchange sup port personnel ground tow ground tow operations switch guards switch guards packages data packages onboard experiments onboard experiments safety downgrade safety downgrade vehicle ground personnel preparations gear pins nose drag link gear drag link bar tow bar land endeavour concerns weather concerns sts million million miles carrier aircraft shuttle carrier aircraft sca jetliner tony landis vafb vafb ksc air force space shuttle high resolution boeing aircrafts public domain aircraft photos nasa