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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis, attached to its external tank and solid rocket boosters atop a mobile launcher platform, arrives at Launch Complex 39A. First motion on the 3.4-mile trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building, known as rollout, was at 6:38 a.m. EDT Oct. 14. The rollout took about six hours, and the shuttle was secure on the pad at 1:31 p.m. Liftoff of Atlantis on its STS-129 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for Nov. 12. For information on the STS-129 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2009-5438

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians in the rotating service structure's control booth begin to roll the structure from space shuttle Discovery. First motion was at 5:06 a.m. EDT. The rollback is preparation for Discovery's scheduled 1:36 a.m. EDT liftoff Aug. 25 with a crew of seven. The service structure provides weather protection and access to the space shuttle at the launch pad. The 13-day mission will deliver a new crew member and 33,000 pounds of equipment to the International Space Station. The equipment includes science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. STS-128 will be Discovery's 37th mission and the 30th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and maintenance. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder KSC-2009-4812

Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-132

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is backed away from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida so that it can be towed to Orbiter Processing Facility-2 (OPF-2). Shuttle Endeavour will remain in OPF-2 so that the orbiter maneuvering system (OMS) pods and forward reaction control system can be installed. Technicians also will offload water and Freon gas from lines located in Endeavour’s midbody. The work is part of Endeavour’s transition and retirement processing. The spacecraft is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Endeavour flew 25 missions, spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122, 883, 151 miles over the course of its 19-year career. Endeavour’s STS-134 and final mission was completed after landing on June 1, 2011. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-1188

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The Rotating Service Structure at Launch Pad 39A rolls back, revealing the Space Shuttle Discovery on the Mobile Launcher Platform. Discovery is being readied for the STS-92 mission launch to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission payload includes Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, an early exterior framework to allow the first U.S. solar arrays on a future flight to be temporarily installed on Unity for early power; Ku-band communication to support early science capability and U.S. television; and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter to provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth ISS flight and Lab installation on the seventh ISS flight. The 11-day mission will include four spacewalks. Liftoff is scheduled for Oct. 6 at 9:16 p.m. EDT KSC00pp1492

STS-127 - EOM - Public domain NASA photogrpaph

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Endeavour navigates the crawlerway's five percent grade to the hardstand at the top of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Riding atop a crawler-transporter attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, Endeavour's 3.4-mile trek, known as "rollout," began at the Vehicle Assembly Building at 7:56 p.m. EST March 10 and ended at 3:49 a.m. EST, nearly eight hours later. This is Endeavour's final scheduled rollout. Endeavour and its six-member crew will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper and micrometeoroid debris shields to the International Space Station on the shuttle's final spaceflight, STS-134. Launch is targeted for 7:48 p.m. EDT April 19. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2011-2235

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Viewed from behind, the tiles on the bottom of orbiter Endeavour can be seen. The orbiter hangs suspended from a crane inside the Vehicle Assembly Building before being lifted into high bay 1 and stacked with its external tank and solid rocket boosters. Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station KSC-00pp1619

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure moves away from space shuttle Atlantis during the T-11 hour hold in the launch countdown. The movable structure, which provides weather protection and access for technicians to work on the shuttle, began being retracted at 5:20 p.m. EST and was in the park position by 5:56 p.m. Liftoff on its STS-129 mission is set for 2:28 p.m. EST Nov. 16. STS-129 crew members are Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr. On the STS-129 mission to the International Space Station, the crew will deliver two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. Atlantis will return to Earth a station crew member, Nicole Stott, who has spent more than two months aboard the orbiting laboratory. STS-129 is slated to be the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight. For information on the STS-129 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder KSC-2009-6298

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery slowly is lifted off the ground inside the mate-demate device in preparation for the arrival of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2197

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft moves into position under space shuttle Discovery suspended 60 feet off the ground in the mate-demate device. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2232

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is suspended 60 feet off the ground inside the mate-demate device in preparation for the arrival of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2202

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is lowered onto the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft in the mate-demate device during mating operations. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2236

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, final inspections are made on space shuttle Discovery before it is lifted into the mate-demate device and mated to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2173

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers at the mate-demate device complete final preparations to lift and mate space shuttle Discovery to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2176

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is in position under space shuttle Discovery in the mate-demate device for mating operations to begin. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2234

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery slowly is lifted off the ground inside the mate-demate device in preparation for the arrival of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2198

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers secure a sling to space shuttle Discovery in order to lift it onto the top of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with the aid of the mate-demate device. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2126

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is suspended 60 feet off the ground inside the mate-demate device in preparation for the arrival of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2201

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is suspended 60 feet off the ground inside the mate-demate device in preparation for the arrival of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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 Gerondidakis

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.

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label_outline Explore Ov 103 T And R Slf, Gantry Like Steel Structure, Gantry Like

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, final preparations are made to the interior of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft before it is towed to the mate-demate device for mating with space shuttle Discovery. This SCA, designated NASA 905, 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 assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. Discovery’s new home will be the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. 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/Tim Jacobs KSC-2012-2187

Shuttle and 747 in the Mate-Demate Device (MDD)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is backed out of the Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MDD is located at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy. The shuttle will be lifted and connected to the top of NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft SCA, a modified 747 jetliner. The shuttle has been fitted with an aerodynamic tailcone for its flight aboard the SCA to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-5063

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, operations are under way to tow the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to the mate-demate device for mating with space shuttle Discovery. This SCA, designated NASA 905, 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 assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. Discovery’s new home will be the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. 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/Tim Jacobs KSC-2012-2191

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The front wheel of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting space shuttle Discovery to its new home rises from the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a takeoff at 7 a.m. EDT. The aircraft, 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. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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/Lorne Mathre KSC-2012-2396

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, rolls onto the ramp area at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. The SCA touched down at 5:05 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Endeavour’s ferry flight to the Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 17. The Mate/Demate Device, or MDD, is located at the ramp area and will be used to hoist and lower Endeavour onto the back of the SCA. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-4958

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is towed to the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after being backed out of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The MDD is located at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy. The shuttle will be lifted and connected to the top of NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft SCA, a modified 747 jetliner. The shuttle has been fitted with an aerodynamic tailcone for its flight aboard the SCA to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-5133

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Discovery makes its way in darkness along the access road to the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A tail cone has been installed over its three replica shuttle main engines to reduce aerodynamic drag and turbulence during its upcoming ferry flight. At the SLF, Discovery will be hoisted onto a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with the aid of a mate-demate device. The SCA, a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. For more information on shuttle transition and retirement activities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs KSC-2012-2072

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Discovery is towed into position next to the mate-demate device, or MDD, at the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A tail cone has been installed over its three replica shuttle main engines to reduce aerodynamic drag and turbulence during its upcoming ferry flight. The MDD is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. Discovery’s new home will be the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. 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 Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2101

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, vigilant workers monitor space shuttle Discovery as it is lifted off the ground into the mate-demate device. Operations are under way to position Discovery on top of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft in preparation for its departure from Kennedy on Tuesday. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-2157

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, media representatives are on hand as space shuttle Discovery is lifted 60 feet off the ground inside the mate-demate device in preparation for the arrival of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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/Tim Jacobs KSC-2012-2189

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – As the sun rises, preparations are under way for the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft carrying space shuttle Discovery to back out of the Shuttle Landing Facility's mate-demate device at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet that was originally manufactured for commercial use and modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-2252

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ov 103 t and r slf kennedy space center cape canaveral nasa kennedy space center discovery space shuttle discovery ground mate demate mate demate device preparation carrier aircraft shuttle carrier aircraft mdd gantry like steel gantry like steel structure sca jet transport destinations earth ferry ferry missions sites display sites ferry discovery washington dulles international airport washington dulles international airport virginia smithsonian museum steven space museum steven f udvar hazy udvar hazy center centers dryden news factsheets fs transition shuttle transition retirement activities retirement activities dimitri gerondidakis space shuttle national air and space museum high resolution space launch complex boeing aircrafts public domain aircraft photos nasa