231 Steven F Image: PICRYL - Public Domain Media Search Engine Public Domain Search}

[Steven F. Chadwick, govenor of Oregon, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left] / Bradley & Rulofson.

Written on verso: S.F. Chadwick, Secretary of State, Oregon. Reference copy in BIOG FILE.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is being readied for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building VAB. The aft view of Discovery reveals the tail cone that covers the three replica shuttle main engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Discovery will remain in high bay 4 of the VAB until its scheduled transport atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft modified 747 jet to Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17. Discovery will then be transported to the Smithsonian on April 19. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1698

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is being readied for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building VAB. The aft view of More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians ready the forward reaction control system (FRCS) for installation on space shuttle Discovery. The FRCS was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-7672

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians ready the forward reaction control system (FRCS) for installation on space shuttle Discovery. More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a long-angle view reveals the underside of space shuttle Discovery where the ferry flight doors are being installed. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Discovery is scheduled to be transported atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft modified 747 jet to Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17 and then moved to the Smithsonian for permanent public display on April 19. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1651

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a long-angle view reveals the underside of space shuttle Discovery where the ferry flight doors are being i More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians install a ferry flight door on space shuttle Discovery. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Discovery is scheduled to be transported atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft modified 747 jet to Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17 and then moved to the Smithsonian for permanent public display on April 19. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1654

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians install a ferry flight door on space shuttle Discovery. The work is part of the Space Shuttl More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a large crane lifts a dome heat shield that will be installed around one of space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines. The dome heat shields are composed of two, semi-circle-shaped sections of thermal protection system tiles that surround the engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-8305

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a large crane lifts a dome heat shield that will be installed around on More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians complete the work to install the ferry flight doors on space shuttle Discovery. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Discovery is scheduled to be transported atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft modified 747 jet to Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17 and then moved to the Smithsonian for permanent public display on April 19. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1655

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians complete the work to install the ferry flight doors on space shuttle Discovery. The work is More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The tail cone for space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) is being transported to Orbiter processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tail cone will be installed around Discovery’s RSMEs for protection. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1029

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The tail cone for space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) is being transported to Orbiter processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Th More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Discovery, mounted to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, takes off from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility runway 15 in Florida at 7 a.m. EDT and makes a flyby near the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building. The duo is beginning its ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia that also includes a flyby of the Space Coast and Washington, D.C. Also flying along with the pair is a T-38 training jet. Discovery is leaving Kennedy after more than 28 years of service beginning with its arrival on the space coast Nov. 9, 1983. Discovery first launched to space Aug. 30, 1984, on the STS-41D mission. Discovery is the agency’s most-flown shuttle with 39 missions, more than 148 million miles and a total of one year in space. Discovery is set to move to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., on April 19 where it will be place on public display. 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 Powers and Rick Wetherington KSC-2012-2459

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Discovery, mounted to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, takes off from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility runway 15 in Florida at 7 a.m. EDT and makes a More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis foreground is towed in to Orbiter Processing Facility-1 after being towed from the Vehicle Assembly Building VAB. Workers will continue to prepare Atlantis for display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Meanwhile, space shuttle Discovery is on the move from OPF-1 to the Vehicle Assembly Building VAB. The aft view of Discovery reveals the tail cone that covers the three replica shuttle main engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Discovery will remain in high bay 4 of the VAB until its scheduled transport atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft modified 747 jet to Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17. Discovery will then be transported to the Smithsonian on April 19. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1710

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis foreground is towed in to Orbiter Processing Facility-1 after being towed from the Vehicle Assembly Building VAB. Workers More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to re-install the three fuel cells in space shuttle Discovery’s mid-body. The fuel cells were removed and drained of all fluids. The hydrogen and oxygen dewars which feed reactants to the fuel cells remain in Discovery’s mid-body and have been purged with inert gases and vented down. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-8199

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to re-install the three fuel cells in space shuttle Discovery’s mid-body. The fuel c More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the tail cone is installed around space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines for protection. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1039

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the tail cone is installed around space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines for protect More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the early morning hours at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with space shuttle Discovery secured atop, completes the turn on runway 15 in preparation for a takeoff at 7 a.m. EDT to deliver Discovery to its new home. 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 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/Glenn Benson KSC-2012-2359

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the early morning hours at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with space shuttle Discovery secured atop, completes t More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an employee guides a replica shuttle main engine (RSME) toward installation on space shuttle Discovery. This is the first of three replica engines to be installed. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-8168

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an employee guides a replica shuttle main engine (RSME) toward installation on space shuttle Discovery. More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the early morning hours at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with space shuttle Discovery secured atop, taxies down the runway for a takeoff at 7 a.m. EDT to deliver Discovery to its new home. 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 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/Glenn Benson KSC-2012-2356

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the early morning hours at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with space shuttle Discovery secured atop, taxies down More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the early morning hours at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with space shuttle Discovery secured atop, takes off from runway 15 at 7 a.m. EDT. The SCA will deliver Discovery to its new home. 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 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/Glenn Benson KSC-2012-2365

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the early morning hours at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with space shuttle Discovery secured atop, takes off f More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, is in position in the mate/demate device so that space shuttle Discovery can be lowered and attached to it. Known as the MDD, the devise is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the 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 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-2012-2268

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, is in position in the mate/demate device so that space shuttle Discovery can be l More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The tail cone for space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) is being transported from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tail cone will be installed around Discovery’s RSMEs for protection. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1028

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The tail cone for space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) is being transported from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician monitors the progress as the tail cone is installed around space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines for protection. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1035

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician monitors the progress as the tail cone is installed around space shuttle Discovery’s three re More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery has been completely backed out of Orbiter Processing Facility-1 in preparation for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building VAB. The aft view of Discovery reveals the tail cone that covers the three replica shuttle main engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Discovery will remain in high bay 4 of the VAB until its scheduled transport atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft modified 747 jet to Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17. Discovery will then be transported to the Smithsonian on April 19. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1705

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery has been completely backed out of Orbiter Processing Facility-1 in preparation for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Buil More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Discovery, mounted to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, takes off from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility runway 15 in Florida at 7 a.m. EDT. The duo is beginning its ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia that also includes a flyby of the Space Coast and Washington, D.C. Also flying along with the pair is a T-38 training jet. Discovery is leaving Kennedy after more than 28 years of service beginning with its arrival on the space coast Nov. 9, 1983. Discovery first launched to space Aug. 30, 1984, on the STS-41D mission. Discovery is the agency’s most-flown shuttle with 39 missions, more than 148 million miles and a total of one year in space. Discovery is set to move to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., on April 19 where it will be place on public display. 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 Powers and Rick Wetherington KSC-2012-2458

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Discovery, mounted to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, takes off from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility runway 15 in Florida at 7 a.m. EDT. The duo is More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The tail cone for space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) arrives at Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tail cone will be installed around Discovery’s RSMEs for protection. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1031

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The tail cone for space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) arrives at Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tail cone w More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana sit in the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1454

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana sit in the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1. Glenn is at the space center to mar More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1452

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson sit in the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1453

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson sit in the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn i More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1444

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana talks to guests in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 where space shuttle Discovery is being prepared for public display during a 50th anniversary celebration of the first orbital flight of an American. The astronaut who made that first flight, John Glenn, is at the space center to commemorate that achievement. Glenn orbited the Earth three times in the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. He later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1446

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana talks to guests in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 where space shuttle Discovery is being prepared for public display during a 50th anni More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1449

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn signs autographs in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where space shuttle Discovery is being prepared for public display. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1458

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn signs autographs in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where space shuttle Discovery is being prepared for public display. Glenn is More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, right, talks to guests in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 where space shuttle Discovery is being prepared for public display during a 50th anniversary celebration of the first orbital flight of an American. The astronaut who made that first flight, John Glenn, is at the space center to commemorate that achievement. Glenn orbited the Earth three times in the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. He later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Also in the photo are Glenn's wife, Annie, NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson, and Bob Sieck, a former shuttle launch director. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1450

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, right, talks to guests in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 where space shuttle Discovery is being prepared for public display during a 5 More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn signs the wall of the clean room leading into space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1457

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn signs the wall of the clean room leading into space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space c More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn stands in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1451

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn stands in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50t More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn stands beside the wheel of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1447

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn stands beside the wheel of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 5 More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1445

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana sits at the controls in the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1. At the space center in Florida, Cabana is helping John Glenn mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1455

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana sits at the controls in the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1. At the space center in Florida, C More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand beside the wheel of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1448

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, and NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson stand beside the wheel of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Cente More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson sits at the controls in the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Robinson is helping John Glenn mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Robinson was the payload commander of STS-95. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1456

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson sits at the controls in the flight deck of space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Robin More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, left, enter Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where space shuttle Discovery is being prepared for public display. Glenn is at the space center to mark the 50th anniversary of being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth inside the NASA Mercury Project's Friendship 7 capsule on Feb. 20, 1962. Glenn later returned to space in October 1998 as a payload specialist aboard Discovery's STS-95 mission. Glenn's launch aboard an Atlas rocket took with it the hopes of an entire nation and ushered in a new era of space travel that eventually led to Americans walking on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Glenn soon was followed into orbit by Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and Gordon Cooper. Their fellow Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard and Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew earlier suborbital flights. Deke Slayton, a member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts, was grounded by a medical condition until the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. Shuttle Discovery currently is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: Cory Huston KSC-2012-1443

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Glenn and his wife, Annie, left, enter Orbiter Processing Facility-1 OPF-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where space shuttle Discovery is being prepared for public displ More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the front end of space shuttle Endeavour is raised off the floor of the VAB by lifts, as workers prepare to attach an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod to the back of the shuttle. The ALTA pod will be fitted over the area once housing the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the center’s equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also will test procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise was ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute. Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Shiflett KSC-2011-7110

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the front end of space shuttle Endeavour is raised off the floor of the VAB by lifts, as workers prepare to att More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers affix a cage over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod. The ALTA pod will be lifted for attachment to space shuttle Endeavour on the site once housing the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the center’s equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also tests procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise was ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute. Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Shiflett KSC-2011-7118

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers affix a cage over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod. The ALTA pod will be lifted for att More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Training Auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-133 Mission Specialists Nicole Stott, Alvin Drew and Steve Bowen autograph their formal portraits for Kennedy employees during a crew return event. The crew launched from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A aboard space shuttle Discovery on its final flight on February 24, 2011 to the International Space Station. The crew delivered Robonaut 2 and the Permanent Multipurpose Module packed with supplies and critical spare parts on a 13-day mission. Discovery is being processed for retirement and will be displayed at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-2942

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Training Auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-133 Mission Specialists Nicole Stott, Alvin Drew and Steve Bowen autograph their formal portraits for Kennedy em More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Training Auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida the STS-133 crew signs autographs for Kennedy employees during a crew return event. From left are Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe, Mission Specialists Michael Barratt, Steve Bowen, Alvin Drew (partially obscured) and Nicole Stott. The crew launched from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A aboard space shuttle Discovery on its final flight on February 24, 2011 to the International Space Station. The crew delivered Robonaut 2 and the Permanent Multipurpose Module packed with supplies and critical spare parts on a 13-day mission. Discovery is being processed for retirement and will be displayed at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-2939

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Training Auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida the STS-133 crew signs autographs for Kennedy employees during a crew return event. From left are Commander Steve Lin More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Training Auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey autographs a space shuttle replica for a Kennedy employee during a crew return event. The crew launched from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A aboard space shuttle Discovery on its final flight on February 24, 2011 to the International Space Station. The crew delivered Robonaut 2 and the Permanent Multipurpose Module packed with supplies and critical spare parts on a 13-day mission. Discovery is being processed for retirement and will be displayed at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-2941

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Training Auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey autographs a space shuttle replica for a Kennedy employee during a crew return event More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Training Auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida the STS-133 crew signs autographs for Kennedy employees during a crew return event. From left are Mission Specialists Steve Bowen, Alvin Drew and Nicole Stott. The crew launched from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A aboard space shuttle Discovery on its final flight on February 24, 2011 to the International Space Station. The crew delivered Robonaut 2 and the Permanent Multipurpose Module packed with supplies and critical spare parts on a 13-day mission. Discovery is being processed for retirement and will be displayed at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-2937

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Training Auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida the STS-133 crew signs autographs for Kennedy employees during a crew return event. From left are Mission Specialists More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers practice assembly and disassembling a mobile sling and crane, part of a portable mate-demate device. The portable sling and crane will be used to lift shuttles off their 747 carrier aircraft for delivery to museums next year. Shuttle Discovery will go to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., Endeavour will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles and Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. Shuttle Atlantis will go to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and won't require use of the portable sling and crane. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-4534

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers practice assembly and disassembling a mobile sling and crane, part of a portable mate-demate device. Th More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers practice assembly and disassembling a mobile sling and crane, part of a portable mate-demate device. The portable sling and crane will be used to lift shuttles off their 747 carrier aircraft for delivery to museums next year. Shuttle Discovery will go to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., Endeavour will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles and Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. Shuttle Atlantis will go to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and won't require use of the portable sling and crane. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-4531

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers practice assembly and disassembling a mobile sling and crane, part of a portable mate-demate device. Th More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers practice assembly and disassembling a mobile sling and crane, part of a portable mate-demate device. The portable sling and crane will be used to lift shuttles off their 747 carrier aircraft for delivery to museums next year. Shuttle Discovery will go to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., Endeavour will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles and Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. Shuttle Atlantis will go to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and won't require use of the portable sling and crane. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-4533

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers practice assembly and disassembling a mobile sling and crane, part of a portable mate-demate device. Th More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering system pods and forward reaction control system have been loaded into a container and are being transported from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. There, they will undergo a complete deservicing and cleaning. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Shuttle Discovery will go to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., Endeavour will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles and Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. Shuttle Atlantis will go to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-4779

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering system pods and forward reaction control system have been loaded into a container and are being transported from NASA's Kennedy Space Center More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering system pods and forward reaction control system have been loaded into a container and are being transported from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. There, they will undergo a complete deservicing and cleaning. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Shuttle Discovery will go to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., Endeavour will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles and Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. Shuttle Atlantis will go to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-4781

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering system pods and forward reaction control system have been loaded into a container and are being transported from NASA's Kennedy Space Center More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, begin to raise a cage which will be placed over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod. The ALTA pod will be lifted for attachment to space shuttle Endeavour on the site once housing the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the center’s equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also tests procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise was ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute. Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Shiflett KSC-2011-7112

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, begin to raise a cage which will be placed over an Approach and Landing Test As More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers use an aerial lift to raise the Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod onto space shuttle Endeavour. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the center’s equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also tests procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise was ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute. Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Shiflett KSC-2011-7106

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers use an aerial lift to raise the Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod onto space shuttle Endeav More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour sits surrounded by cranes and lifts. Workers are preparing to raise an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod to the rear of the shuttle for attachment over the site once housing the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the center’s equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also tests procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise was ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute. Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Shiflett KSC-2011-7109

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour sits surrounded by cranes and lifts. Workers are preparing to raise an Approach and Lan More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, raise a cage over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod. The ALTA pod will be lifted for attachment to space shuttle Endeavour on the site once housing the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the center’s equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also tests procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise was ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute. Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Shiflett KSC-2011-7115

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, raise a cage over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod. The ALTA po More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, raise a cage which will be placed over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod (in the foreground). The ALTA pod will be lifted for attachment to space shuttle Endeavour on the site once housing the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the center’s equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also tests procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise was ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute. Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Shiflett KSC-2011-7114

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, raise a cage which will be placed over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (A More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, prepare to raise a cage over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod (to the left of the photo). The ALTA pod will be lifted for attachment to space shuttle Endeavour on the site once housing the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the center’s equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also tests procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise was ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute. Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Shiflett KSC-2011-7111

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, prepare to raise a cage over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod ( More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, raise a cage over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod. The ALTA pod will be lifted for attachment to space shuttle Endeavour on the site once housing the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the center’s equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also tests procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise was ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute. Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Shiflett KSC-2011-7116

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, raise a cage over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod. The ALTA po More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, raise a cage which will be placed over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod. The ALTA pod will be lifted for attachment to space shuttle Endeavour on the site once housing the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the center’s equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also tests procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise was ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institute. Enterprise will be moved from the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Shiflett KSC-2011-7113

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, raise a cage which will be placed over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (A More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a truck backs space shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod into Orbiter Processing Facility-1 (OPF). The OMS has been returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7244

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a truck backs space shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod into Orbiter Processing Facility-1 (OPF). The OMS has been returned More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a truck transports space shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). The OMS has been returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7243

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a truck transports space shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). The OMS has been ret More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers outside the Hypergol Maintenance Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida use a crane to lift the shipping container off of space shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The OMS has been returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-7238

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers outside the Hypergol Maintenance Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida use a crane to lift the shipping container off of space shuttle Discovery's orbital maneuvering More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane lowers an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod for installation on space shuttle Discovery. The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in April 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7390

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane lowers an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod for installation on space shuttle More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane is lowered toward an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod that awaits installation on space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1. The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in April 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7374

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane is lowered toward an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod that awaits installation on space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Faci More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod closer for installation on space shuttle Discovery. The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in April 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7385

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod closer for installation on space shuttle Discovery. More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane is secured around an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod that will be installed on space shuttle Discovery. The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in April 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7377

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane is secured around an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod that will be installed More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician monitors the progress as a crane is used to carry an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod that will be installed on space shuttle Discovery. The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in April 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7381

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician monitors the progress as a crane is used to carry an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod that wil More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane lowers an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod for installation on space shuttle Discovery. The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in April 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7387

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane lowers an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod for installation on space shuttle More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a crane is used to carry an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod that will be installed on space shuttle Discovery. The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in April 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7378

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a crane is used to carry an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod that will More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane lowers an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod for installation on space shuttle Discovery. The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in April 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7389

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane lowers an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod for installation on space shuttle More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod awaits installation on space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1. The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in April 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-7373

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod awaits installation on space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-1. The OMS pod was retu More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the forward reaction control system (FRCS) is being moved by crane for installation on space shuttle Discovery. The FRCS was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-7671

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the forward reaction control system (FRCS) is being moved by crane for installation on space shuttle Disco More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a large crane lowers the forward reaction control system (FRCS) for installation on space shuttle Discovery. The FRCS was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-7676

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a large crane lowers the forward reaction control system (FRCS) for in More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist with the installation of the forward reaction control system (FRCS) on space shuttle Discovery. The FRCS was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-7678

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist with the installation of the forward reaction control system (FRCS) on space shuttle Di More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a large crane carries the forward reaction control system (FRCS) for installation on space shuttle Discovery. The FRCS was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-7674

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a large crane carries the forward reaction control system (FRCS) for i More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians ready the forward reaction control system (FRCS) for installation on space shuttle Discovery. The FRCS was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-7673

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians ready the forward reaction control system (FRCS) for installation on space shuttle Discovery. More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a large crane carries the forward reaction control system (FRCS) close for installation on space shuttle Discovery. The FRCS was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-7675

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a large crane carries the forward reaction control system (FRCS) close More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the forward reaction control system (FRCS) is installed on space shuttle Discovery. The FRCS was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-7679

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the forward reaction control system (FRCS) is installed on space shuttle Discovery. The FRCS was return More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians install the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery. After Discovery’s final mission, STS-133, the SORG was removed and sent to a United Space Alliance lab in Houston where it was cleaned and deserviced. Water in the microbial check valve and the orbiter water system was drained and dried. The SORG was returned to Kennedy Space Center. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-7775

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians install the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery. More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) is installed in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery. After Discovery’s final mission, STS-133, the SORG was removed and sent to a United Space Alliance lab in Houston where it was cleaned and deserviced. Water in the microbial check valve and the orbiter water system was drained and dried. The SORG was returned to Kennedy Space Center. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-7776

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) is installed in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery. Aft More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) is being installed in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery. After Discovery’s final mission, STS-133, the SORG was removed and sent to a United Space Alliance lab in Houston where it was cleaned and deserviced. Water in the microbial check valve and the orbiter water system was drained and dried. The SORG was returned to Kennedy Space Center. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-7771

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) is being installed in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery. More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to install the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery. After Discovery’s final mission, STS-133, the SORG was removed and sent to a United Space Alliance lab in Houston where it was cleaned and deserviced. Water in the microbial check valve and the orbiter water system was drained and dried. The SORG was returned to Kennedy Space Center. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-7772

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to install the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) in the middeck of space shuttle More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to install the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery. After Discovery’s final mission, STS-133, the SORG was removed and sent to a United Space Alliance lab in Houston where it was cleaned and deserviced. Water in the microbial check valve and the orbiter water system was drained and dried. The SORG was returned to Kennedy Space Center. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-7773

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to install the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) in the middeck of space shuttle More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians install the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery. After Discovery’s final mission, STS-133, the SORG was removed and sent to a United Space Alliance lab in Houston where it was cleaned and deserviced. Water in the microbial check valve and the orbiter water system was drained and dried. The SORG was returned to Kennedy Space Center. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-7774

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians install the shuttle orbiter repackaged galley (SORG) in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery. More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as space shuttle Discovery’s fuel cells are drained of all fluids. After all of the coolant is removed, the fuel cells will be returned to their previous location within Discovery’s mid-body. The hydrogen and oxygen dewars which feed reactants to the fuel cells remain in Discovery’s mid-body and have been purged with inert gases and vented down. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-8062

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as space shuttle Discovery’s fuel cells are drained of all fluids. Aft More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare space shuttle Discovery’s three fuel cells to be drained of all fluids. After all of the coolant is removed, the fuel cells will be returned to their previous location within Discovery’s mid-body. The hydrogen and oxygen dewars which feed reactants to the fuel cells remain in Discovery’s mid-body and have been purged with inert gases and vented down. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-8058

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare space shuttle Discovery’s three fuel cells to be drained of all fluids. After all o More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as space shuttle Discovery’s fuel cells are drained of all fluids. After all of the coolant is removed, the fuel cells will be returned to their previous location within Discovery’s mid-body. The hydrogen and oxygen dewars which feed reactants to the fuel cells remain in Discovery’s mid-body and have been purged with inert gases and vented down. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2011-8060

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as space shuttle Discovery’s fuel cells are drained of all fluids. Aft More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine shop at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, two of three completed replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) sit on stands. The RSMEs were created for space shuttle Discovery. The replica engines will be transported from the engine shop to the processing facility for installation on Discovery in January 2012. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-8120

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine shop at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, two of three completed replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) sit on stands. The RSMEs were cre More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine shop at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) created for space shuttle Discovery is attached to the space shuttle main engine horizontal installer. The replica engines will be transported from the engine shop to the processing facility for installation on Discovery in January 2012. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-8121

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine shop at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) created for space shuttle Discovery is More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine shop at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) created for space shuttle Discovery is attached to the space shuttle main engine horizontal installer. The replica engines will be transported from the engine shop to the processing facility for installation on Discovery in January 2012. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-8122

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine shop at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) created for space shuttle Discovery is More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine shop at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a completed replica shuttle main engine (RSME) sits on a stand. The RSME is one of three created for space shuttle Discovery. The replica engines will be transported from the engine shop to the processing facility for installation on Discovery in January 2012. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-8119

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine shop at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a completed replica shuttle main engine (RSME) sits on a stand. The RSME is one of three crea More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians re-install the three fuel cells in space shuttle Discovery’s mid-body. The fuel cells were removed and drained of all fluids. The hydrogen and oxygen dewars which feed reactants to the fuel cells remain in Discovery’s mid-body and have been purged with inert gases and vented down. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-8204

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians re-install the three fuel cells in space shuttle Discovery’s mid-body. The fuel cells were r More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to re-install the three fuel cells in space shuttle Discovery’s mid-body. The fuel cells were removed and drained of all fluids. The hydrogen and oxygen dewars which feed reactants to the fuel cells remain in Discovery’s mid-body and have been purged with inert gases and vented down. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-8200

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to re-install the three fuel cells in space shuttle Discovery’s mid-body. The fuel c More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the eyelids and heat shields are being prepared for installation on space shuttle Discovery’s replica shuttle main engines. The heat shields are composed of two, semi-circle-shaped sections of thermal protection system tiles that surround the engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-8297

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the eyelids and heat shields are being prepared for installation on space shuttle Discovery’s replica shutt More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help guide one of space shuttle Discovery’s replica shuttle main engines (RSME) into place after the eyelid and heat shield were installed. The heat shields are composed of two, semi-circle-shaped sections of thermal protection system tiles that surround the engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-8299

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help guide one of space shuttle Discovery’s replica shuttle main engines (RSME) into place afte More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help guide one of space shuttle Discovery’s replica shuttle main engines (RSME) into place after the eyelid and heat shield were installed. The heat shields are composed of two, semi-circle-shaped sections of thermal protection system tiles that surround the engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-8300

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help guide one of space shuttle Discovery’s replica shuttle main engines (RSME) into place afte More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician attaches a crane to a heat shield that will be installed, along with an eyelid, on one of shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines. The heat shields are composed of two, semi-circle-shaped sections of thermal protection system tiles that surround the engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2011-8302

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician attaches a crane to a heat shield that will be installed, along with an eyelid, on one of shut More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, half of a dome heat shield has been installed around one of space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines. The dome heat shields are composed of two, semi-circle-shaped sections of thermal protection system tiles that surround the engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-8312

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, half of a dome heat shield has been installed around one of space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help guide a dome heat shield for installation around one of space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines. The dome heat shields are composed of two, semi-circle-shaped sections of thermal protection system tiles that surround the engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-8309

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help guide a dome heat shield for installation around one of space shuttle Discovery’s three re More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help guide a dome heat shield for installation around one of space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines. The dome heat shields are composed of two, semi-circle-shaped sections of thermal protection system tiles that surround the engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-8308

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help guide a dome heat shield for installation around one of space shuttle Discovery’s three re More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians provide assistance as a large crane begins to lift a dome heat shield that will be installed around one of space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines. The dome heat shields are composed of two, semi-circle-shaped sections of thermal protection system tiles that surround the engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-8304

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians provide assistance as a large crane begins to lift a dome heat shield that will be installed ar More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help secure the tail cone around space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines for protection. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Program’s transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-1038

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help secure the tail cone around space shuttle Discovery’s three replica shuttle main engines More