KSC-01PADIG-139

Viewed from the rear, the orbiter Atlantis heads toward the open doors of the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 after being towed from the Shuttle Landing Facility. The blue lines represent the orbiter’s turning lines into and away from bay 3. The unusual silhouette of the aft section on the orbiter is due to the tail cone covering the aft engines. Atlantis landed Feb. 19 at Edwards Air Force Base concluding mission STS-98. The orbiter returned to Florida on the back of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, known as a ferry flight, that began March 1. Unfavorable weather conditions kept it on the ground at Altus AFB, Okla., for several days until it could return to Florida. Atlantis will be prepared in the OPF for mission STS-104, the 10th construction flight to the International Space Station, scheduled to launch June 8