KSC-05PD-1897

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Space Shuttle Discovery, atop a modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), is towed to the Mate_Demate Device (MDD), at right, at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) following touchdown on runway 15 at about 10:00 a.m. EDT. The cross-country ferry flight became necessary when two days of unfavorable weather conditions at KSC forced Discovery to land on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Aug. 9 following mission STS-114. On the return trip, stops were made at Altus Air Force Base, Okla., and Barksdale Air Force Base, La., where Discovery stayed for two nights. A crane on the MDD will lift Discovery from the SCA and place it on solid ground. Discovery will then be towed to the Orbiter Processing Facility where preparations will begin for its next flight, STS-121.