KSC-07pd1749
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The shuttle carrier aircraft, or SCA, and its piggyback passenger Atlantis are poised to be towed into the mate/demate device, in the foreground. The device will lift the orbiter and put it back on the ground. After a three-day, cross-country trip, the orbiter/SCA duo touched down at 8:27 a.m. EDT. The SCA is a modified Boeing 747 jetliner. Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California to end mission STS-117. The return to KSC began July 1 and included several stops across the country for fuel. The last stop was at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky. Weather conditions over the last leg postponed the return trip until July 3. After demate, Atlantis will then be towed to the Orbiter Processing Facility to begin processing for its next launch, mission STS-122 in December. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Details
NASA ID
KSC-07pd1749
Date Created
July 3, 2007
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
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