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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A solid rocket booster segment is lifted off a truck bed at the railroad yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The yellow transportation end cover has already been inserted and is secure. The segment is part of the booster used to launch space shuttle Discovery in October. The spent segment will be placed on a railroad car and covered for the long trip back to Utah. After a mission, the spent boosters are recovered, cleaned, disassembled, refurbished and reused after each launch. After hydrolasing the interior of each segment, they are placed on flatbed trucks. The individual booster segments are transferred to a railhead located at the railroad yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The long train of segments is part of the twin solid rocket boosters used to launch space shuttle Discovery in October. The NASA Railroad locomotive backs up the rail cars and the segment is lowered onto the car. The covered segments are moved to Titusville for interchange with Florida East Coast Railway to begin the trip back to Utah. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller