KSC-07pd3462

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the railroad yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, covers are being placed over solid rocket booster segments that will be transported to Utah. The yellow transportation end covers have already been inserted and are secure, as seen on the segment at left. The spent segments are part of the booster used to launch space shuttle Discovery in October. 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