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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, two spent solid rocket boosters move into the washing bay for a cleaning and rinsing. The boosters are from space shuttle Endeavour, which launched Nov. 14 on the STS-126 mission. The space shuttle’s solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware are recovered at sea. The boosters impact the Atlantic Ocean approximately seven minutes after liftoff. The splashdown area is a square of about six by nine nautical miles located about 140 nautical miles downrange from the launch pad. The retrieval ships are stationed approximately 8 to 10 nautical miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. As soon as the boosters enter the water, the ships accelerate to a speed of 15 knots and quickly close on the boosters. The pilot chutes and main parachutes are the first items to be brought on board. With the chutes and frustum recovered, attention turns to the boosters. The ship’s tow line is connected and the booster is returned to the Port and, after transfer to a position alongside the ship, to Hangar AF. There, the expended boosters are disassembled, refurbished and reloaded with solid propellant for reuse. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett