KSC-08pd4011
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Before dawn, at the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour is suspended by a sling under the mate/demate device. The shuttle carrier aircraft, or SCA, has rolled away. Endeavour, which retains the tail cone that covers and protects the main engines during the ferry flight, will be lowered onto the ground. The SCA carried the shuttle piggyback from California, where Endeavour landed Nov. 30 to end the STS-126 mission. After Endeavour is on the ground, it will be towed via the two-mile tow-way from the SLF by a diesel-powered tractor to the Orbiter Processing Facility where it will begin preparations for its next mission, STS-127, targeted for May 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann
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Details
NASA ID
KSC-08pd4011
Date Created
December 13, 2008
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
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