KSC-2011-6388

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour, its nose encased in protective plastic where its forward reaction control system (FRCS) once resided, backs out of Orbiter Processing Facility-1 (OPF-1) for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Endeavour is switching places with shuttle Discovery which temporarily has been stored in the VAB. Both shuttles will stop briefly outside OPF-3 for a "nose-to-nose" photo opportunity. Discovery then will be rolled into OPF-1 and Endeavour into the VAB. In OPF-1, Discovery will undergo further preparations for public display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. Endeavour will be stored in the VAB until October when it will be moved into OPF-2 for further work to get it ready for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann