KSC-2012-2110

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Preparations are under way to lift space shuttle Discovery onto the back of this Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Designated NASA 905, the SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. Discovery’s new home will be the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. For more information on the SCA, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-013-DFRC.html. For more information on shuttle transition and retirement activities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs