During the retirement of NASA's fleet of Space Shuttle Orbiters, it was necessary to ferry the 3 remaining orbiters though the 2 Orbiter Processing Facilities (OPF). The remaining Orbiter was stored in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).
In this case, Space Shuttle Discovery has finished being prepared for display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Its 3 Space Shuttle Maine Engines/RS-25D (SSME) engines have been removed and replaced with replicas. The 2 Orbital Maneuvering System pods (OMS) containing the Shuttle's on-orbit maneuvering engine and thrusters and the forward Reaction Control System pod (RCS) have been cleaned of their toxic propellants, and the aerodynamic tail cover has been installed to prepare the Orbiter to be ferried to Virginia on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Boeing 747.
In the background, Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis is being towed into the Orbiter Processing Facility to begin being made ready for display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex Atlantis Museum.
This photograph was taken from an upper floor in the VAB, making it possible to see over Discovery and towards Atlantis and the Orbiter Processing Facilities beyond.
Space Coast Photography Studios
- They/Them
- heronfox.pixels.com/
Two Central Florida photographers with an interest in nature, landscape, bird, flower, space, technology, and architecture photography.
