Thursday, August 11, 2011

At Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the shuttle Discovery (at right) is transferred to an Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) for decommissioning while Endeavour is brought to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for temporary storage...on August 11, 2011.
NASA / Frankie Martin

SHUTTLE SWAP... Earlier this morning, the orbiters Discovery and Endeavour switched places at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida...with Discovery going to Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)-1 to resume decommissioning while Endeavour underwent storage inside the mammoth Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Discovery was transferred over to the VAB from OPF-2 last month so that Atlantis could undergo post-flight processing inside that hangar following her successful return from the final space shuttle mission, STS-135. Endeavour was being readied for retirement in OPF-1 prior to today’s move to the VAB.

Discovery is currently scheduled for delivery to the Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia on April 12, 2012 (the 31st anniversary of Columbia's flight on STS-1), while Endeavour will be flown to Los Angeles International Airport for display at the California Science Center around next August. Atlantis’ move to the KSC Visitor Complex is aimed for February 1, 2013 (10 years after the loss of Columbia on STS-107)...according to NASASpaceFlight.com.

At KSC, the shuttle Discovery is transferred to an OPF for decommissioning while Endeavour is brought to the VAB for temporary storage...on August 11, 2011.
NASA / Dimitri Gerondidakis

At KSC, the shuttle Discovery is transferred to an OPF for decommissioning while Endeavour is brought to the VAB for temporary storage...on August 11, 2011.
Photo courtesy of NASAKennedy - Twitter.com
Posted by Richard Par at 7:33 PM
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