NASA / David Lee
Endeavour is almost whole again... Last Friday, the last of three Reusable Shuttle Main Engines (RSME) was attached to the youngest orbiter in NASA's retired space shuttle fleet. With her trio of RSMEs now installed, thus bringing her transition and retirement (T&R) operation close to completion, Endeavour will remain inside Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)-2 till next month...when she'll switch places with Atlantis in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Atlantis has been in temporary storage inside the VAB since June 29 (the reason being that NASA is handing over OPF-1—where Atlantis was undergoing her final decommissioning process prior to last month's move to the VAB—to a private aerospace company, whose identity remains undisclosed), and will undergo final T&R activities at OPF-2 while Endeavour is prepped for her cross-country ferry flight to Los Angeles two months from now. Endeavour is scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport on September 21, while her final transport through the streets of downtown L.A. to the California Science Center has yet to be announced. Atlantis' roadside trip to the KSC Visitor Complex, her final home, is targeted for November 2...while the orbiter will officially go on public display in July of next year.
The last two major items to be installed onto Endeavour for her to be complete again are her twin Orbital Maneuvering System thruster nozzles, which will be reattached to the vehicle after she arrives at the California Science Center.
NASA / David Lee
NASA / David Lee
NASA / David Lee
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