Endeavour’s Cross-Country Final Piggyback Ride Arrives at Kennedy
SCA Arrival at KSC on Sept. 11 for Endeavour Ferry Flight to California on Sep. 17. Credit: Ken Kremer
The clock is rapidly ticking down on the final days of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) as the proud home of NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour.
On Tuesday, Sept. 11, the modified 747 Jumbo Jet that will ferry shuttle Endeavour piggy-back style cross-country to her new eternal home in California arrived at KSC.
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, touched down at the shuttle landing strip at KSC at about 5:05 p.m. EDT. See the gallery of approach and landing photos.
Image Caption: SCA Arrival at KSC on Sept. 11 for Endeavour Ferry Flight to California on Sep. 17. Credit: Ken Kremer
SCA Arrival at KSC on Sept. 11 for Endeavour Ferry Flight to California on Sep. 17. Credit: Ken Kremer
SCA Arrival Photo. Credit: Ken Kremer
The 747 landing marks the start of the process that culminates soon with the final airborne flight of the orbiter in the history of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program.
On Friday, Sept. 14 Endeavour will be hauled out of the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for the final time and moved to the Shuttle Landing Facility where she will be hoisted and mated onto the back of the jumbo jet, designated NASA 905.
SCA Arrival Photo. Credit: Jeff Seibert/wiredforspace
SCA Arrival Photo. Credit: Jeff Seibert/wiredforspace
The mated pair are due to take off at first light on Monday, Sept.17 weather permitting on a multi day trip across America before landing in California.
The 747 crew will fly perform multiple, crowd pleasing and low flyovers of the space coast area, the KSC Visitor complex and the beaches – which will give every spectator a thrilling front row seat to this thrilling and bittersweet moment in space history as the shuttle takes flight for the very final time.
Watch for my upcoming tour report taking you inside the SCA Jumbo Jet.
And I will be on-site at KSC providing on-site Endeavour departure coverage for Universe Today readers through the dramatic takeoff on Sept 17.
………
SCA Arrival Photos Credit: Klaus Krueger
Recent Posts
Another Fast Radio Burst is Coming from a Hypernebula. Also, Hypernebulae are a Thing
If nothing else catches your attention in the title then surely ‘hypernebula’ does! There are…
This Planet is Way Too Big for its Star
Scientists love outliers. Outliers are nature's way of telling us what its boundaries are and…
Red Sprites are Best Seen from Space
Planet Earth is full of some truly awe-inspiring spectacles, but few are as intriguing as…
How Can Astronauts Maintain Their Bodies With Minimal Equipment?
Decades of research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and other spacecraft in Low Earth…
Will Wide Binaries Be the End of MOND?
It’s a fact that many of us have churned out during public engagement events; that…
Europa Clipper Could Help Discover if Jupiter's Moon is Habitable
Since 1979, when the Voyager probes flew past Jupiter and its system of moons, scientists…