CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as they use a Hyster forklift to position an engine removal device on Engine #3 on space shuttle Atlantis. Inside the aft section, a technician disconnects hydraulic, fluid and electrical lines. The forklift will be used to remove the engine and transport it to the Engine Shop for possible future use. Each of the three space shuttle main engines is 14 feet long and weighs 7,800 pounds. Removal of the space shuttle main engines is part of the Transition and Retirement work that is being performed in order to prepare Atlantis for eventual display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Photo credit: Frankie Martin

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers disconnect the tow vehicle from space shuttle Discovery before it is lifted onto the top of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with the aid of the mate-demate device. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. 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. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers disconnect the tow vehicle from space shuttle Discovery before it is lifted onto the top of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with the aid of the mate-demate device. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. 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. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. 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/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Technicians complete foaming around the area of Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, 17 inch diameter external tank (ET) feed line in preparation for the second liquid hydrogen tanking test at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). An elaborate network of sensors, leak detectors, and baggies were set up on OV-104 by technicians. Engineers hope this extra instrumentation will help pinpoint the exact location of the leak. OV-104 is scheduled to be launched for the STS-38 mission, a classified Department of Defense (DOD) flight. View provided by KSC with alternate number KSC-90PC-988.