KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, workers prepare a replacement retract link for installation on orbiter Atlantis’ right-hand main landing gear. A small crack was found recently on the retract link assembly. To lower the main landing gear, a mechanical linkage released by each gear actuates the doors to the open position. The landing gear reach the full-down and extended position with 10 seconds and are locked in the down position by spring-loaded downlock bungees Atlantis is scheduled to launch in September 2005 on the second Return to Flight mission, STS-121.
Album STS-121