Atlantis piggybacks a Boeing jumbo jet from California to Florida
By William Atkins
Monday, 02 July 2007 01:19
A NASA spokesperson indicated that the Shuttle and jet would arrive at Cape Canaveral on Monday, but might be delayed until Tuesday if weather problems occur during its flight east across the United States. It will make an unannounced stop for re-fueling somewhere along its route from the western United States to its final destination in Florida.
The modified Boeing 747 is part of NASA’s Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). The SCA consists of two modified Boeing 747 jets that NASA uses to transport a space shuttle orbiter from one spot to another, usually from a landing site in California or New Mexico to the launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
One SCA is a Boeing 747-100 jet and the other is a Boeing 747-100SR jet, a shorter-range aircraft.
The Mate-Demate Device (MDD) places the orbiter on top of the SCA—large gantry-type structure that hoists the orbiter off the ground for post-flight servicing and, then, mates the shuttle with the SCA for its ferry flight across the United States.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to be launched again on December 6, 2007, for its STS-122 mission to the International Space Station. It will be another assembly flight, where the STS-122 crew of astronauts will deliver the European Laboratory Columbus.
