747 Delivered The Shuttle Home Monday

Space Shuttle Discovery, riding atop NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 1205  EDT Monday, ending the two-day, 2,500-mile ferry flight from Edwards Air Force Base, CA.

The ferry flight team watched stormy weather around Kennedy to decide whether to touch down at the Shuttle Landing Facility or head west to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL, where the 747 would refuel and temporarily wait for a break in the weather.  The weather proved good enough to make a landing at Kennedy.

The shuttle, sitting on top the specially modified 747, departed Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana about 0940 for the approximately two hour flight to Kennedy. The two aircraft had flown from Edwards to Louisiana over the weekend. Barksdale was the third stop for Discovery. The cross-country ferry flight to Kennedy began Sunday morning with a 0920 departure from Edwards Air Force Base in California. That was followed by refueling stops at Rick Husband International Airport in Amarillo, Texas and Ft. Worth Naval Air Station, Texas.

Photo Courtesy NASA

Due to the weather in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft landed directly at Kennedy, rather than perform a flyover of the surrounding area known as the Space Coast.

FMI: www.nasa.gov