Discovery Soft Mated to SCA (KSC-2012-2247).jpg

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    At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, initial mating of space shuttle Discovery and the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is complete in the mate-demate device. Known as the “soft mate,” the procedure was complete at about 11:15 a.m. EDT. 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. This 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 www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-013-DFRC.html. For more information on shuttle transition and retirement activities, visit www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: (NASA/Kim Shiflett)

    1. Unlucky_Alf [deleted] 13 months ago | reply

      Fantastic image.

    2. HoodedOne 13 months ago | reply

      Great shot.
      But I like all the pics you've shown so far from this 'event'.
      As a kid I had a plastic kit of this combo. Although the SCA did have a different color scheme back then.

    3. DarkAngelDay 13 months ago | reply

      Nice

    4. bior 13 months ago | reply

      I don't know anything about flying, but I can imagine that piloting a 747 with a Space Shuttle attached to the roof must be a bit nerve-wracking, to say the least.

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