posted 03-28-2011 02:06 PM               

Shuttle Discovery being prepared for public display

Work is now underway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to prepare the space shuttle orbiter Discovery, OV-103, for its retirement and public display.

In addition to "safing" the vehicle to remove materials that would be hazardous to museum visitors, shuttle technicians are also removing components for forensic study and to retain for possible use on the next generation of crewed spacecraft.

Work began soon after Discovery landed for its last time on March 9, 2011. The orbiter is expected to be ready for transfer to its new home, the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, by April 2012.

Below: Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 remove Discovery's inner heat shields from its main engines.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

posted 03-28-2011 02:10 PM               

Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 (OPF-2) at the Kennedy Space Center remove Discovery's forward reaction control system (FRCS), which helped steer the shuttle in orbit.

To maneuver, the FRCS utilized hypergolic fuel and oxidizer, which were purged from Discovery after its final spaceflight, STS-133.

Next, the FRCS will be shipped to a maintenance facility at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, where additional inspections will be performed and its components made safe to go on public display.

Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

posted 04-01-2011 10:00 AM               

Technicians complete the removal of main engines No. 2 and 3 from Discovery using a specially designed engine installer, called a Hyster forklift.

Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

posted 04-01-2011 05:44 PM               

Technicians complete the removal of main engine No. 1 from space shuttle Discovery.

Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

posted 04-28-2011 09:00 AM               

In Orbiter Processing Facility-2, workers used a crane to grapple shuttle Discovery's right-hand orbiter maneuvering system, or OMS, pod for removal. It was then transported to Kennedy Space Center's Hypergol Maintenance Facility.

Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

posted 06-27-2011 07:44 AM               

Photo credit: collectSPACE/Robert Pearlman

collectSPACE recently toured space shuttle Discovery and climbed inside its crew cabin as the retired vehicle, the oldest orbiter in NASA's existing three shuttle fleet, was being prepared for public display at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center outside Washington, DC.

posted 07-13-2011 05:36 PM               

Discovery was moved from its processing hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on July 13.

Inside the VAB, Discovery will be stored for approximately one month while shuttle Atlantis undergoes processing in OPF-2 following its final mission, STS-135.

Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann/Ken Thornsley

posted 10-16-2011 03:25 PM               

In Orbiter Processing Facility-1, an orbital maneuvering system pod was re-installed on space shuttle Discovery on Oct. 13. The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning.

Credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

posted 11-09-2011 06:09 PM               

In Orbiter Processing Facility-1, the forward reaction control system (FRCS) was reinstalled on space shuttle Discovery on Nov. 3. The FRCS was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning.

Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

posted 12-03-2011 09:11 AM               

In the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine shop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, three completed replica shuttle main engines (RSME) sit waiting for space shuttle Discovery.

The replica engines will be transported from the engine shop to the processing facility for installation on Discovery.

Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

posted 12-05-2011 05:13 PM               

Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1, a replica shuttle main engine was installed on space shuttle Discovery on Dec. 5.

Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

posted 12-06-2011 12:13 PM               

In Orbiter Processing Facility-1, the second of three replica shuttle main engines was installed on space shuttle Discovery on Dec. 6.

Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

posted 12-07-2011 02:20 PM               

Space shuttle Discovery sports three replica shuttle main engines (RSMEs) in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

posted 12-10-2011 10:55 AM               

On Dec. 9, technicians reinstalled the three fuel cells in space shuttle Discovery's mid-body.

The fuel cells were removed and drained of all fluids. The hydrogen and oxygen dewars which fed reactants to the fuel cells remain in Discovery's mid-body and have been purged with inert gases and vented down.

Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

posted 12-16-2011 03:14 PM               

NASA shuts doors, pulls plug on shuttle Discovery

NASA powered down space shuttle Discovery for a final time Friday (Dec. 16), more than 28 years after the agency's retired fleet leader first came alive. The vehicle was "unplugged" inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 (OPF-1) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The electrical shutdown, which came soon after technicians closed the shuttle's twin 60-foot (18.3-meter) long payload bay doors, was a milestone in Discovery's transition from a space-worthy orbiter to a museum exhibit...

posted 01-13-2012 02:15 PM               

On Jan. 12, 2012, technicians installed the tail cone around space shuttle Discovery's three replica main engines in preparation for the orbiter's ferry flight to the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia later this year.

Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

posted 02-22-2012 02:01 PM               

On Feb. 14, 2012, technicians reinstalled the crew seats and lockers on the flight- and mid-deck of space shuttle Discovery.

Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

posted 02-22-2012 02:10 PM               

On Feb. 21, 2012, Discovery's crew compartment access hatch was closed and sealed for the final time at Kennedy Space Center.

Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

posted 03-06-2012 08:50 PM               

On March 6, 2012, the ferry flight doors were installed the underside of space shuttle Discovery.

Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

posted 03-09-2012 05:26 PM               

On March 9, 2012, one year to the day after landing on its final mission, space shuttle Discovery left the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) for a final time.

Discovery was towed to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to await being flown by shuttle carrier aircraft to its display home, the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, in April.

Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

See here for discussion of these photos and preparing the orbiters for display.