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Narrator: The space shuttle could get all the way to space on its own power whenever it
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launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But when a shuttle orbiter travels from
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one place to another here on Earth, it needs a lift -- a piggyback ride, or "ferry flight,"
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aboard the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
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It's an unusual sight -- a low-flying jumbo jet, with a spaceship bolted onto its back.
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"And it's really amazing to see, first, the orbiter in person. It's almost surreal."
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Narrator: The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is actually a Boeing 747 modified to handle the weight and
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drag of the shuttle orbiter on its back. It's been supporting the Space Shuttle Program ever
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since the approach and landing tests during the late 1970s. In 1990, NASA added an additional
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modified 747 to its SCA "fleet" to make a total of two aircraft available for ferry flights.
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The shuttles began all their space careers with ferry flights when they were first delivered to
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Kennedy from the manufacturing plant in Palmdale, Calif.
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But most of the time, a ferry flight was needed to bring a shuttle back from Edwards Air Force
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Base in California following a landing on the west coast due to poor weather in Florida.
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"When they built the 747, they built a very nice airplane. It does what you want when you fly it.
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The only thing that's different is when you're carrying an orbiter, there is a very noticeable
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vibration, and of course speeds are quite a bit higher. But as far as the feel in the aircraft,
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and the ease with which the aircraft flies, it is deceptively easy."
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Narrator: After an end-of-mission landing at Edwards, it took the landing team about a week,
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weather permitting, to prepare it for its upcoming cross-country trip.
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A tail cone was installed to reduce aerodynamic drag and turbulence during the ferry flight.
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The spacecraft was lifted inside a large, gantry-like device called the Mate/Demate device... the
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aircraft rolled underneath... and the orbiter was lowered and bolted into place.
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The team simply reversed the process to remove the shuttle from the plane.
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Sometimes, just getting the shuttle and aircraft ready for the trip could be a test in itself.
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NASA Flow Director Stephanie Stilson recalls the challenges the ferry flight team encountered in
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2005, after space shuttle Discovery landed at Edwards at the end of the return-to-flight mission,
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STS-114.
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"And everybody thinks the desert, dry, no issues, no rain. Well, we had snow in the mountains,
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we had rain, we had lightning that actually struck the Mate/Demate device, and we had locusts.
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So it was like everything that could possibly happen outside of our control happened.
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But once again, that just gave us a chance to show how we can react to changes and things that
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we're not expecting."
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Narrator: But the toughest part of a ferry flight is keeping the shuttle safe from harmful
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weather or other conditions during flight. So, a "pathfinder" aircraft flies 100 miles ahead of the
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attached pair, making sure the flight path is safe and dry.
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"You don't want to bring it through any turbulence.
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No visible moisture.
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There's some temperature limitations.
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And essentially, we're the plane to make sure we don't bring the orbiter through there.
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So our job is to be very vigilant of any change in weather conditions,
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and to make sure the orbiter is brought on a safe flight path."
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Narrator: There were 87 ferry flights throughout the Space Shuttle Program, including flights for
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testing, delivery, orbiter upgrades, and of course, end-of-mission landings.
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Today, the shuttles are being prepared at Kennedy to go on public display at sites across the
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country. Atlantis won't need an aircraft to move to its new home at the
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Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
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But Discovery, Endeavour and the test orbiter, Enterprise, will each take one last ride.
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Discovery will be flown to Dulles International Airport in Virginia and then moved to the nearby
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Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center. It will take the place of Enterprise, which will be flown from
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there to the John F. Kennedy International Airport and then on to the Intrepid Air, Sea and
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Space Museum in New York City. Endeavour will be flown to Los Angeles International Airport,
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before making its way to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
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The bulky combination of orbiter and aircraft is unmistakable, and usually attracts attention
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from onlookers on the ground as it makes its way across the sky.
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NASA plans to keep one of the modified 747 for its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
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Astronomy, or SOFIA, science program.
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But as the shuttles make their final ferry flights, space fans along the way may be able to catch
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a glimpse of the duo making one more pass overhead.
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"So that's a great thing, to be able to do that, and then if we have any stops along the way,
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it's a chance for us to share the orbiter with the public in an area that most likely has never
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even seen a space shuttle that close."
