orbiter processing facility ken tenbusch

The wind comes right off of the mountains and if it rains, you're getting rained on.' 'Over here, you are completely open to the environment. 'Processing outdoors offers many challenges,' Tenbusch said. But at Dryden, Endeavour is processed outdoors at the Mate-Demate Device with limited resources. Within hours of landing at Kennedy, Endeavour would have been towed into one of the center's orbiter processing facilities - a place where technicians have all of the resources they need right at their fingertips. One of the major differences in processing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California is location.

'Not easy when your teeth are chattering.' 'It's 32 degrees out here,' said Ken Tenbusch, Endeavour flow director. In fact, in California's Mojave Desert where NASA and contractor employees are processing space shuttle Endeavour, it's freezing. Photo credit: NASAĭon't let the desert fool you.

Photo credit: NASA/Tony LandisĮndeavour atop the carrier aircraft lifts off from Edwards Air Force Base on the first leg of its ferry flight back to Kennedy. Photo credit: NASA/Carla ThomasĮndeavour was lifted off the ground and placed atop a modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft for the piggyback ride back to Kennedy. NASA technicians position an aerodynamic tailcone around the engine nozzles of Endeavour in preparation for its ferry flight. Endeavour is nestled in the Mate-DeMate Device as preparations are under way for its ferry flight.

Orbiter processing facility ken tenbusch