Monday morning, there were two space shuttle on the move at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Following Endeavour’s post-landing return to its hangar in the Orbiter Processing Facility, space shuttle Discovery was moved from its hangar to the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building. The transfer paves the way for Discovery’s roll to the launch pad on Mar. 2.
Discovery’s astronauts were on hand for the move, having flown in from their home base at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The astronauts, who will fly Discovery on the STS-131 mission that is slated for April, were at Kennedy to inspect equipment they will use during their mission.
Following Sunday night’s landing, Shuttle Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses said that space shuttle Endeavour’s landing capped off a flawless mission. “The crew did an outstanding job,” Moses said, referring to the complex task of installing Tranquility and its seven-windowed cupola to the International Space Station. “The landing today went as smooth as you can hope for — by the numbers.”
Shuttle Endeavour’s STS-130 crew headed back to Houston Monday, where a welcome home ceremony was planned.