Aerospace technicians install a heat shield around the base of space shuttle Endeavour's replica shuttle main engine RSME number 1.

In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance aerospace technicians install a heat shield around the base of space shuttle Endeavour’s replica shuttle main engine RSME number 1. Bill Ward Jr., wearing a safety harness and his back to the camera, assists Chris Peluso.

The work is part of Transition and Retirement of the remaining space shuttles, Endeavour and Atlantis. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. Endeavour was the last space shuttle added to NASA’s orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition Photo credit: NASA/ Tim Jacobs