Space shuttle Discovery is towed through the open doors of NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility 3.

Space shuttle Discovery is towed through the open doors of NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility 3. In the OPF, turnaround processing procedures on Discovery will include various post-flight deservicing and maintenance functions, which are carried out in parallel with payload removal and the installation of equipment needed for the next mission. Discovery returned to Kennedy atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Sept. 21 after a two-day ferry flight. The piggybacked shuttle and aircraft touched down on the Shuttle Landing Facility's runway 33 at 12:05 p.m. EDT and the shuttle later was demated from the aircraft. Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Sept. 11 after the 13-day STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. Landings at Kennedy were waved off on two days due to inclement weather, leading to the landing at Edwards. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller