The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft rolls down the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility as it returns to KSC.

Catching the glow of the late afternoon sun, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) rolls down the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility as it returns the orbiter Discovery to KSC. The ferry flight started in California after the orbiter’s landing more than a week ago at Edwards Air Force Base at the end of mission STS-92. Discovery wears a tail cone protecting its aft nozzles for the ferry flight. Discovery will be demated from the SCA via the mate/demate device at the SLF and transported to the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1. There it will undergo preparations for its next launch, STS-102, scheduled for February 2001