The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting Discovery to its new home taxis down the runway past the mate demate device.

The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting space shuttle Discovery to its new home taxis down the runway past the mate/demate device at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida preparing to take off at about 7 a.m. EDT.

The aircraft, known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. For more information on the SCA, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-013-DFRC.html. For more information on shuttle transition and retirement activities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Lorne Mathre