The shuttle carrier aircraft with space shuttle Endeavour on top moves under the mate demate device.

At the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle carrier aircraft with space shuttle Endeavour on top moves under the mate/demate device. An overhead sling will be placed around Endeavour to lift it away from the aircraft. After the aircraft rolls away, the shuttle will be placed on the ground. The SCA carried the shuttle piggyback from California, where Endeavour landed Nov. 30 to end the STS-126 mission. When Endeavour is on the ground, it will be towed via the two-mile tow-way from the SLF by a diesel-powered tractor to the Orbiter Processing Facility where it will begin preparations for its next mission, STS-127, targeted for May 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller