Just got this email.
Shuttle Discovery on the 747 transport:
I have often wondered how they got that darn thing off the back of the 747.
Now I know!!!
You can’t get a better premier showing than this. Check the burned tiles on the shuttle. \
Most people don’t get to take or see shots like these.
To keep this nice and short, I will just post the link to the photo’s on Flickr. flickr.com/photos/50178035@N07/
EDIT: I now changed this to a space shuttle thread.
That’s pretty cool! 
… and that’s how little planes are made.
Nice pictures.
THANK YOU for keeping it short. It’s appreciated those of us who hate these photo-laden posts.
Just realized the launch is today. I’m stuck at work, but have a great view to the south south-west and to the east. Hopefully may be able to see something in about 20 mins. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
There is a Space Shuttle crane in Palmdale too. I’ve always wondered why Palmdale and not Edwards?
There’s actually a MDD (Mate-Demate Device) at each location. When the first, as yet unnamed, shuttle rolled out of AF Plant 42 (Palmdale) I was working as an engineer for WGN Televents, then the owner of the cable television systems in Palmdale, Lancaster, California City and operator of the system on Edwards AFB. They just weren’t sure if the 747 would leave the ground at Palmdale so they built the “haul road” all the way to Edwards. We had to go in front of the shuttle and raise all the lines so the shuttle could pass and then lower them again. After the taxi and takeoff tests were completed they installed another MDD at Palmdale for the subsequent shuttles.
Our office was located across the highway from Plant 42. You can imagine some of the “black” aircraft we saw coming out of there!
At Edwards we had access all the way up to the flight line. I entered the contest to name the first shuttle but can you imagine how many people entered the name “Enterprise”!
I do remember seeing a picture in the 80’s of the shuttle being hauled across the desert on a truck(s) and always wondered what was going on.
Was the shuttle build at Plant 42 or Edwards? I think Plant 42 was built a few years later to make the B2?
I know you were just the Cable Guy buy why not not load and fly the 747 out of Edwards?
A co-worker of mine has lived in Lancaster for over 60 years he was telling me about some of the stuff he has seen including a SR-71 making a low pass over his high school in the 60’s. He said they had no idea what it was.
Frank Holbert
160knots.com
as I recall Rockwell Intl built the orbiters at Site 1 (northwest corner of Plant 42) … that may have just been the final assembly site, with other fab having been done in different LA-area facilities
the Northrop B-2 production hangar was Site 3 (northeast corner)
That’s like a 140’ trailer!!! 
All I can say is I wish I saw that in person.
That’s actually a rather frightening photo if you look at all the spent heat tiles. Fascinating, though.
As much as I’ll miss the shuttles, I can’t wait to see the Ares, or whatever it is, get underway.
I think they should keep one flying, and start the new ones… 
Hate to see them go, but I am curious about the new ones, also.
Thanks to mister president, there won’t be any Ares or any American rocket in the future.
I believe what you meant to say was “thanks to the LAST president…”.
Ares was not the shuttle replacement.
Obama canceled Ares: BBC, 1 Feb 10:
President Barack Obama has cancelled the American project designed to take humans back to the Moon.
What a stupid thing to do. There was another discussion on the forum regarding the wisdom of spending money on manned flight. Our resident never-forgets-a-topic person will be able to point out that topic.
Yeah, Pres. Bush in really his best move during his presidency (in my opinion, just thinking on the top of my head) introduced Project Constellation. When Pres. Obama was campaigning, on his website, it said he would cancel Project Constellation for Education funding. He has fulfilled half that promise.
It was a great idea. The problem with it was the timeline. The first time we went to the moon, it took less than 10 years from President Kennedy’s address until it happened.
With all of the advances in technology in the past 40 years, there’s no reason we couldn’t have been back on the moon within 5 years.
We explored from the surface way less than 5% of the moon. We explored exactly 0% of the far side.
With the possibility of a abundant water supplies on the moon, I don’t see why we can’t go. Canceled so that more money can be given to education? What bull crap. The federal government isn’t even suppose to be in the education business to begin with. But landing on the moon would be a great way to expand education. Look at how much we got from the Apollo flights to the moon.
Not at all. President Bush founded the Constellation program and the current president canceled it.
President Bush called for the shuttle program to come to a close as he opened the Constellation program with a few years downtime between flights of the two launch systems.
I am a huge fan of the shuttle program. It inspired me to get on the career path on which I am and I would hate to see it go but I know that it has served its purpose. The ISS is built, the Hubble has been serviced and it is cheaper to launch satellites on unmanned rockets. Unmanned cargo ships have been delivering supplies and carrying away garbage from the ISS. Expedition crews of 3 need not be brought up on a craft that can carry 8 persons.
This is why Ares 1 is absolutely necessary.