Shuttle Atlantis heads home on a modified 747
Shuttle Atlantis atop a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
Atlantis heading home on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
Ferry flights were needed whenever an orbiter landed at Edwards in California rather than Kennedy in Florida - a glider cannot fly itself home. Carrying it cost enormous drag, so the trip needed several refuelling stops.
Space Shuttle Atlantis mounted on top of a NASA Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier AircraftWikimedia Commons
Related topics
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
Two modified Boeing 747s that carried Space Shuttle orbiters across America on their backs, from 1977 until the programme ended.
Space Shuttle Discovery's Final Flight on a Boeing 747
Space Shuttle Discovery made its final flight atop NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on the way to retirement.
American Airlines
American was among the first US carriers to fly the 747, in March 1970, and one of its 747-100s became NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
Links and further reading
Where to see a preserved Boeing 747 in person, and the reference sources worth using - every link checked and working.
N905NA: NASA's Original Shuttle Carrier
NASA 905 began with American Airlines, carried Enterprise during the 1977 landing tests and now forms part of Independence Plaza in Houston.
N911NA: NASA's Second Shuttle Carrier
NASA 911's history runs from Japan Air Lines' JA8117 through Boeing's shuttle-carrier conversion, a 2012 final flight and preservation at Palmdale.
More in Photo Album
Photo Album
Photographs of every major Boeing 747 variant and special-mission jumbo - airline service, freight, Air Force One, the Dreamlifter and SOFIA.
Boeing 747-8 Photos
The Boeing 747-8 in pictures - wing assembly, final construction, paint hangar roll-out, first flight and airline service.
747-400 Cargo
Japan Airlines Cargo Boeing 747-400F JA401J photographed on the ramp, showing the freighter's raised flight deck and nose door.
747-400D (Japan Airlines)
A Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400D, the high-density domestic variant built without the winglets fitted to other 747-400s.
747-8 Berths
Optional crew rest berths offered on the 747-8, tucked into the upper area of the cabin for long-haul operations.
747-8-Intercontinental forward fuselage
The first forward fuselage section of the 747-8 Intercontinental, delivered to Everett for final assembly.