Shuttle Endeavor photographed passing over
Houston's Johnson Space Center . The ferry 747 had just
taken off from nearby Ellington Field, and was climbing
out at around 2,000 feet when the pictures were taken.
You can see that the wing flaps are set at about a 15
degree angle. Afterwards, the flight crew received word
en route that the weather had turned rough at KSC in
Florida, so they stopped overnight at Barksdale AFB in
Louisiana as a precaution.
The ferry 747 is very susceptible to side wind currents
with the weight, drag, and mass of the shuttle on top,
so the flight crew doesn't take chances with their ultra
valuable cargo. The ferry 747's in-flight altitude is
less than 20,000 feet, and it's speed is only about 300
knots, which is a little over half of it's normal
cruising speed without the shuttle. The combination of
these two factors, plus the weight and mass of the
shuttle, uses up fuel at a very high rate. Consequently,
a ferry flight requires 2 or 3 fuel stops en route from
Edwards AFB in California to Cape Canaveral in Florida.
NASA purchased this 747-200 from American Airlines over
25 years ago, and NASA had Boeing add the modified
multiple tail because the mounted shuttle would
interfere with wind flow through a standard single tail
configuration. The 200 series is second generation, and
Boeing has been building the fourth generation 400
series for over 14 years. The two more famous U.S.
Presidential 747s are also the old 200 series, but be
assured they receive excellent care, as does NASA's 747.
These photos were taken on December 11th, 2008,
from the roof of the Johnson Space Center Mission
Control Center in Clear Lake, just south of Houston.
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