Space Shuttle Landings

Dramatic captures of space shuttle landings and ferry flights, highlighting nighttime landings and shuttle operations at Kennedy Space Center.

Airshow, Vans RV-7, D-EPGL passing by, Gelnhausen, Germany, Europe

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Xenon lights help lead space shuttle Endeavour home to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour landed for the final time on the Shuttle Landing Facility's Runway 15, marking the 24th night landing of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. Main gear touchdown was at 2:34:51 a.m. EDT, followed by nose gear touchdown at 2:35:04 a.m., and wheelstop at 2:35:36 a.m. On board are STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Greg H. Johnson, and Mission Specialists Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and the European Space Agency's Roberto Vittori. STS-134 delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) and the Express Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) to the International Space Station. AMS will help researchers understand the origin of the universe and search for evidence of dark matter, strange matter and antimatter from the station. ELC-3 carried spare parts that will sustain station operations once the shuttles are retired from service. STS-134 was the 25th and final fli

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with the space shuttle Endeavour mounted atop, taxis to the runway for its ferry flight to California.The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

jet approaching airport

Aerobatic 1960 Nanchang China CJ-6 aerobatic trainer performing a low pass with smoke on.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting space shuttle Discovery to its new home takes off from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7 a.m. EDT. The duo will fly south over Brevard Countys beach communities for residents to get a look at the shuttle before it leaves the Space Coast for the last time.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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery, mounted to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, flies over the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after making a flyby of Cocoa Beach and Patrick Air Force Base. The duo is beginning its ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia that also includes a flyby of the Space Coast and Washington, D.C. Also flying along with the pair is a T-38 training jet.Discovery is leaving Kennedy after more than 28 years of service beginning with its arrival on the space coast Nov. 9, 1983. Discovery first launched to space Aug. 30, 1984, on the STS-41D mission. Discovery is the agency's most-flown shuttle with 39 missions, more than 148 million miles and a total of one year in space. Discovery is set to move to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on April 19 where it will be placed on public display.

Northrop Grummans L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, with the companys Pegasus XL rocket attached beneath, takes off from the Skid Strip runway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Oct. 10, 2019. NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is secured inside the rocket's payload fairing. The air-launched Pegasus XL was released from the aircraft at 10 p.m. EDT to start ICONs journey to space. The explorer will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.

The silhouette of the plane carrying U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry into Paris appears on a cloud over the French countryside on October 13, 2014.

Emirates Airline plane above the clouds, from another plane, Turkey, Asia

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with the space shuttle Endeavour mounted atop, has just taken off for its ferry flight to California.The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Discovery approaches touchdown on runway 15 at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. Main gear touchdown occurred at 2 31 42 a.m. EST, nose wheel touchdown at 2 31 54 a.m., and wheel stop at 2 33 06 a.m. The landing on orbit 201 concluded mission STS-102, the eighth flight to the International Space Station, carrying the first Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, to the ISS and Expedition Two, a replacement crew for the Station. The 12-day, 19-hour, 51-minute mission returned both the Leonardo and the first resident crew of the ISS, Expedition One, to KSC . Discovery logged 5.3 million miles on this mission. The landing marked the 54th at KSC in the history of the program, and the 12th night landing at KSC

The Space Shuttle Endeavor is transported to California on the back of a jet. California, USA

NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson, STS-135 commander, pilots a T-38 trainer as he takes off from Moffett Field for a flight home to Houston after the crew of STS-135 trained in the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) at NASA's AMES Research Center on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, in Mountain View, Calif. ( NASA Photo / Houston Chronicle, Smiley N. Pool )

The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia's (STS-75) mission came to a close as the orbiter touched down on Runway 33 of Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility on March 9, 1996. Off to the right is the Vehicle Assembly Building and the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA). The Mate/Demate Device (MDM) is at left. This Marshall Space Flight Center managed mission lasted 15 days and 17-hours, during which time the seven member crew conducted microgravity research with the U.S. Microgravity Payload (USMP-3), which flew for the third time. The other primary payload was the Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1R),a reflight from an earlier mission, but the satellite was lost when the tether broke just short of its fully deployed length of nearly 13 miles.

Flights cancelled or delayed at Pearson Airport - Toronto

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour soars away from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:22 a.m. EDT mounted atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA.The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

Space Shuttle Columbia flies on 9/21/12 over Los Angeles on its final flight, Malibu, CA

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STS135-S-263 (21 July 2011) --- At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis rolls to a stop on Runway 15 one final time. Securing the space shuttle fleet's place in history, Atlantis marked the 26th nighttime landing of NASA's Space Shuttle Program and the 78th landing at Kennedy. Main gear touchdown was at 5:57:00 a.m. (EDT) on July 21, 2011, followed by nose gear touchdown at 5:57:20 a.m., and wheelstop at 5:57:54 a.m. Onboard are NASA astronauts Chris Ferguson, STS-135 commander; Doug Hurley, pilot; Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, both mission specialists. On the 37th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-135 delivered more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis, which has spent 307 days in space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and traveled 125,935,

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The drag chute on Space Shuttle Endeavour unfurls upon landing on runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility, bringing to a close the 13-day, 18-hour, 48-minute, 5.74-million mile STS-113 mission to the International Space Station. Main gear touchdown was at 2:37:12 p.m. EST, nose gear touchdown was at 2:37:23 p.m., and wheel stop was at 2:38:25 p.m. Poor weather conditions thwarted landing opportunities until a fourth day, the first time in Shuttle program history that a landing has been waved off for three consecutive days. The vehicle carries the STS-113 crew, Commander James Wetherbee, Pilot Paul Lockhart and Mission Specialists Michael Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington, as well as the returning Expedition Five crew, Commander Valeri Korzun, ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev. The installation of the P1 truss on the International Space Station was accomplished during the mission.

Wind turbines under a starry sky crossed by NEOWISE comet, Babolna wind farm, Babolna, Hungary, July. 2020. Hungary Nature Photographer of the Year Competition 2021 - Sustainable Energy and Nature Category Winner.Automatically stitched panorama from 3 single shots.

Airplane parked on tarmac near airport building

Medium long shot, right front view, NASA's 377 SGT-F Super Guppy on flight line at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Marshaller in foreground. Aircraft stopped for refueling on a flight from Montgomery, Alabama, to Riverside, California, delivering a piece of the Space Station. Base: Altus Air Force Base State: Oklahoma (OK) Country: United States Of America (USA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery rolls past a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, toward the mate-demate device, or MDD. A tail cone has been installed over its three replica shuttle main engines to reduce aerodynamic drag and turbulence during its upcoming ferry flight.The MDD is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of an SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The 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 St

Aircraft A321 of the air force, photographed during an unscheduled stop in Jeddah, 24 January 2024. The flight with the German Foreign Minister on board had to make a stopover in Jeddah due to a lack of overflight permission through Eritrean airspace. Baerbock is visiting Djibouti, Kenya and South Sudan as part of her trip to East Africa / Photographed on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office

hactl supertrminal + express building, chek lap kok airport airport view from hactl roof

A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron lands at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam after returning from a Bomber Task Force mission, June 17, 2022. Bomber Task Force missions provide opportunities to train alongside our allies and partners to build interoperability and bolster our collective ability to support a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Rear view if a C-7 Caribou aircraft on the runway ready for take-off. Base: Ramstein Air Base State: Rheinland-Pfalz Country: Deutschland / Germany (DEU)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With dust flying in the strong crosswinds at KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility, a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, carrying the orbiter Columbia on its back, lands on runway 33. Columbia arrives Facility after a protracted trip from California that began March 1. Unfavorable weather conditions kept it on the ground at Dyess AFB, Texas, until it could return to Florida on March 5 when it landed at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip. Columbia had to wait for the orbiter Atlantis which had completed a ferry flight to KSC on March 5 to be towed from the SLF before making the final hop to KSC. Columbia is returning from a 17-month-long modification and refurbishment process as part of a routine maintenance plan. The orbiter will next fly on mission STS-107, scheduled Oct. 25

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 22nd Air Refueling Wing, McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, departs Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska during Operation Noble Defender 22-4.2, Sept. 13, 2022. The operation demonstrates the ability to launch at a moments notice from dispersed air and maritime locations to defend Northern approaches in multiple regions of the continent across all domains, displaying resilience in the face of multiple and complex threats.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Jake Impellizzeriat, U.S. Air Force Demonstration Squadron Thunderbirds” advance pilot/narrator, and Michael Lents, University of North Dakota flight instructor, take off in an F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft June 17, 2022, from Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. Lents flew with the Thunderbirds as part of the aerial demonstration squadron's Hometown Hero program, which salutes American citizens working to make change within their communities.

Fighter plane on the runway, F-16CJ Fighting Falcon, US Air Force

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with the space shuttle Endeavour mounted atop, taxis away from the mate-demate device for its ferry flight to California.The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

Revere Beach Oceanside Drive , Airplanes. Photographs by Ernst Halberstadt

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, rolls toward space shuttle Endeavour, suspended in the mate-demate device at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle will be lowered and connected to the top of the SCA with the aid of the device. The shuttle has been fitted with an aerodynamic tailcone for its upcoming ferry flight. The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting space shuttle Discovery to its new home departs from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7 a.m. EDT. The duo are heading south to fly over Brevard Countys beach communities for residents to get a look at the shuttle before it leaves the Space Coast for the last time.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 today, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting space shuttle Discovery to its new home departs from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7 a.m. EDT accompanied by a T-38 jet. The duo are heading south to fly over Brevard Countys beach communities for residents to get a look at the shuttle before it leaves the Space Coast for the last time.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 today, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Aircraft taking off against a dark cloudy sky, security fence, barbed wire, Stuttgart, Baden-Wuerttemberg

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Project Morpheus prototype lander descends toward the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field after launching on its fourth free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 64-second test began at 1:15 p.m. EST with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending about 305 feet, significantly increasing the ascent velocity from the last test. The lander flew forward, covering about 358 feet in 25 seconds before descending and landing within 15 inches of its target on a dedicated pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASAs ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters

Airman 1st Class Trent Patrick, 18th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron aerospace medical technician, drives an En Route Care bus toward a waiting C-17 Globemaster III at Kadena Air Base, Japan, July 20, 2022. The aircraft was transporting a group of patients returning home after receiving treatment overseas. The En Route Care teams mission is to provide patients with expedited medical care and transportation.

T&R Enterprise Demated from SCA

Backdropped by a twilight sky, Northrop Grumman's L-1011 Stargazer undergoes final preparations prior to its takeoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Oct. 1, 2019. The company's Pegasus XL rocket, containing NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON), is attached beneath the aircraft. The explorer is targeted to launch on Oct. 9, 2019, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.

All Nippon Airlines Cargo Boeing 747-300 747 departing LAX Los Angeles International Airport

G-115 Tutor basic trainer in-flight over England.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- An L-1011 aircraft called the Stargazer gets ready to land at the Skid Strip, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Underneath its belly it carries the Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus XL launch vehicle with the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) attached. The Pegasus XL will launch the HESSI no earlier than June 12 from CCAFS. The primary mission of HESSI is to explore the basic physics of particle acceleration and energy release in solar flares

. The ALOFT mission, Airborne Lightning Observatory for Flys eye simulator and Terrestrial gamma ray flashes, is a collaboration between NASA and the University of Bergen, Norway. NASA Armstrong Flight Research Centers ER-2 aircraft flies just above the height of thunderclouds over the Floridian and Caribbean coastlines to collect data about lightning glows and terrestrial gamma ray flashes. Scientists expect to collect more accurate data than ever before that can advance the study of high-energy radiation emissions from thunderstorms.

Aircraft in airport at sunrise

MPLM Transfer to Super Guppy. NASA's Super Guppy aircraft lifts off from the Launch and Landing Facility runway at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2023. Carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), used during the Space Shuttle Program to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station, the aircraft is transporting the module to Ellington Field in Houston, where it will then be transported by road to Axioms facility near Ellington to be utilized to further commercialization of space. Three MPLMs were built by Thales Alenia Space Italia (TASI) for the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and named after Italian masters (Leonardo, Raffaello, and Donatello). Only two ever flew to the space station, Leonardo and Raffaello, with Axiom intending to use the Raffaello module as a future element that will attach to a segment being built by the company for addition to the station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Day in the Life, page 3. Coming in for landing. A Super Guppy” transport aircraft lands at the Shuttle Landing space Station. This photograph was taken for a special color edition of Spaceport News designed to portray in photographs a single day at KSC, July 26, 2000. The special edition, published Aug. 25,2000, was created to give readers a look at KSC’s diverse workforce and the critical roles workersplay in the nation’s space program. Spaceport News is an official publication of the Kennedy Space Center and is published on alternate Fridays by the Public Affairs Office in the interest of KSC civil service and contractor employees

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The wheels on Space shuttle Discovery kick up dust on Runway 33 as they touch down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, concluding the 15-day mission STS-120 to the International Space Station. Main gear touchdown was 1:01:16 p.m. Wheel stop was at 1:02:07 p.m. Mission elapsed time was 15 days, 2 hours, 24 minutes and 2 seconds. The STS-120 crew continued the construction of the station with the installation of the Harmony Node 2 module and the relocation of the P6 truss.

041016-F-9429S-002. Base: Alpena State: Michigan (MI) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A Hawker Sea Fury FB.11 from the Royal Navy Historical Flight on the liberation flying party in Rotterdam-Zestienhoven.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the early morning hours at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with space shuttle Discovery secured atop, taxies past the midpoint on its way for a takeoff on runway 15 at 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 Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

Madrid, 07/11/2018. Cuatro Vientos Airport. Photo: Isabel Permuy Archdc.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the heat shield for the agency's Orion spacecraft arrived aboard the Super Guppy aircraft. The largest of its kind ever built, the heat shield is planned for installation on the Orion crew module in March next year. The Orion spacecraft is scheduled to make its first unpiloted flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1 EFT-1, in September 2014.The Orion spacecraft is designed to meet requirements for traveling beyond low-Earth orbit. The spacecraft will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry crews to space, sustain the astronauts during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space.

Madrid, 07/11/2018. Cuatro Vientos Airport. Photo: Isabel Permuy Archdc.

A C-130J Super Hercules lands on the South runway at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, October 19, 2022. This aircraft was the first one to land on the South runway after renovations were completed.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the early morning hours at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with space shuttle Discovery secured atop, taxies down the runway for a takeoff at 7 a.m. EDT. In the background is the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building.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 Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

A C-54 aircraft flies over the Luftbruecke Memorial as it arrives on base for the 40th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. The aircraft, similar models of which were used extensively in the airlift, must undergo restoration work prior to becoming a part of the memorial. Base: Rhein-Main Air Base Country: Deutschland / Germany (DEU)

Blurred image of the Airport runway illuminated at dusk

Taxiing and on the FlightLine Lockheed F-104G Starfighters at the Leeuwarden airbase.

Helo Air Station - 26-HK-147-45. Hurricane Katrina

Aircrafts - Miscellaneous - 26-HK-56-89. Numerous helicopters on ramp. Hurricane Katrina

Polar Bear Sow and Cub Next to a Runway as a Commercial Airplane Takes Off

skyline of charlotte view over charlotte douglas airport

Views of a general aviation aircraft performing maneuvers on the ground and in the air

Netherlands, Amsterdam. Illustration of daily life in Amsterdam. Photography by Martin Bertrand.Pays-Bas, Amsterdam. Illustration de vie quotidienne a Amsterdam. Photographie de Martin Bertrand.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, glides down the runway at the Shuttle Landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida with space shuttle Endeavour secured on top. Takeoff came at 7:22 a.m. EDT.The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- STS-134 Pilot Greg H. Johnson performs touch-and-go landings aboard a Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. STAs are Gulfstream II business jets that are modified to mimic the shuttle's handling during the final phase of landing. Practice landings are part of standard training before space shuttle Endeavour's upcoming STS-134 launch to the International Space Station.Endeavour's six crew members are at Kennedy for the launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training. Targeted to launch April 19 at 7:48 p.m. EDT, they will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper and micrometeoroid debris shields to the space station. This will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, rolls toward space shuttle Endeavour, suspended in the mate-demate device at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle will be lowered and connected to the top of the SCA with the aid of the device. The shuttle has been fitted with an aerodynamic tailcone for its upcoming ferry flight. The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

Lockheed F-104G Starfighter of 323 Squadron on the Leeuwarden airbase.

The sun sets behind a B-52H Stratofortress on the Main Parking Area during exercise Prairie Vigilance at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, Sept. 21, 2022. Prairie Vigilance tests the 5th Bomb Wings ability to conduct strategic-bomber readiness operations.

A Hercules C130 tactical transport aircraft flying over Newquay in Cornwall.

The Antonov 124 cargo aircraft, carrying the United Launch Alliance booster for NASAs Mars Perseverance rover, touches down on the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida on May 18, 2020. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch in mid-July atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Pad 41 at CCAFS. The rover is part of NASAs Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The landing convoy that will make space shuttle Endeavour safe and secure for towing to its processing hangar begins to pull up around the vehicle following wheelstop on the Shuttle Landing Facility's Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour's final return from space completed the 16-day, 6.5-million-mile STS-134 mission. Main gear touchdown was at 2:34:51 a.m. EDT, followed by nose gear touchdown at 2:35:04 a.m., and wheelstop at 2:35:36 a.m.Endeavour's final return from space completed the 16-day, 6.5-million-mile STS-134 mission. Main gear touchdown was at 2:34:51 a.m. EDT, followed by nose gear touchdown at 2:35:04 a.m., and wheelstop at 2:35:36 a.m. Endeavour and its crew delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) and the Express Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) to the International Space Station. AMS will help researchers understand the origin of the universe and search for evidence of dark matter, strange matter and antimat

STS116-S-076 (22 Dec. 2006) --- Discovery approaches touchdown on Runway 15 at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, concluding mission STS-116. Aboard are astronauts Mark L. Polansky, commander; William A. Oefelein, pilot; and Robert L. Curbeam Jr., Joan E. Higginbotham, Nicholas J.M. Patrick and European Space Agency astronauts Christer Fuglesang and Thomas Reiter--all mission specialists. Reiter is returning from a six-month stay on the International Space Station. During the mission, three spacewalks attached the P5 integrated truss structure to the station, and completed the rewiring of the orbiting laboratory's power system. A contingency spacewalk was added to retract a stubborn solar array. Main gear touchdown was at 5:32 p.m. (EST). Nose gear touchdown was at 5:32:12 p.m. and wheel stop was at 5:32:52 p.m. At touchdown -- nominally about 2,500 ft. beyond the runway threshold -- the orbiter is traveling at a speed ranging from 213 to 226 mph. Discovery traveled

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With the aid of a drogue chute, space shuttle Discovery slows to a stop on Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to complete the 13-day, 5.3-million mile journey on the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station. Main gear touchdown was at 3:13:17 p.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 3:13:40 p.m. and wheels stop was at 3:14:45 p.m. Discovery delivered the final pair of large power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. The mission was the 28th flight to the station, the 36th flight of Discovery and the 125th in the Space Shuttle Program, as well as the 70th landing at Kennedy.

A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer, assigned to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, takes flight from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 14, 2023 to participate in Aero India 2023. Aero India 2023 offers a venue to build stronger relationships between the U.S. and India, as well as with the international community.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft or SCA, taxis at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

Fuel truck driving on tarmac at sunset at Pearson International Airport, Toronto, ON, Canada

Aerial view airplanes parked on tarmac at airport

A U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service King Air lead plane guides a C-130J Hercules from the 146th Airlift Wing during firefighting operations in Scurry County, Texas, April 26. The lead planes guide aircraft to ensure that the fire retardant is dispensed where it is needed. Wildfires have spread across various parts of Texas and have burned more than 1,000 square miles of land.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with the space shuttle Endeavour mounted atop, takes off for its ferry flight to California.The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

A U-2 Dragon Lady takes off June 6, 2014, from Royal Air Force Fairford, United Kingdom. While the exterior of the Dragon Lady looks the same as it did decades ago, the interior has been completely modernized to meet the ever-growing needs of the U.S. Air Force.

Airliners

View of a plane against a grey cloudy sky flying over the sand on Mai Khao Beach, near the Phuket International Airport in North Phuket; Mai Khao, Phuket, Thailand

Congressmen Visit Mobile Aviation Training Center - 26-HK-4-132. USA aircraft and military helicopters on ATC ramp. Hurricane Katrina

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery, mounted to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, prepares for takeoff on the runway of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Aircraft check in winter on snow-covered runway, Gardermoen airport, Oslo, Norway, Europe

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