Historic Images: Two Shuttles Meet Nose to Nose

Endeavour, Meet Discovery

Sibling shuttles Endeavour and Discovery meet nose to nose at Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 11, 2011.

Discovery and Endeavour

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttles Discovery, at right, and Endeavour go their separate ways while being moved in a “shuttle shuffle” to switch buildings on Aug. 11, 2011. The retired space shuttles are being readied to go on public display at museums around the country.

Nose to Nose

Space shuttle Discovery, at right, meets shuttle Endeavour nose to nose as the two switch places in this unique glimpse of operations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Showdown

The two shuttles are seen here from the roof of Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), where Discovery was being stored. Discovery moved into the Orbiter Processing Facility-1 (OPF-1), while Endeavour came out of it and went into the VAB.

Bird's eye-view

This bird’s-eye-view shows the space shuttle Discovery as it leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center for a rendezvous with shuttle Endeavour.

Discovery Preps For a Move

The retired space shuttle Discovery is undergoing preparations for public display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.

Discovery Rolls Out

Here, shuttle Discovery rolls out of its temporary storage facility at the Vehicle Assembly Building to switch places with shuttle Endeavour, which has been undergoing decommissioning in Orbiter Processing Facility-1 (OPF-1).

Endeavour On The Move

The retired space shuttle Endeavour backs out of Orbiter Processing Facility-1 to switch places with shuttle Discovery as the two are prepared for retirement at museums.