SPACEPHOTOS

(11/11/1997) -- The orbiter Atlantis, riding atop the modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, departed Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Nov. 11 at 1:53 p.m. en route to Palmdale, Calif., for its planned Orbiter Maintenance Down Period. Atlantis departed from KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility Runway 33 for Palmdale’s Orbiter Assembly Facility, where it will remain until August 1998. At Palmdale, modifications and structural inspections will be conducted in preparation for Atlantis’ future missions to support International Space Station assembly activities. Atlantis’ next flight into space is scheduled to be Space Shuttle mission STS-92, targeted for launch from KSC in January 1999