Space Shuttle Atlantis in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)
29 June 2012

To free up Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) #1 for a commercial customer, the Space Shuttle Atlantis has been moved back into High Bay #4 of the VAB for temporary storage. Atlantis is not quite done with Retirement & Transition work to prepare it for museum display. When the work is done on Endeavour in OPF #2, the two Shuttles will be switched, with Endeavour waiting in High Bay #4 for its flight to Los Angeles and Atlantis undergoing the final work in the OPF needed to prepare it for moving to its final destination as a display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Note in the images the Orbital Maneuvering System pods and the forward Reaction Control System have all been replaced. The yellow structure running along the cargo bay doors is a strong back to provide structural support to the doors when opened on Earth.

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