Sitting atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida on November 11, 1997, Atlantis is being prepared for transport to Palmdale, Calif., for its maintenance "down period" at Palmdale's Orbiter Assembly Facility, where it will remain until August 1998.
While at the Orbiter Assembly Facility, space shuttles undergo routine inspections, modifications, and repairs in preparation for future missions.