![orbiter processing facility orbiter processing facility](https://www.nasa.gov/images/content/252525main_engine_move_lg.jpg)
Once the Shuttle preparation had been completed, the Orbiter Vehicle would be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building to be mated with the External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters and then to the launchpad where she would take to the skies. This turnaround process usually lasted between 2-4 months depending on what needed to be completed. The modular payload bay would be reconfigured for the next mission and the shuttle prepped.
![orbiter processing facility orbiter processing facility](https://cdn2.picryl.com/photo/2007/02/07/ksc-07pd0284-aa2ea1-640.jpg)
Modifications to the orbiter were completed at this time as well such as upgrading systems and hardware. All 3 OPF’s were located just west of the Vehicle Assembly Building.Īfter a shuttle had completed a mission, it was moved into one of the three hangars where it would undergo maintenance and processing. Scaffolding would be setup around the Shuttle’s aft section to allow technicians access to the main engines which would be removed and rebuilt before every mission. Any repairs that were needed on the orbiter’s thermal protection system including the thermal blankets and thousands of tiles was completed. Any refuse and other waste products including draining of the potable water system were offloaded and the fuel cell tanks were drained of remaining cryogenic reactants. Orbiter Processing Facility 3 (OPF-3) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) served out the final years of the Shuttle Program as the sole home to veteran Orbiter Discovery following the resumption of. There were 3 Orbiter Processing Facilities called OPF-1, OPF-2 and OPF-3. Order Processing Fee (sales) OPF: Operation Flashpoint (game) OPF: Onshore Processing Facility: OPF: OPEN Process Framework: OPF: Overseer Plug-in File: OPF: Official Personnel Folder: OPF: Orbiter Processing Facility: OPF: Optimal Power Flow: OPF: Organizational Process Focus (Process Area Capability Maturity Model Integration) OPF: Overseas. NASA and Boeing provided members of the media with a tour of Boeing’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility (C3PF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. I encourage anyone with a minimum of technical facility to build their own. The Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) was a hangar at Kennedy Space Center where the Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles underwent maintenance in between flights. I even had models of the Apollo rockets, orbiter and lunar landing module and.