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Intro music.

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Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California August 9,

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ending NASA's first Return to Flight mission.

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Then it had to catch a ride home to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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That's the job of a customized 747 jet known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

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NASA owns two of these planes, which had to be modified to carry their special cargo.

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Ferry flight engineer Larry LaRose explains.

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"We took all the lavatories, all the galleys, the seats, the carpet, the baggage racks and stuff, and took that weight out.

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We took approximately 40,000 to 50,000 pounds of weight out. ...And it took about two years to modify it,

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to put the tip fins, the fairings on, and the mounts."

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Using twice the power and fuel of a 747 on a normal flight, the aircraft relies on brute force to stay aloft.

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Veteran pilot and Shuttle astronaut Gordon Fullerton has an extensive background with the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

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As chief pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California, he's among the few who have ever flown the 747.

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"To ferry an orbiter on top here? Well, it's a different ballgame than flying the orbiter in space.

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But it's equally interesting. Somewhat challenging, mainly because of the weather."

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The orbiter cannot be exposed to any kind of moisture or turbulence,

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and sometimes the carrier aircraft must fly as low as 10,000 feet to prevent the space vehicle from getting too cold.

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How does this airplane handle when it's carrying such a large load?

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"It handles remarkably the same. It's obvious it's up there because there's a constant rumble that you can feel

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because of the wake of the orbiter hitting the vertical stabilizer of the 747."

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Now that Discovery is safely home in its processing facility at Kennedy,

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it's time to fly this 747 back out west for routine maintenance.

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But next time a Space Shuttle orbiter needs a ride home,

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the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and a team of experienced aviators will be ready.

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"It's pretty exciting. I mean, you don't sneak into town with this. It's fairly large, it brings a big crowd out everywhere we go to.

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A lot of questions, a lot of enthusiasm -- people really get pumped when they see this airplane and see the orbiter itself for the first time."

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