14 years go today....(Mock) Space Shuttle Flies Away!

Space Shuttle "Explorer" never flew in space because it was fake. The replica was built from actual shuttle blueprints using some parts from retired shuttles. It came to the Kennedy Space Center in 1993, and was there in 2009 when I photographed it. It would depart for Space Center Houston/Johnson Space Center a few years later, where it was renamed "Independence" and is presently displayed on top of NASA 905, one of NASA's two modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

In 2011, the actual shuttle "Atlantis" landed at the Kennedy Space Center after its final mission and has been on public display since 2013 when construction was completed.

Kennedy Space Center
Cape Canaveral, Florida
March 2, 2009