From NasaCRgis

Center:	Kennedy Space Center
Location:	Cape Canaveral, Florida
Year Built:	1978
Historic Eligibility:	National Register Eligible
Important Tests:

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Contents 1 History 2 Photos

[top] History

The Mate-Demate Device (MDD), built in 1978, is considered eligible for listing in the NRHP in the context of the Space Shuttle program under Criterion A in the areas of Space Exploration and Transportation and under Criterion C in the area of Engineering. Because it has achieved significance within the past 50 years, Criteria Consideration G applies. In addition to its individual eligibility, the MDD is a contributing resource within the SLF Area Historic District. The MDD is one of only two permanent devices constructed by NASA with the specific purpose of enabling the attachment and detachment of the Space Shuttle orbiter and the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), and has been in use since the orbiter Columbia’s first arrival at the KSC (March 24, 1979). Under Criterion C, the MDD essentially serves as a large crane for lifting the orbiter. As the primary means of connecting the orbiter to the SCA, the MDD is of exceptional importance to the Space Shuttle program. The resource boundary extends from the outer footprint of the MDD, approximately 3 m (10 ft), which includes all necessary components historically required for its functions.

[top] Photos

1991-01-01 Shuttle in Mate-Demate Device being Loaded onto SCA-747 - Side View	1991-01-01 Shuttle in Mate-Demate Device being Loaded onto SCA-747 - Rear View	1990-03-01 STS-36 Shuttle in Mate-Demate Device (MDD) Close-up	1991-04-01 Shuttle in Mate-Demate Device being Loaded onto SCA-747	1992-01-01 STS-49 Shuttle Endevour in Mate-Demate Device being Loaded onto SCA-747 - Front View
1992-01-01 Shuttle Endevour Loaded onto SCA-747 Exiting the Mate-Demate Device	1996-03-01 Shuttle Atlantis in Mate-Demate Device Being Loaded onto SCA-747 for Return to Kennedy Space Center	1996-04-01 STS-76 - Being Prepared for Delivery to Kennedy Space Center via SCA 747 Aircraft	2000-10-29 STS-92 - Orbiter in Mate-Demate Device (MDD)	2000-10-29 STS-92 - Orbiter in Mate-Demate Device (MDD) at sunrise with Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) in background
2000-10-29 STS-92 - Orbiter in Mate-Demate Device (MDD)	2001-02-26 The Space Shuttle Atlantis centered in the Mate-Demate Device (MDD) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research	2002-06-27 The Space Shuttle Endeavour receives post-flight servicing in the Mate-Demate Device (MDD)