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Mate-Demate Device
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<p>The Mate-Demate Device was a specialized <a href="/facts/Gantry_crane/cI5gFeoN">gantry crane</a> designed to lift a <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_orbiter/pD50Txk9">Space Shuttle orbiter</a> onto and off the back of a <a href="/facts/Shuttle_Carrier_Aircraft/9FA26jED">Shuttle Carrier Aircraft</a> (SCA). Two Mate-Demate Devices were built, one at the <a href="/facts/Armstrong_Flight_Research_Center/g5XxJ6RV">Armstrong Flight Research Center</a> in California, the other at the <a href="/facts/Kennedy_Space_Center/zmwszuPr">Kennedy Space Center</a> in Florida. A third Orbiter Lifting Fixture was to serve a similar function at the <a href="/facts/Vandenberg_Air_Force_Base/CHNed3F4">Vandenberg Air Force Base</a>, the proposed West Coast launch location for the Shuttle. It was later moved to Palmdale to support the plant where the Shuttle was built and refurbished. A portable sling was also built to support mate-demate operations away from the primary locations. </p>