Astronaut Training and Space Missions

Images of astronauts performing training in low gravity, piloting space shuttles, and engaging in historic space missions.

S69-25488 (23 Feb. 1969) --- Interior view of the White Room at Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), during an Apollo 9 Countdown Demonstration Test (CDDT). Astronauts James A. McDivitt, commander; David R. Scott, command module pilot; and Russell L. Schweickart, lunar module pilot, were participating in a dress rehearsal in preparation for their scheduled 10-day Earth-orbital space mission.

STS029-02-002 (18 March 1989) --- Space Shuttle Discovery returns to Earth after five full days in space. Astronaut John E. Blaha mans the pilot's station. Note color in forward window shield caused by friction of entry through Earth's atmosphere. The photo was part of the first group of onboard photography from this flight released by NASA on March 19, 1989.

S72-50269 (September 1972) --- Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot of the Apollo 17 lunar landing mission, seals an Apollo lunar sample return container during lunar surface extravehicular activity simulation training under one-sixth gravity conditions aboard a U.S. Air Force KC-135 aircraft. Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 commander, can be seen in the left background.

AS11-36-5389 (July 1969) --- An interior view of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module showing some of the displays and controls. Mounted in the Lunar Module window is a 16mm data acquisition camera which has a variable frame speed of 1, 6, 12 and 24 frames per second.

S69-25488 (23 Feb. 1969) --- Interior view of the White Room at Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), during an Apollo 9 Countdown Demonstration Test (CDDT). Astronauts James A. McDivitt, commander; David R. Scott, command module pilot; and Russell L. Schweickart, lunar module pilot, were participating in a dress rehearsal in preparation for their scheduled 10-day Earth-orbital space mission.

S119-E-006836 (21 March 2009) --- Astronaut Steve Swanson, STS-119 mission specialist, participates in the mission's second scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 30-minute spacewalk Swanson and astronaut Joseph Acaba (out of frame), mission specialist, prepared a worksite so the STS-127 spacewalkers can more easily change out the Port 6 truss batteries later this year. On the Japanese Kibo laboratory they installed a second Global Positioning Satellite antenna that will be used for the planned rendezvous of the Japanese HTV cargo ship in September. They photographed areas of radiator panels extended from the Port 1 and Starboard 1 trusses and reconfigured connectors at a patch panel on the Zenith 1 truss that power Control Moment Gyroscopes.

S66-62984 (13 Nov. 1966) --- Astronaut Edwin Aldrin Jr. photographed inside the Gemini-12 spacecraft cabin during the spaceflight.

S96-11811 (10 June 1996) --- Astronaut Mark C. Lee, STS-82 payload commander training for extravehicular activity (EVA) involved with the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), prepares to enter a water tank at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Moments later, Lee was neutrally buoyant, rehearsing some of the HST servicing chores with a crewmate.

Gemini 12 prime crew, Astronauts James A. Lovell Jr. (leading), command pilot, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., pilot, leave the suiting trailer at Launch Complex 16 during prelaunch countdown.

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a cooperative program of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration

Virology. Researcher manipulates culture of class 4 viral agents in high level security laboratory of Pasteur Institute of Lyon, France. The class 4 virus are highly pathogenic and require high protection suits.

JSC2000-05371 (7 June 2000) --- Astronaut William Shepherd, mission commander for the Expedition One crew, is about to don an Orlan space suit. Shepherd was preparing to participate in an underwater spacewalk simulation in the Hydrolab facility at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia. Shepherd was joined by cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko (out of frame), Soyuz commander, in the underwater session.

View of the Syncom-IV (LEASAT) satellite from the flight deck window taken by Astronaut S. David Griggs.

STS088-361-022 (4-15 Dec. 1998) --- Astronaut Nancy J. Currie, mission specialist, works at the controls of the Space Shuttle Endeavours Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to unberth the United States-built Unity module. The crew also used the RMS for docking and extravehicular activity (EVA) support during the mission. At missions end, the connected node and the Russian-built FGB module were released in Earth-orbit.

Expedition 10 Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Salizhan Sharipov donned his launch and entry suit and climbed aboard the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft Friday, October 5, 2004 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a dress rehearsal of launch day activities leading to their liftoff October 14 to the International Space Station. Chiao and Sharipov, the first crew of all-Asian extraction, will spend six months on the Station. Shargin will return to Earth October 24 with the Stations' current residents, Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka and NASA Flight Engineer and Science Officer Mike Fincke.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the payload bay of the orbiter Atlantis, STS-98 Mission Specialist Robert Curbeam works with equipment he will use in space to attach the U.S. Lab Destiny to the International Space Station. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which also include a simulated launch countdown. A key element in the construction of the International Space Station, Destiny is a pressurized module designed to accommodate pressurized payloads. It has a capacity of 24 rack locations. Payload racks will occupy 13 locations especially designed to support experiments. The module already has five system racks installed inside. Launch of STS-98 on its 11-day mission is scheduled for Jan. 19 at 2 11 a.m. EST

S83-32723 (23 May 1983) --- This scene in the Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) previews next month s STS-7 flight in the space shuttle Challenger. Taken during a simulation session, the photo illustrates the seating arrangement for launch and landing phases of the Challenger s second spaceflight and its first with five crew members. Pictured, left to right, are astronauts Robert L. Crippen, commander; Frederick H. Hauck, pilot; Sally K. Ride and John M. Fabian (almost totally obscured), mission specialists. Dr. Norman E. Thagard, a third mission specialist, will be seated in the middeck for launch and landing phases.

S65-59934 (4 Dec. 1965) --- Gemini-7 pilot James A. Lovell Jr. has a temperature check with an oral temperature probe attached to his spacesuit during a final preflight preparations for the Gemini-7 space mission. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has planned a 14-day mission for the Gemini-7. The temperature probe allows doctors to monitor astronauts' body temperature at any time during the mission.

astronaut inside the orbital space station. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.. astronaut inside the orbital space station

STS079-S-092 (16-26 Sept. 1996) --- Astronauts Shannon W. Lucid and John E. Blaha work at a microgravity glove box on the Priroda Module aboard Russia's Mir Space Station complex. Blaha, who flew into Earth-orbit with the STS-79 crew, and Lucid are the first participants in a series of ongoing exchanges of NASA astronauts serving time as cosmonaut guest researchers onboard Mir. Lucid went on to spend a total of 188 days in space before returning to Earth with the STS-79 crew. During the STS-79 mission, the crew used an IMAX camera to document activities aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the various Mir modules, with the cooperation of the Russian Space Agency (RSA). A hand-held version of the 65mm camera system accompanied the STS-79 crew into space in Atlantis' crew cabin. NASA has flown IMAX camera systems on many Shuttle missions, including a special cargo bay camera's coverage of other recent Shuttle-Mir rendezvous and/or docking missions.

JSC2000-05372 (7 June 2000) --- Astronaut William Shepherd, mission commander for ISS Expedition One, is about to participate in an underwater spacewalk simulation in the Hydrolab facility at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia.

S94-29978 (8 March 1994) --- Astronaut Donald A. Thomas, mission specialist, prepares to be lowered into a 25-feet deep pool at the Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Weightless Environment Training Facility (WET-F). Astronauts Thomas and Leroy Chiao were about to be submerged and made to be neutrally buoyant in order to rehearse several contingency tasks that would require a spacewalk. No spacewalks are scheduled for the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2).

jsc2021e010829 (March 5, 2021) --- Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is pictured during training for the SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station. Hoshide, Crew-2 Mission Specialist, is wearing a pressure suit during training activities at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

DF-ST-88-03412. Base: South Pole

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, technicians watch closely as the U.S. Laboratory Destiny rotates. A component of the International Space Station, Destiny is scheduled to fly on mission STS-98 in early 2001. During the mission, the crew will install the Lab during a series of three space walks. The STS-98 mission will provide the station with science research facilities and expand its power, life support and control capabilities. The U.S. Lab module continues a long tradition of microgravity materials research, first conducted by Skylab and later Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Destiny is expected to be a major feature in future research, providing facilities for biotechnology, fluid physics, combustion, and life sciences research

Astronaut Neil Armstrong before the launch of the Gemini 8 mission. Armstrong performed emergency procedures when a malfunctioning thruster threw the space capsule in to a dangerous roll. Dec. 21, 1968.

SL3-117-2109 (6 Aug. 1973) --- Scientist-astronaut Owen K. Garriott, Skylab 3 science pilot, participates in the Aug. 6, 1973 extravehicular activity (EVA) during which he and astronaut Jack Lousma, Skylab 3 pilot, deployed the twin pole solar shield to help shade the Orbital Workshop (OWS). Note the reflection of the solar shield in Garriott's helmet visor.

Astronauts L. Gordon Cooper Jr. (foreground) and Charles Conrad Jr. arrive in the white room at Pad 19 during the Gemini-5 countdown at Cape Kennedy, Florida.

STS075-310-002 (22 Feb.-9 March 1996) --- Astronaut Maurizio Cheli, STS-75 mission specialist, works with the Tether Optical Phenomenon System (TOPS) on the flight deck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. Cheli, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), joined four other astronauts and an international payload specialists for 16 days of scientific research in Earth-orbit.

(Foreground) STS-95 Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr. inspects the window of the orbiter Discovery during a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) for their mission. Pilot Steven Lindsey is in the background. The CEIT gives astronauts an opportunity for a hands-on look at the payloads on which they will be working on orbit. The launch of the STS-95 mission, aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, is scheduled for Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

Astronaut Jack R. Lousma, Skylab 3 pilot, doing acrobatics in the dome area of the Orbital Workshop (OWS) on the space station cluster in Earth orbit. The dome area is about 22 feet in diameter and 19 feet from top to bottom.

ISS013-E-29011 (1 June 2006) --- A close-up view shows the face of cosmonaut Pavel V. Vinogradov, Expedition 13 commander representing Russia's Federal Space Agency, through his helmet visor during the first session of extravehicular activity (EVA) performed by the Expedition 13 crew during their six-month mission. Vinogradov was attired in a Russian Orlan spacesuit.

S69-33999 (18 May 1969) --- A close-up view of the face of astronaut, Thomas P. Stafford, Apollo 10 commander, is seen in this color reproduction taken from the third television transmission made by the color television camera aboard the Apollo 10 spacecraft. When this picture was made the Apollo 10 spacecraft was on a trans-lunar course, and was already about 36,000 nautical miles from Earth. Also, aboard Apollo 10 were astronauts John W. Young, command module pilot, and Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot.

S94-40048 (1 August 1994) --- Astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, mission specialist, is assisted by Boeing suit expert Steve Voyles as he prepares to be submerged in a 25-feet deep pool at the Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Weightless Environment Training Facility (WET-F). Though no extravehicular activity (EVA) is planned for the mission, at least two astronauts are trained to perform tasks that would require a space walk in the event of failure of remote systems. In November, Tanner will join four other NASA astronauts and a European mission specialist for a week and a half in space aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The flight will support the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3) mission.

SL4-150-5074 (February 1974) --- Scientist-astronaut Edward G. Gibson, science pilot for the Skylab 4 mission, demonstrates the effects of zero-gravity as he sails through airlock module hatch.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Preparations are underway to prepare the Project Morpheus prototype lander for its first free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Testing of the prototype lander was performed at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for tethered and free flight testing at Kennedy. Project Morpheus integrates NASAs automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, with an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to asteroids and other planetary surfaces.The landing facility will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration System

S89-E-5359 (28 Jan 1998) --- This Electronic Still Camera (ESC) image shows cosmonaut Anatoliy Y. Solovyev, Mir-24 commander, peeking through the Docking Module (DM) hatch one last time to bid his astronaut friends farewell, just moments before final hatch closure. The hatch closing brings an end to the eighth Shuttle/Mir joint docking activities. The STS-89 crew, onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, dropped off astronaut Andrew S. W. Thomas to replace astronaut David A. Wolf, as cosmonaut guest researcher. Thomas will be the last American astronaut to serve a tour aboard the Russian Mir Space station. This ESC view was taken on January 28, 1998, at 22:30:54 GMT.

At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 34/35 Soyuz Commander Roman Romanenko (foreground) and Flight Engineer Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency conduct a fit check” dress rehearsal inside the Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft Dec. 7, 2012. Along with Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn of NASA (not pictured), Romanenko and Hadfield are preparing for launch Dec. 19 for a five-month mission on the International Space Station.

Exhibition of flight control room ina museum, Fleet Air Arm Museum, Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, Yeovil, Somerset, England

S66-24489 (16 March 1966) --- Close-up view of astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, command pilot of the Gemini-8 spaceflight, making final adjustments and checks in the spacecraft during the Gemini-8 prelaunch countdown.

Airlock of the Mir space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. It had a greater mass than any previous spacecraft

S85-44459 (19 Nov. 1985) --- Sharon Christa McAuliffe, seated behind 51-L pilot Michael J. Smith, prepares to strap herself into the mission specialists position in the Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) as part of her training for the 51-L mission.

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STS091-365-011 (2-12 June 1998) --- The face of astronaut Wendy B. Lawrence, STS-91 mission specialist, is almost lost amidst supplies and equipment yet to be transferred from the Space Shuttle Discovery to Russia's Mir space station.This mission marks the final occasion for the shuttle to bring up supplies and hardware for the Mir complex.

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S65-35563 (18 June 1965) --- Astronauts L. Gordon Cooper Jr. (left), command pilot; and Charles Conrad Jr., pilot, the prime crew of the Gemini-5 spaceflight, prepare their cameras while aboard a C-130 aircraft flying near Laredo, Texas. The two astronauts are taking part in a series of visual acuity experiments to aid them in learning to identify known terrestrial features under controlled conditions. Knowledge gained from these experiments will have later application for space pilots identifying terrestrial features from space. Dr. John Billingham, chief, Environmental Physiology Branch, Crew Systems Division, is in charge of the Visual Acuity Experiments.

In the Operations and Checkout Bldg., Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.) has his launch and entry suit checked by technicians. In preparation for their mission, the STS-93 crew are participating in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that also include equipment check and a launch-day dress rehearsal culminating with a simulated main engine cut-off. Others in the crew participating are Commander Eileen M. Collins, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialists Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.) and Michel Tognini of France, who represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Collins is the first woman to serve as a Shuttle commander. The primary mission of STS-93 is the release of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to obtain unprecedented X-ray images of exotic environments in space to help understand the structure and evolution of the universe. The targeted launch date for STS-93 is no earlier than July 20 at 12:3

This is an onboard photo of Astronaut John M. Grunsfield, STS-109 payload commander, participating in the third of five spacewalks to perform work on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). On this particular walk, Grunsfield, joined by Astronaut Richard M. Lirnehan, turned off the telescope in order to replace its power control unit (PCU), the heart of the HST's power system. The telescope was captured and secured on a work stand in Columbia's payload bay using Columbia's robotic arm, where crew members completed system upgrades to the HST. Included in those upgrades were replacement of the solar array panels; replacement of the power control unit (PCU); replacement of the Faint Object Camera (FOC) with a new advanced camera for Surveys (ACS); and installation of the experimental cooling system for the Hubble's Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-object Spectrometer (NICMOS), which had been dormant since January 1999 when its original coolant ran out. The Marshall Space Flight Center had the res

STS059-12-035 (9-20 April 1994) --- A 16mm lens on a 35mm camera provides a fish-eye effect for this rare scene on the Space Shuttle Endeavour's flight deck during checkout of the spacecraft's flight control systems. Astronauts Sidney M. Gutierrez (left) and Kevin P. Chilton (right) man the commander and pilot stations, respectively. Astronaut Michael R. (Rich) Clifford, the flight engineer, is seated behind the two. Not pictured are astronauts Linda M. Godwin, payload commander, and Jerome (Jay) Apt and Thomas D. Jones, both mission specialists.

This photograph was taken during a deployment simulation of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The LRV was built to give Apollo astronauts a greater range of mobility during the last three lunar exploration missions; Apollo 15, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17. It was designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and built by the Boeing Company.

S98-06939 (28 April 1998) --- U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr. (D.-Ohio) prepares to rehearse launch readiness procedures on the middeck of a crew trainer at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Sharon Jones, involved in crew training, goes over a check list. When the STS-95 payload specialist lifts off aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in October of this year and later lands in Florida, he will be seated in a temporary middeck chair like the one used in this training exercise. The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

S73-27562 (June 1973) --- Scientist-astronaut Joseph P. Kerwin, Skylab 2 science pilot, performs extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Skylab 1 and 2 space station cluster in Earth orbit, as seen in this reproduction taken from a color television transmission made by a TV camera aboard the station. Kerwin is just outside the Airlock Module. Kerwin assisted astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., Skylab 2 commander, during the successful EVA attempt to free the stuck solar array system wing on the Orbital Workshop.

STS034-05-027 (18-23 Oct. 1989) --- Astronaut Shannon W. Lucid peers into Atlantis' cargo bay from the aft flight deck. The spacecraft was in the midst of one of its many days , a 50-odd minutes session of exposure to the sun. The scene was recorded with a 35mm camera.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - NOVEMBER 8: Astronautics museum. Two Soviet space suit with symbols of Soviet Union. November 8, 2009 in Moscow, Russia.

S77-E-5066 (22 May 1996) --- Astronaut Curtis L. Brown, Jr., pilot, is seen on the starboard side of the Space Shuttle Endeavour's aft flight deck just prior to the deployment of the Satellite Test Unit (STU), part of the Passive Aerodynamically Stabilized Magnetically Damped Satellite (PAMS). Brown's image was captured with an Electronic Still Camera (ESC). Minutes later the camera was being used to document the deployment of PAMS-STU. The six-member crew will continue operations (tracking, rendezvousing and station-keeping) with PAMS-STU periodically throughout the remainder of the mission.

S90-41366 (11 June 1990) --- Astronaut Bryan D. O'Connor, STS-40 mission commander, talks with Elizabeth Youmans of the crew training staff at JSC, during a break in mission training. This exercise, in JSC's Shuttle mockup and integration laboratory, was designed to familiarize the astronauts with proper procedures and gear involved in emergency egress from the Space Shuttle. O'Connor is wearing the orange partial pressure ascent/entry suit. Primary payload of the STS-40 mission is Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1).

New renovated NASA Ames Research Center 12ft Pressure Wind Tunnel view of test section as 2 mechanics inspect model installation

PATRICK AFB, Fla. - In preparation of the nations first lunar landing mission, Apollo 11 crew members arrive at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Mission commander Neil Armstrong climbs out of a T-38 jet. Lift off atop a Saturn V launch vehicle is scheduled for July 16, 1969. During Apollo 11 the command module, Columbia, will remain in orbit around the moon while the lunar module, Eagle, carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, lands on the lunar surface. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew plans to collect lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth.

S65-61757 (4 Dec. 1965) --- Astronaut Frank Borman, command pilot of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's

S73-20236 (1 March 1973) --- The three members of the prime crew of the first manned Skylab mission dine on specially prepared Skylab space food in the wardroom of the crew quarters of the Skylab Orbital Workshop (OWS) trainer during Skylab training at the Johnson Space Center. They are, left to right, scientist-astronaut Joseph P. Kerwin, science pilot; astronaut Paul J. Weitz, pilot; and astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., commander.

S73-31800 (28 July 1973) --- The three crewmen of the second manned Skylab mission (Skylab 3) participate in prelaunch suiting up activities in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building at the Kennedy Space Center on the morning of the Skylab 3 launch. They are (from foreground) astronaut Alan L. Bean, commander; scientist-astronaut Owen K. Garriott, science pilot; and astronaut Jack R. Lousma, pilot. Dr. Donald K. Slayton (left foreground), Director of Flight Crew Operations, Johnson Space Center, monitors the prelaunch activities. Skylab 3 lifted off at 7 11 a.m. (EDT), Saturday, July 28, 1973. The three astronauts were scheduled to spend 59 days at the Skylab space station in Earth orbit.

220511-N-YX844-2215 PACIFIC OCEAN (May 11, 2022) Machinists Mate 3rd Class Magdalena Ramos, from Morristown, Tennessee, takes a sample of oxygen in the O2N2 fill room aboard the U.S. Navys only forward deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). The oxygen is stored as a liquid and used by squadron pilots and Ronald Reagans medical team. Samples are routinely tested aboard to ensure its purity. Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, and supports alliances, partnerships and collective maritime interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

Artwork: "Egress". Artist: Alex Young. U.S. Air Force Art Collection. Country: Unknown

S65-43967 (23 Aug. 1965) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., Gemini-6 prime crew command pilot, is pictured onboard the NASA Motor Vessel Retriever during water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico. Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford (out of frame), Gemini-6 prime crew pilot, also took part in the training.

At the Gagarin Museum located at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 38/39 Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA studies a model of a Soyuz spacecraft during a tour October 22, 2013. Mastracchio, Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin will launch Nov. 7, Kazakh time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft for the start of a six-month mission on the International Space Station.NASA/Stephanie Stoll

Expedition 59 NASA astronaut Anne McClain departs the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft landing site via helicopter shortly after she, Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko landed in their Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, June 25, 2019. McClain, Saint-Jacques, and Kononenko are returning after 204 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 58 and 59 crews onboard the International Space Station.

S92-26413 (March 1992) --- Astronaut Thomas D. Akers, left, is briefed by suit technician Alan M. Rochford of JSC's EVA branch office during a bailout training exercise in the Johnson Space Center's weightless environment training facility (WET-F). Akers was joined by six crewmates for the training session in the Johnson Space Center's Shuttle Mockup and Integration Laboratory. The seven will be aboard Endeavour in May for a week-long mission, during which a satellite will be retrieved and boosted toward a higher orbit, and extravehicular activity evaluations for Space Station Freedom assembly techniques will be conducted.

Palos Verde, California: c. 1966 The observatory at Northrop Nortronics Research Park where star and sun tracking experiments are being conducted for stellar guidance systems.

An Astronaut Aboard Gemini 9

S66-34061 (3 June 1966) --- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, pilot of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Gemini-9A spaceflight, undergoes suiting up operations in the Launch Complex 16 suit trailer during the Gemini-9A prelaunch countdown. Later Astronauts Cernan and Thomas P. Stafford, command pilot, entered a transport van which carried them to Pad 19 and their waiting spacecraft. The liftoff was at 8 39 a.m. (EST), June 3, 1966.

S99-05726 (26 May 1999) --- Astronaut Janet L. Kavandi, mission specialist, is about to be lowered into a deep pool for an underwater training session. The training took place at the Johnson Space Center's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), part of the Sonny Carter Training Center. Kavandi has weights on the training version of her extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) which help to provide neutral buoyancy in the pool. Astronauts Kavandi and Gerhard P.J. Thiele were participating in a rehearsal of a contingency space walk for the STS-99 mission.

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