Astronauts Preparing for Space Missions

Images of astronauts in orange launch suits getting assistance in the White Room at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, depicting pre-launch preparations and teamwork.

PHOTO DATE: 05-20-09LOCATION: Bldg 5, Fixed Based SimulatorSUBJECT: STS-128 Preflight Training
PHOTO DATE: 05-20-09LOCATION: Bldg 5, Fixed Based SimulatorSUBJECT: STS-128 Preflight Training
253 assets in this story
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JSC2002-01737 (17 September 2002) --- Astronaut Paul S. Lockhart, STS-113 pilot, dons a training version of the full-pressure launch and entry suit prior to the start of a training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at the Johnson Space Center (JSC).
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In the white room, an environmental chamber, at Launch Pad 39B, STS-96 Mission Specialist Valery Ivanovich Tokarev, with the Russian Space Agency, gets help with equipment from Chris Menard, Jean Alexander and James Davis before entering the orbiter Discovery at Launch Pad 39B. The crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities, which provide opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay, as well as simulated countdown exercises and emergency egress training. STS-96, scheduled for liftoff on May 20 at 9:32 a.m., is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment
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jsc2011e002624 (01/11/2011)--- Training was performed at the Johnson Space Center to familiarize crew with emergency evacuation procedures from the shuttle system. Engineers at JSC (including Susana Tapia Harper & Alma Stephane Tapia) donned Advanced Crew Escape Space Suit System (ACES) suits while the astronaut crew practiced mock evacuations. NASA photo by James Blair
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JSC2007-E-14467 (20 March 2007) --- Astronaut Leland D. Melvin, STS-122 mission specialist, dons a training version of his shuttle launch and entry suit in preparation for a post insertion/de-orbit training session in one of the full-scale trainers in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at Johnson Space Center. United Space Alliance (USA) suit technicians Mike Thompson (left) and Jeff Chiodo assisted Melvin.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - STS-125 crew members head for the Astrovan outside the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Astrovan will take them to Launch Pad 39A for liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. From left are Mission Specialists Michael Good, John Grunsfeld, Megan McArthur, Mike Massimino and Andrew Feustel, Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Commander Scott Altman. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Launch of Atlantis is scheduled for 2:01 p.m. May 11 EDT.
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STS-84 Mission Specialist C. Michael Foale, at center, exhibits great enthusiasm for the upcoming Space Shuttle mission to onlookers during the dress rehearsal of the crews walkout from the Operations and Checkout Building. He and the other six STS-84 crew members are participating in an abbreviated practice countdown to launch called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). In front of Foale is Mission Specialist Elena V. Kondakova, a Russian cosmonaut. Behind Foale, from left, are Mission Specialist Jean-Francois Clervoy, an astronaut with the European Space Agency; and U.S. astronauts and STS-84 Mission Specialists Edward Tsang Lu and Carlos I. Noriega. Already out of camera view are Pilot Eileen Marie Collins and Commander Charles J. Precourt. During the sixth ShuttleMir docking, Foale will take his place aboard the Russian Space Station Mir as a member of the Mir 23 crew, replacing U.S. astronaut Jerry M. Linenger, who will return to Earth on Atlantis. Launch of STS-84 i
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In the Operations and Checkout Building, STS-99 Mission Specialist Janet Lynn Kavandi (Ph.D.) is helped by a suit technician during flight crew equipment fit check prior to her trip to Launch Pad 39A. The crew is taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities that provide the crew with simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. STS-99 is the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which will chart a new course, using two antennae and a 200-foot-long section of space station-derived mast protruding from the payload bay to produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. Besides contributing to the production of better maps, these measurements could lead to improved water drainage modeling, more realistic flight simulators, better locations for cell phone
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JSC2005-E-14733 (21 March 2005) ---Three STS-114 astronauts give a simultaneous thumbs-up signal to indicate preparedness during an underwater training session in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston. From the left are Soichi Noguchi of JAXA, Stephen K. Robinson and Andrew S.W. Thomas. A number of SCUBA-equipped divers participated in the dive to assist the astronauts. Noguchi and Robinson have been in training for a lengthy period of time, preparing for three scheduled spacewalks on the first flight marking return to space following the Columbia mission of 2003. Thomas, working inside the Space ShuttleDiscovery's cabin, will serve as the lead robotics officer for the inspection of the Orbiter's thermal protection system using a new boom extension outfitted with sensors and cameras. He will also serve as the Intravehicular Activity crewmember helping to suit up and choreograph spacewalkers Noguchi and Robinson for their spacewalks.
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NASA/SpaceX Crew-6 Dry Dress Rehearsal. NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts, in their SpaceX spacesuits, are inside the crew suit-up room in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a countdown dress rehearsal on Feb. 23, 2023, to prepare for the upcoming Crew-6 launch. Standing from left are Andrei Fedyaev, Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist; NASA astronaut Warren Woody Hoburg, pilot; NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, spacecraft commander; and Sultan Alneyadi, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut and mission specialist. The crew will launch to the International Space Station aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Launch is targeted for 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27 from Launch Complex 39A. Crew-6 is the sixth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station, and the seventh flight of Dragon with people as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program.
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JSC2007-E-48205 (28 Sept. 2007) --- While seated at the commander's and pilot's stations, astronauts Mark E. Kelly (left) and Kenneth T. Ham, STS-124 commander and pilot, respectively, participate in a training session in the crew compartment trainer (CCT-2) in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at Johnson Space Center. Kelly and Ham are wearing training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On the Fixed Service Structure on Launch Complex 39A, space shuttle astronauts being briefed on the slidewire emergency pad escape system are (left to right) prime crew Pilot Bob Crippen, backup crew member Richard Truly, prime crew Commander John Young and backup crew member Joe Engle. The slidewire system provides a quick escape from upper launch pad platforms in case of a serious emergency. The flight crews wore the spacesuits and other equipment to be worn during a mission, but sandbags were used to duplicate the weight of riders in the slidewire baskets during the training. The STS-1 mission, known as a shuttle systems test flight, will seek to demonstrate safe launch into orbit and safe return of the orbiter and crew and verify the combined performance of the entire shuttle vehicle -- orbiter, solid rocket boosters and external tank. STS-1 will be launched from Pad A at the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 no earlier than March 1981.
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S85-44835 (20 Nov. 1985) --- This flying human chain represents prime and backup payload specialists for two upcoming STS missions. The group, representing trainees for STS-61C later this year and STS-51L early next year, shared some 40 parabolas in NASAs KSC-135, Zero-G aircraft on Nov. 20. Left to right are Gerard Magilton, RCA backup payload specialist for STS-61C; Sharon Christa McAuliffe, payload specialist/teacher citizen observer for STS-51L; U.S. Rep. Bill Nelson (D., Florida), scheduled for 61-C; Barbara R. Morgan, backup to McAuliffe; and Robert J. Cenker, RCA payload specialist for 61-C. The photo was taken by Keith Meyers, New York Times.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 crew participate in a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. From left in the blue flight suits are Pilot Eric Boe, Mission Specialist Donald Pettit and International Space Station Expedition 18 flight engineer Sandra Magnus. The CEIT provides hands-on experience with hardware and equipment slated to fly on their mission. Endeavour will deliver a multi-purpose logistics module to the International Space Station on the STS-126 mission. Launch is targeted for Nov. 10.
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JSC2002-00787 (12 April 2002) --- Astronauts Piers J. Sellers (left), David A. Wolf, and cosmonaut Fyodor N. Yurchikhin, all STS-112 mission specialists, attired in training versions of the full-pressure launch and entry suit, wait for a photo and training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Yurchikhin represents Rosaviakosmos.
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As white room closeout members look on, STS-82 Payload Commander Mark. C. Lee prepares to enter the Space Shuttle Discovery at Launch Pad 39A
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STS-130 TCDT - ORBITER INGRESS - WHITEROOM
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STS-82 Mission Specialist Joseph R. "Joe" Tanner talks to white room closeout crew members before entering the Space Shuttle Discovery at Launch Pad 39A
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Artemis II Day of Launch Demonstration Test ISVV-A1. Inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Artemis II crew members (from left) NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch are shown wearing test versions of the Orion crew survival system spacesuits they will wear on launch day as part of an integrated ground systems test on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
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S95-03470 (16 FEB 1995) --- Attired in blue training versions of the orange Shuttle launch and entry garments, astronauts Terence T. (Tom) Henricks, right, and Kevin R. Kregel take a break during a bailout training session at the Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Weightless Environment Training Facility (WET-F). Assigned as commander and pilot, respectively, for the STS-70 mission, the two later joined their crew mates in making use of a nearby 25-feet deep pool to practice parachute landings in water and subsequent deployment of life rafts.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-85 Payload Commander N. Jan Davis (left) and Mission Specialist Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., check out an emergency egress slidewire basket at the 195-foot level of Launch Pad 39A during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities for that mission. The primary payload aboard the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery is the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-2 (CRISTA-SPAS-2). Other STS-85 payloads include the Manipulator Flight Demonstration (MFD), and Technology Applications and Science-1 (TAS-1) and International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker-2 (IEH-2)
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-100 Mission Specialists Umberto Guidoni (left), Scott E. Parazynski (center) and Chris A. Hadfield (right) conclude emergency escape training at Launch Pad 39A. Parazynski gets help with his helmet. The crew is taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that also include a simulated launch countdown. The mission is carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello and the SSRMS, to the International Space Station. Raffaello carries six system racks and two storage racks for the U.S. Lab. The SSRMS is crucial to the continued assembly of the orbiting complex. Launch of mission STS-100 is scheduled for April 19 at 2 41 p.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39A
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STS-130 TCDT - ORBITER INGRESS - WHITEROOM
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On May 23, 2020, Demo-2 crew members Robert Behnken (right) and Douglas Hurley walk down the hallway of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida as they prepare to be transported to Launch Complex 39A during a full dress rehearsal ahead of launch. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft will carry Behnken and Hurley to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program, returning human spaceflight capability to the U.S. after nearly a decade. Launch is slated for 4:33 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 27.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The crew members of mission STS-116 are suiting up for a second launch attempt at 8:47 p.m. EST from Launch Pad 39B aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. Pictured here, Mission Specialist Joan Higginbotham, who will be making her first shuttle flight, is helped with her boot. The first launch attempt of STS-116 on Dec. 7 was postponed due a low cloud ceiling over Kennedy Space Center. This is Discovery's 33rd mission and the first night launch since 2002. The 20th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-116 carries another truss segment, P5. It will serve as a spacer, mated to the P4 truss that was attached in September. After installing the P5, the crew will reconfigure and redistribute the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays. Landing is expected Dec. 19 at KSC.
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John H Glenn and crew members, June 1998. Artist: Unknown
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The STS-105 crew eagerly leads the way to the Astrovan, followed by the Expedition Three (E3) crew, and the drive to Launch Pad 39A for launch. Leading the way are Pilot Rick Sturckow (near) and Commander Scott Horowitz; in the second row, Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester (near) and Daniel Barry; in the third row, E3 cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin (left), Commander Frank Culbertson (center), and cosmonaut Vladimir Dezhurov (right). Forrester and Tyurin are both making their first space flights. On the mission, Discovery will be transporting the Expedition Three crew and several payloads and scientific experiments to the ISS, including the Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS) tank. The EAS, which will support the thermal control subsystems until a permanent system is activated, will be attached to the Station during two spacewalks. The three-member Expedition Two crew will be returning to Earth aboard Discovery after a five-month stay on the Station. Launch is sched
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At the 195-foot level on the Fixed Service Structure, Launch Pad 39B, members of the STS-102 crew relax after emergency escape training. At left is Pilot James Kelly; in the center and right are Mission Specialists Yury Usachev and James Voss. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include the emergency training and a simulated launch countdown. STS-102 is the eighth construction flight to the International Space Station, with Space Shuttle Discovery carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Usachev and Voss are part of the Expedition Two crew who will be on the mission to replace Expedition One on the International Space Station. Expedition One will return to Earth with Discovery. Launch on mission STS-102 is scheduled for March 8
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STS-132 Crew Mission Briefing
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The smiling STS-118 crew walks toward the Astrovan that will take them to Launch Pad 39A for a simulated launch countdown. From left are Mission Specialists Barbara R. Morgan and Rick Mastracchio, Pilot Charlie Hobaugh, Mission Specialists Dave Williams and Tracy Caldwell, and Commander Scott Kelly. Morgan joined NASA's Teacher in Space program in 1985 and was selected as an astronaut in 1998. The countdown concludes the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT. The STS-118 crew has been at Kennedy for the TCDT activities that also include M-113 training, payload familiarization and emergency egress training at the pad. The mission is the 22nd flight to the International Space Station and Space Shuttle Endeavour will carry a payload including the S5 truss, a SPACEHAB module and external stowage platform 3. STS-118 is targeted for launch on Aug. 7.
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JSC2011-E-026913 (11 March 2011) --- NASA astronaut Andrew Feustel, STS-134 mission specialist, dons a training version of his shuttle launch and entry suit in preparation for an ingress/egress training session in a shuttle mock-up in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Suit technician Drew Billingsley assisted Feustel.
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JSC2001-E-06408 (27 February 2001) --- Astronauts (from left foreground) Steven W. Lindsey, commander; Charles O. Hobaugh, pilot; Michael L. Gernhardt, Janet L. Kavandi, and James F. Reilly, all mission specialists, don training versions of the full-pressure launch and entry suit prior to a training session in one of the trainer/mockups (out of frame) in the Johnson Space Center’s Systems Integration Facility. The astronauts are assisted by suit technicians (from right foreground) Len Groce and Drew Billingsley. The STS-104 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) represents the Space Shuttle Atlantis' first flight using a new engine and is targeted for a liftoff no earlier than June 14, 2001.
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Crew-4 mission astronauts participate in NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 dry dress rehearsal in the suit room inside Kennedy Space Centers Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on April 20, 2022. A team of SpaceX suit technicians assisted them as they put on their custom-fitted spacesuits and checked the suits for leaks. From left are: Jessica Watkins, mission specialist; Bob Hines, pilot; Kjell Lindgren, commander; and Samantha Cristoforetti, mission specialist. SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon, named Freedom by the Crew-4 crew, will launch the astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program. The mission is scheduled to lift off at 5:26 a.m. EDT on April 23, 2022, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.
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S94-47079 (18 Oct 1994) --- Astronaut Robert L. Gibson, (arms folded, near center) STS-71 mission commander, joins several crew mates during a briefing preceding emergency egress training in the Systems Integration Facility at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Astronauts Bonnie J. Dunbar and Gregory J. Harbaugh (partially obscured), along with cosmonaut Anatoliy Y. Solovyev, all mission specialists, are attired in training versions of the partial pressure launch and entry space suits. Astronaut Charles J. Precourt, pilot, is in center foreground, and Ellen S. Baker, mission specialist, is in left background.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-85 Payload Commander N. Jan Davis (left) and Mission Specialist Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., check out an emergency egress slidewire basket at the 195-foot level of Launch Pad 39A during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities for that mission. The primary payload aboard the Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery is the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-2 (CRISTA-SPAS-2). Other STS-85 payloads include the Manipulator Flight Demonstration (MFD), and Technology Applications and Science-1 (TAS-1) and International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker-2 (IEH-2).
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Dressed in their bright-orange launch-and-entry suits, the final four astronauts to launch aboard a space shuttle exit the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the left row, STS-135 Pilot Doug Hurley is followed by Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus. In the right row, Commander Chris Ferguson is followed by Mission Specialist Rex Walheim. The astronauts, who will head to Launch Pad 39A aboard the silver Astrovan, are scheduled to lift off aboard space shuttle Atlantis at 11:26 a.m. EDT on July 8 for their mission to the International Space Station.STS-135 will deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts for the orbiting outpost. Atlantis also will fly the Robotic Refueling Mission experiment that will investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites in orbit. In addition, Atlantis will return with a failed ammonia pump modu
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The STS-99 crew wave to onlookers as they walk to the astrovan which will take them to Launch Pad 39A and liftoff of Space Shuttle Endeavour, targeted for 12:47 p.m. EST. In their orange launch and entry suits, they are (foreground) Pilot Dominic Gorie and Commander Kevin Kregel. Behind them (left to right) are Mission Specialists Janice Voss (Ph.D.), Mamoru Mohri (Ph.D.), Gerhard Thiele and Janet Lynn Kavandi (Ph.D.). Mohri is with the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan, and Thiele is with the European Space Agency. The SRTM will chart a new course to produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface, using two antennae and a 200-foot-long section of space station-derived mast protruding from the payload bay. The result of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. Besides contributing to the production of better maps, these measurements could lead to improved water drainage modeling, more realistic fligh
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S92-48735 (18 Sept 1992) --- These four Germans have been assigned as payload specialists to support the STS-55Spacelab D-2 mission. Left to right are Renate Brummer, Gerhard Thiele, Ulrich Walter and Hans Schlegel. Walter and Schlegel are scheduled to fly aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia for the mission, while Brummer and Thiele will serve as alternates and fill supportive roles on the ground. They are seen during a break in training in the Shuttle mockup and integration laboratory at the Johnson Space Center.
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Photo Date: February 3, 2010Subject: Emergency Egress Training STS 134Location: Building 9NW - FFT.
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In the White Room, STS-100 Mission Specialist Chris A. Hadfield displays a special sign to a family member before entering Space Shuttle Endeavour. Closeout crew members Rick Welty (front) and George Schramm (behind) are available to help with Hadfield’s launch and entry suit. The White Room is an environmental chamber at the end of the Orbiter Access Arm that provides entry into the orbiter on the launch pad. The mission will deliver and integrate the Spacelab Logistics Pallet/Launch Deployment Assembly, which includes the Canadian-built Space Station Remote Manipulator System and the UHF Antenna. Two spacewalks are planned for installation of the SSRMS, which will be performed by Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski and. Hadfield, who is with the Canadian Space Agency. The mission is also the inaugural flight of Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, carrying resupply stowage racks and resupply/return stowage platforms. Liftoff of Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-100
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STS-130 Payload Egress Training at the Full Fuselage Trainer (FFT). Photo Date: June 1, 2009. Locationi: Building 9NW - FFT Mockup.
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JSC2000-02223 (March 2000) --- Astronaut Edward T. Lu (center foreground) andUnited Space Alliance suit technicianErin Traina assist astronaut Richard A.Mastracchio with his launch and entry suit. The two astronauts were about to join their five crewmates for a simulation of mission activity in theSystems Integration Facility at the Johnson Space Center (JSC).
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NASA Science Officer Mike Fincke, left, Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka, center and Flight Engineer and European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers of the Netherlands walk from the Soyuz capsule at building 254 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome after their final fit check in the Soyuz, Wednesday, April 14, 2004, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a group of NASA and contractor workers from Kennedy Space Center and other NASA centers, along with the Department of Defense, participate in a flight crew evacuation drill, also referred to as the Mode II/IV Simulation. During the exercise, an emergency condition during launch countdown was simulated and participants did their parts to perform an emergency egress of the flight and ground crew. With the simulated emergency in play, Fire Rescue and Closeout Crew workers aided in the extraction and rescue of the crew.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In the bunker at Launch Pad 39A, the STS-99 crew try on oxygen masks. From left are Pilot Dominic Gorie, Mission Specialist Janice Voss (Ph.D.), Commander Kevin Kregel, and Mission Specialists Mamoru Mohri, Janet Lynn Kavandi (Ph.D.) and Gerhard Thiele. Mohri is with the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan and Thiele is with the European Space Agency. The crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which provide them with simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. STS-99 is the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which will chart a new course, using two antennae and a 200-foot-long section of space station-derived mast protruding from the payload bay to produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topograp
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PHOTO DATE: 12-09-09LOCATION: Bldg 9NW, CCT-IISUBJECT: STS-131 Preflight Training, ASC/CAP/DES 91020 training in CCT-II.
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Artemis II Day of Launch Demonstration Test ISVV-A1. Inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Artemis II crew members (from left) NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronaut Christina Koch are shown wearing test versions of the Orion crew survival system spacesuits they will wear on launch day as part of an integrated ground systems test on Wednesday, Sept. 20.
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The STS-94 crew walks out of the Operations and Checkout Building and heads for the Astrovan that will transport them to Launch Pad 39A as KSC employees show their support. Waving to the crowd and leading the way are Mission Commander James D. Halsell, Jr. and Pilot Susan L. Still. Behind Still is Mission Specialist Donald A.Thomas, followed by Mission Specialist Michael L. Gernhardt , Payload Commander Janice Voss, and Payload Specialists Roger K.Crouch and Gregory T. Linteris. During the scheduled 16-day Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) mission, the Spacelab module will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. Also onboard is the Hitchhiker Cryogenic Flexible Diode (CRYOFD) experiment payload, which is attached to the right side of Columbias payload bay.The Space Shuttle Columb
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Photo wall with astronauts, John F. Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, North America
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The media surround noted wheelchair-bound physicist Stephen Hawking after his arrival at the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility for his first zero-gravity flight. Behind Hawking, at left, is Space Florida president Steve Kohler. In the center, striding toward Hawking, is Zero Gravity Corp. founder Peter Diamandis. The flight will be aboard a modified Boeing 727 aircraft owned by Zero Gravity, a commercial company licensed to provide the public with weightless flight experiences. Hawking developed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease in the 1960s, a type of motor neuron disease which would cost him the loss of almost all neuromuscular control. At the celebration of his 65th birthday on January 8 this year, Hawking announced his plans for a zero-gravity flight to prepare for a sub-orbital space flight in 2009 on Virgin Galactic's space service.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the White Room on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-119 Mission Specialist John Phillips is helped by the closeout crew putting on his harness, which includes a parachute pack, before crawling through the open hatch into space shuttle Discovery. The White Room is at the end of the orbiter access arm on the fixed service structure and provides access into the shuttle. The STS-119 mission is the 28th to the International Space Station and the 125th space shuttle flight. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. Installation of S6 will signal the station's readiness to house a six-member crew for conducting increased science. Liftoff is scheduled for 7:43 p.m. EDT.
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PHOTO DATE: 05-28-09LOCATION: Bldg 9NW, FFTSUBJECT: Photographic coverage of STS-129 Preflight Training. Suited payload egress training.
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Secretary Gale Norton with members of family of the late astronaut David Brown, including, left to right, brother Doug and mother Dorothy, examining picture at Department of Interior ceremony marking the naming of Columbia Point, in Colorado, in honor of the Space Shuttle Columbia's last voyage
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Employees monitor access to the Soyuz integration area at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Building 254, Soyuz Integration Facility in Kazakhstan, Thursday, April 10, 2003. NASA International Space Station science officer and flight engineer for Expedition 7 astronaut Edward T. Lu and Expedition 7 commander cosmonaut Yuri I. Malenchenko had entered the Soyuz TMA-2 capsule for inspection and seat liner check.