Astronauts Training at Kennedy Space Center

A series of images featuring astronauts in blue jumpsuits engaged in equipment checks, training sessions, and briefings at the Kennedy Space Center, showcasing teamwork and preparation for space missi

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the STS-116 crew handle equipment at SPACEHAB in Port Canaveral, Fla. On the left are Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang; on the right are Pilot William Oefelein (front) and Commander Terrence Wilcutt. Objective of their mission to the International Space Station is to deliver and attach the third port truss segment, the P5 Truss, deactivate and retract the P6 Truss Channel 4B (port-side) solar array, and reconfigure station power from 2A and 4A solar arrays. A launch date is under review.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the STS-116 crew handle equipment at SPACEHAB in Port Canaveral, Fla. On the left are Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang; on the right are Pilot William Oefelein (front) and Commander Terrence Wilcutt. Objective of their mission to the International Space Station is to deliver and attach the third port truss segment, the P5 Truss, deactivate and retract the P6 Truss Channel 4B (port-side) solar array, and reconfigure station power from 2A and 4A solar arrays. A launch date is under review.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-114 mission crew walks through the Orbiter Processing Facility looking at the tiles underneath Atlantis. From left are Mission Specialists Andy Thomas, Stephen Robinson, Soichi Noguchi and Charles Camarda (pointing); Commander Eileen Collins; and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence. At far right Glenda Laws, EVA Task Leader, with United Space Alliance at Johnson Space Center. Not seen is Pilot James Kelly. Noguchi is with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. The STS-114 crew is at KSC to take part in crew equipment and orbiter familiarization.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the STS-134 crew checks out the heat shield tiles that protect space shuttles during re-entry. From left, are Mission Specialists Greg Chamitoff and Andrew Feustel, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson, Commander Mark Kelly and Mission Specialist Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency. The six STS-134 astronauts are at Kennedy participating in the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT), which gives them an opportunity for hands-on training with the tools and equipment they'll use in space and familiarization of the payload they'll be delivering to the International Space Station.Space shuttle Endeavour is targeted to launch on the STS-134 mission Feb. 27, 2011.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, members of the STS-114 crew look at tools from the Tool Stowage Assembly. From left are Mission Specialists Stephen Robinson, Andrew Thomas and Soichi Noguchi, who is with the Japanese Space Agency. They and other crew members are at Kennedy for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities. During CEIT, the crew has an opportunity to get a hands-on look at the payloads with which theyll be working on orbit. The Return to Flight mission STS-114 will carry a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope and the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, filled with supplies for the International Space Station. Launch of STS-114 has a launch window of May 12 to June 3.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-120 crew is at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for the pre-launch terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT. Gathered in the white room on Launch Pad 39A, the crew gets instructions on emergency egress from the space shuttle. Clockwise from lower left are Commander Pamela Melroy, Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Stephanie Wilson, Pilot George Zamka, and Mission Specialists Paolo Nespoli, Daniel Tani and Doug Wheelock. Nespoli represents the European Space Agency. Tani will remain aboard the International Space Station and return with the STS-122 crew, targeted to launch Dec. 6. The TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. The STS-120 mission will deliver the U.S. Node 2 module, named Harmony, aboard space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station. Launch of Discovery on mission STS-120 is tar

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-119 crew members get a close look at cameras they will use on the mission. From left are Mission Specialists Steve Swanson, John Phillips, Joseph Acaba and Koichi Wakata and Commander Lee Archambault. The crew is at Kennedy for a Crew Equipment Interface Test that provides experience handling tools, equipment and hardware they will use on the mission. On the STS-119 mission, space shuttle Discovery will carry the S6 truss segment to complete the 361-foot-long backbone of the International Space Station. The truss includes the fourth pair of solar array wings and electronics that convert sunlight to power for the orbiting laboratory. Discovery is targeted for launch on Feb. 12, 2009.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- On an upper level of the Pad 39A fixed service structure, the STS-118 crew get instructions from a trainer about using the emergency egress system. The crew members seen here are, from left, Commander Scott Kelly and Mission Specialists Barbara R. Morgan, Tracy Caldwell and Dave Williams. Morgan joined NASA's Teacher in Space program in 1985 and was selected as an astronaut in 1998. Williams represents the Canadian Space Agency. The crew is at Kennedy for training activities in the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT. TCDT activities include M-113 training, payload familiarization, the emergency egress training at the pad and a simulated launch countdown. 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. NASA/George Shelton

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left, Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani; Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock; Pilot George D. Zamka; Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli (kneeling), a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Commander Pamela A. Melroy; Allison Bolinger (kneeling), an EVA technician with NASA; Mission Specialist Stephanie D. Wilson; and Erin Schlichenmaier, with United Space Alliance TPS Engineering. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European a

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida,members of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 crew are instructed on emergency exit procedures. From left are Mission Specialist Rex Walheim, Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Sandy Magnus.The astronauts are at Kennedy to participate in a launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training. Atlantis and its crew are targeted to lift off July 8, taking with them the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space s

STS-131 CREW CEIT - DISCOVERY

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- During crew equipment interface test activities in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 at KSC, STS-118 crew members get a close look at equipment they will use on their flight. Seen here at center are Mission Specialists Tracy Caldwell and Barbara Morgan. The STS-118 mission will be delivering the third starboard truss segment, the ITS S5, to the International Space Station, as well as the SPACEHAB single cargo module filled with supplies and equipment. Launch aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour is targeted for Aug. 9.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 Pilot Gregory Johnson (center) and Commander Dominic Gorie (right) look over tools that will be carried on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy for crew equipment interface test, a process of familiarization with payloads, hardware and the space shuttle. The STS-123 mission is targeted for launch on Feb. 14. It will be the 25th assembly flight of the station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the STS-114 crew look over flight equipment in the Orbiter Processing Facility. From left are Glenda Laws, EVA Task Leader, with United Space Alliance at Johnson Space Center, Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Andy Thomas, Charles Camarda and Wendy Lawrence. Noguchi is with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. Not seen are Mission Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot James Kelly and Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson. The STS-114 crew is at KSC to take part in crew equipment and orbiter familiarization.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the SRB Assembly and Refurbishment Facility, STS-114 crew members look at external tank-solid rocket booster camera components. From left are Mission Specialists Charles Camarda and Andrew Thomas, Pilot James Kelly, and Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi, who represents the Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency. Behind Noguchi is Tom Engler, SRB Resident Office lead at Marshall Space Flight Center. They are standing in front of an SRB frustum. The crew is at KSC for familiarization with Shuttle and mission equipment. The STS-114 mission is Logistics Flight 1, which is scheduled to deliver supplies and equipment, plus the external stowage platform, to the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - STS-135 Pilot Doug Hurley signs an autograph for an employee inside Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility-2, where space shuttle Atlantis is being prepared for eventual display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Hurley, along with Commander Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus, was at the center for the traditional post-flight crew return presentation. STS-135 Mission Specialist Rex Walheim was unable to attend the Kennedy event. In July 2011, Atlantis and its crew delivered to the International Space Station the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis and the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-106 Commander Terrence W. Wilcutt bends to place the STS-106 mission patch at the entrance of Atlantis in the white room of Launch Pad 39-B. Other STS-106 crew members pictured are, from left, Mission Specialists Boris V. Morukov, Yuri I. Malenchenko, Daniel C. Burbank, Pilot Scott D. Altman, Mission Specialists Richard A. Mastracchio and Edward T. Lu. Malenchenko and Morukov are with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The flight crew were at Kennedy Space Center to take part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The TCDT provides the crew with emergency egress training and opportunities to inspect their mission payload in the orbiters payload bay. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:31 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B. On the 11-day mission, the seven-member crew will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the living quarters in the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module. The first long-duratio

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts Mike Fossum and Cady Coleman look over a model capsule fit with rotor blades ahead of tests inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The design would give a capsule the stability and control of a helicopter, but would not be powered. Instead, the wind passing over the rotors as the capsule descends would make the blades turn, a process called auto-rotation. The intent is to give real spacecraft a soft landing with enough control that they could touch down anywhere in the world, whether it be a runway or parking lot. In other words, wherever a helicopter could land, a spacecraft could land, too.

Orion Media Day takes place at Lockheed Martins Waterton facility in Littleton, Colorado on Oct. 21, 2011. Terry Virts visible Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At SPACEHAB, in Cape Canaveral, members of the STS-101 crew inspect equipment and payload for their mission. From left to right (in uniform) are Mission Specialist Edward Tsang Lu, Commander James D. Halsell Jr., Pilot Scott J. "Doc" Horowitz (Ph.D) and Mission Specialist Mary Ellen Weber (Ph.D.). They are taking part in a Crew Equipment Interface Test, which gives them an opportunity to look over equipment and payloads that will fly on the mission. Space Shuttle Atlantis will be carrying the SPACEHAB Double Module, which carries internal logistics and resupply cargo for station outfitting. Launch of Atlantis on mission STS-101 is scheduled no earlier than April 13, 2000

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- As part of In-Flight Maintenance training, members of the STS-107 crew check out one of the Biotube experiments that will be part of their research mission. From left (in uniform) are Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of Israel, Mission Specialists David M. Brown and Kalpana Chawla, Pilot William C. Willie” McCool (crouching behind the table), Commander Rick D. Husband, and Mission Specialist Laurel Clark. STS-107 will carry the SPACEHAB Double Module in its first research flight into space and a broad collection of experiments ranging from material science to life science. It is scheduled to launch July 19, 2001

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the STS-118 crew take part in a hardware review of the SPACEHAB module, part of the payload on their mission. Seen here (in uniforms) from left are Mission Specialists Dafydd Williams and Barbara Morgan and Pilot Charles Hobaugh. Williams represents the Canadian Space Agency. The mission payload also includes the third starboard truss segment (ITS S5), a control moment gyro and the external stowage platform 3 (ESP3). STS-118 is targeted to launch June 28 from Launch Pad 39A.

STS-95 crew members look over equipment in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 during the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) for their mission. From left, they are Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, of the European Space Agency; Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, of the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA); Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; and Pilot Steven W. Lindsey. Behind them is Adam Flagan, United Space Alliance-Houston. The CEIT gives astronauts an opportunity for a hands-on look at the payloads and equipment with 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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At SPACEHAB members of the STS-106 crew check out equipment they will be using during their mission to the International Space Station. From left are Commander Terrence W. Wilcutt, Pilot Scott D. Altman, and Mission Specialists Yuri I. Malenchenko (standing), Boris V. Morukov, Edward T. Lu (also standing), and (in the foreground, right) Daniel C. Burbank. Malenchenko and Morukov represent the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:31 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B on an 11-day mission. The seven-member crew will prepare the Space Station for its first resident crew and begin outfitting the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module. They will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the Zvezda living quarters for the first long-duration crew, dubbed Expedition One,” which is due to arrive at the Station in late fall

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Standing underneath the orbiter Atlantis in the Orbiter Processing Facility are STS-110 Commander Michael Bloomfield and Mission Specialists Steven Smith and Rex Walheim. They and other crew members are taking part in Crew Equipment Integration Test activities, which include familiarization with the vehicle and payload. The mission, 13th assembly flight to the International Space Station, includes the Integrated Truss Structure S0. The ITS S0 is the center segment on the Space Station, part of the 300-foot (91-meter) truss attached to the U.S. Lab. By assembly completion, four more truss segments will attach to either side of the S0 truss. STS-110 is scheduled to launch April 4, 2002

As part of In-Flight Maintenance training at SPACEHAB, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., members of the STS-107 crew learn about Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) experiments that will be on their mission. Gathered around the table are (from left) Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Pilot William C. Willie” McCool, Mission Specialists Laurel Clark and Michael Anderson, Roberteen McCray of Bionetics, Commander Rick D. Husband, Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon of Israel and Mission Specialist David M. Brown. STS-107 will carry a broad collection of experiments ranging from material science to life science. It is scheduled to launch July 19, 2001

Marcos Pontes, left, Brazilian Space Agency Soyuz crew member; Pavel V. Vinogradov, Russias Federal Space Agency Expedition 13 International Space Station Commander; and Jeffrey N. Williams, right, Expedition 13 Science Officer and Flight Engineer, talk with engineers after the crew's final check of the Soyuz at building 254 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan days before launch to the International Space Station. Sunday, March 26, 2006.

STS-131 CREW CEIT - DISCOVERY

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner gets familiar with a camera that is a mockup of one the crew will use to take photographs on-orbit. With him are Mission Specialists Steven MacLean, who represents the Canadian Space Agency, and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper. The crew is at the center for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities, which involves equipment familiarization, a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations. The mission will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 Truss, to attach to the first port truss segment, the P1 Truss, as well as deploy solar array set 2A and 4A. Launch on Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for late August.

JSC2009-E-053504 (6 March 2009) --- NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer (foreground) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi (left), both Expedition 22/23 flight engineers; along with cosmonaut Oleg Kotov (center background), Expedition 22 flight engineer and Expedition 23 commander, participate in an emergency procedure training session in an International Space Station mock-up/trainer in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASAs Johnson Space Center.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 crew members practice handling tools they will use during the mission. Around the table, at center, dressed in blue flight suits are Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Douglas H. Wheelock, Paolo A. Nespoli and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani. Between Wheelock and Nespoli is Allison Bolinger, an EVA technician with NASA. In the foreground is Dina Contella, a thermal protection system specialist with NASA. Nespoli is a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known i

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the SRB Assembly and Refurbishment Facility, STS-114 Mission Specialists Stephen Robinson and Wendy Lawrence look at a test panel of insulation material cut in a liquid nitrogen process. The STS-114 crew is at KSC for familiarization with Shuttle and mission equipment. The mission is Logistics Flight 1, which is scheduled to deliver supplies and equipment, plus the external stowage platform, to the International Space Station.

NASA Science Officer Mike Fincke video tapes one of the exhibits at the space museum located at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Wednesday, April 14, 2004, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

The 2017 class of astronaut candidates toured the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and viewed exhibits, including Space Shuttle Atlantis, during a familiarization tour of facilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The candidates toured center facilities, including the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay; Launch Control Center, Launch Pad 39B and the Space Station Processing Facility. They also toured Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Facility, United Launch Alliance's Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and SpaceX's Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy. The candidates will spend about two years getting to know the space station systems and learning how to spacewalk, speak Russian, control the International Space Station's robotic arm and fly T-38s, before they're eligible to be assigned to a mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Training Auditorium at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 crew sign autographs for Kennedy employees. From left are Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson; Commander George Zamka; Pilot Terry Virts; and Mission Specialists Kathryn Hire, Nicholas Patrick and Robert Behnken. The autograph-signing session followed a program for Kennedy employees in which the crew talked about their experiences on the mission. Endeavour launched Feb. 8, 2010, and landed Feb. 21. During Endeavour's STS-130 mission, the crew installed the Tranquility node, a module that provides additional room for crew members and many of the station's life support and environmental control systems. Attached to Tranquility is a cupola with seven windows that provide a panoramic view of Earth, celestial objects and visiting spacecraft. STS-130 was the 24th flight for Endeavour, the 32nd shuttle mission devoted to ISS assembly and maintenance, an

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Administrator Mike Griffin talks with Commander Steven Lindsey (gesturing) after the crew looked over the orbiter Discovery, above them. Between Griffin and Lindsey are Mission Specialists Michael Fossum and Lisa Nowak. Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson is behind Lindsey; Associate Administrator Rex Geveden is at right. The post-flight walk-around is a tradition. Discovery's smooth and perfect landing was on time at 9:14 a.m. EDT on Runway 15 of NASA's Shuttle Landing Facility after traveling 5.3 million miles on 202 orbits. Mission elapsed time was 12 days, 18 hours, 37 minutes and 54 seconds. The landing is the 62nd at Kennedy Space Center and the 32nd for Discovery.

In the Space Shuttle Main Engine Facility, , STS-93 crew members listen to Site Director Dan Hausman, with Rocketdyne, while looking over the main engine of the Space Shuttle Columbia. From left, they are Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, Mission Specialists Michel Tognini of France, who represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), and Mission Specialist Catherine G. Coleman, Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley. STS-93, scheduled to launch July 9 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, has the primary mission of the deployment of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Formerly called the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, Chandra comprises three major elements: the spacecraft, the science instrument module (SIM), and the world's most powerful X-ray telescope. Chandra will allow scientists from around the world to see previously invisible black holes and high-temperature gas clouds, giving the observatory the potential to rewrite the books on the structure and evolutio

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-111 Mission Specialists Phillippe Perrin (left) and Franklin Chang-Diaz (right) check equipment for their mission. Perrin is with the French Space Agency (CNES). Perrin and Chang-Diaz, with other crew members, are taking part in a Crew Equipment Interface Test in preparation for launch. Mission STS-111 will carry to the International Space Station the Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM), filled with experiment racks and three stowage and resupply racks, and the Mobile Base System (MBS), which will attach to the Mobile Transporter and complete the Canadian Mobile Servicing System, or MSS. The Station's mechanical arm will then have the capability to "inchworm" from the U.S. Lab to the MSS and travel along the truss to work sites on the Station. Launch of Endeavour on mission STS-111 is scheduled for May 30, 2002

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 39B, the STS-116 crew members learn about the facilities inside a bunker. From left are Mission Specialists Sunita Williams, Christer Fuglesang, Nicholas Patrick, Joan Higginbotham and Robert Curbeam; Commander Mark Polansky; a trainer; and Pilot William Oefelein. The STS-116 mission is No. 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Dec. 7.

JSC2006-E-43734 (4 Oct. 2006) --- Crew trainer Bob Behrendsen (standing, right background) briefs astronauts Scott J. Kelly (seated left), STS-118 commander; Charles O. Hobaugh, pilot; Tracy E. Caldwell and Richard A. (Rick) Mastracchio, mission specialists; Dafydd R. (Dave) Williams, mission specialist representing the Canadian Space Agency; Barbara R. Morgan, mission specialist; and Clayton C. Anderson, Expedition 15 NASA space station science officer and flight engineer; during a training session in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at the Johnson Space Center. The crewmembers are attired in training versions of their shuttle launch and entry suits.

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 International Space Station Expedition 18 flight engineer Sandra Magnus, Mission Specialist Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialist Shane Kimbrough.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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-130 Commander George Zamka, Mission Specialist Robert Behnken, Pilot Terry Virts and Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson continue their emergency exit training in a bunker near the catch nets for the slidewire baskets at the base of the pad. The bunker would provide a safe haven for the astronauts if evacuation of the pad were required.The crew members of space shuttle Endeavour's upcoming mission are at Kennedy for training related to their launch dress rehearsal, the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The primary payload on STS-130 is the International Space Station's Node 3, Tranquility, a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the station's life support systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. Endeavour's launch is targeted for Feb. 7.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With help from technicians at SPACEHAB, in Cape Canaveral, members of the STS-101 crew take part in a Crew Equipment Interface Test, which gives them an opportunity to look over equipment and payloads that will fly on the mission. In the center is Mission Specialist Edward Tsang Lu; at right is Mission Specialist Mary Ellen Weber (Ph.D.); in the background right is astronaut Marsha Ivins, who is assigned to mission STS-98 and is a veteran of four space flights. Her last flight, STS-81, including docking with the Russian Mir, and carrying the SPACEHAB double module to transfer tons of food and other cargo. On mission STS-101, Space Shuttle Atlantis will also be carrying the SPACEHAB Double Module, which will carry internal logistics and resupply cargo for station outfitting. Launch of Atlantis is scheduled no earlier than April 13, 2000

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the SRB Assembly and Refurbishment Facility, STS-114 crew members look at booster separation motors (BSM) on an aft skirt that has had booster trowlable ablative removed by liquid nitrogen cutting. The astronauts are learning how the BSMs would be removed from the aft skirt. From left are Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence; Commander Eileen Collins; Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas; Pilot James Kelly (background); and Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi and Stephen Robinson. Noguchi is with the Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency. The crew is at KSC for familiarization with Shuttle and mission equipment. The STS-114 mission is Logistics Flight 1, which is scheduled to deliver supplies and equipment, plus the external stowage platform, to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-114 crew members look at one of the Rudder Speed Brake actuators. Seen at right are Mission Specialist Charles Camarda, Mission Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence. Crew members are touring several areas on Center. The STS-114 mission is Logistics Flight 1, which is scheduled to deliver supplies and equipment plus the external stowage platform to the International Space Station.

STS-132 CREW CEIT - ATLANTIS

6388:In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 42/43 crewmember Terry Virts of NASA poses for a picture Nov. 19 by the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft during the crews second and final pre-launch “fit check” dress rehearsal activities. Virts, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency will launch on Nov. 24, Kazakh time, from Baikonur for a 5 ½ month mission on the International Space Station.NASA/Viktor Ivanov

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-115 crew gets instructions about using the slidewire baskets for emergency egress from the space shuttle on the pad. In the front, at left, is Pilot Chris Ferguson; at right is Commander Brent Jett. The other crew members are Mission Specialists Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Joseph Tanner and Daniel Burbank. MacLean is with the Canadian Space Agency. The mission crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities that are preparation for launch on Space Shuttle Atlantis, scheduled to take place in a window that opens Aug. 27. During their 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the STS-115 crew will continue construction of the station and attach the payload elements, the Port 3/4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the STS-118 crew take a close look at the damaged tile on the underside of Endeavour. From left are Pilot Charlie Hobaugh, Commander Scott Kelly and Mission Specialists Dave Williams, Tracy Caldwell and Rick Mastracchio. On the mission, the crew installed a new gyroscope, an external spare parts platform and another truss segment to the expanding station. Endeavour's main gear touched down at 12:32:16 p.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 12:32:29 p.m. and wheel stop was at 12:33:20 p.m. Endeavour landed on orbit 201. STS-118 was the 119th space shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, the 20th flight for Endeavour and the second of four missions planned for 2007. This was the 65th landing of an orbiter at Kennedy.

European Space Agency Astronaut Roberto Vittori, of Italy, left, Expedition 11 Flight Engineer John Phillips, Commander Sergei Krikalev and backup, Russian Commander Mikhail Tyurin, right, watch a video about a Soyuz landing at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Monday, April 11, 2005, during preparations for the April 15 launch on a Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft to the International Space Station. Krikalev and Phillips will spend six months in space and greet the first Shuttle crew to fly in more than two years when it arrives at the station, while Vittori spends eight days on the station under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency.

jsc2019e038394 - At the Baikonur Museum in the town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 60 backup crewmember Tom Marshburn of NASA signs a wall mural July 6 during traditional pre-launch activities. In the background is crewmate Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos. Marshburn, Ryzhikov and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are the backups to the prime crew, Drew Morgan of NASA, Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos, who will launch July 20 on the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin/GCTC.

STS122-S-089 (20 Feb. 2008) --- Astronaut Leland Melvin (right), STS-122 mission specialist, talks with Daniel Palmer (left) and Mike Thompson (members of the space shuttle close-out crew) underneath the wing of Space Shuttle Atlantis following the landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 9:07 a.m. (EST), Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008 at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., completing delivery of the European Space Agency (ESA) Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson and Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus sign autographs for employees inside Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility-2, where space shuttle Atlantis is being prepared for eventual display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The astronauts, along with Pilot Doug Hurley, were at the center for the traditional post-flight crew return presentation. STS-135 Mission Specialist Rex Walheim was unable to attend the Kennedy event. In July 2011, Atlantis and its crew delivered to the International Space Station the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis and the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Shuttle Main Engine Shop at KSC, Boeing Tech Operations Team Manager Matthew McClelland (left) talks with STS-114 Pilot James Kelly. At right are Mission Specialists Wendy Lawrence and Charles Camarda. One of the main engines is in the background. Crew members are touring several areas on Center. The STS-114 mission is Logistics Flight 1, which is scheduled to deliver supplies and equipment plus the external stowage platform to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At SPACEHAB, Port Canaveral, Fla., members of the STS-106 crew check out part of the payload, called TVIS, on their mission to the International Space Station. From left are Mission Specialist Boris Morukov, who is with the Russian Space Agency, Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialist Edward Lu. TVIS is the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System, a device to collect data on how vibrations imparted by crew exercise may be reduced or eliminated on the International Space Station. Those vibrations could disturb delicate microgravity experiments on the Space Station. During the mission, the crew will complete service module support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and outfit the Space Station for the first long-duration crew. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the STS-133 crew members are instructed on the correct fit of a harness. From right are Pilot Eric Boe, Commander Steve Lindsey, Mission Specialists Michael Barratt, Tim Kopra (with harness) Nicole Stott and Alvin Drew. The astronauts are at Kennedy for the Crew Equipment Interface Test, or CEIT, which provides the crew with hands-on training and observation of shuttle and flight hardware for their mission to the International Space Station. Launch of the STS-133 mission on space shuttle Discovery is targeted for Nov. 1 at 4 33 p.m. EDT.

ISS005-E-21505 (25 November 2002) --- The Expedition Five crewmembers greet the Expedition Six and STS-113 crewmembers when the hatch to the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA-2) on the International Space Station (ISS) was opened for the STS-113 ingress. Pictured are cosmonaut Valery G. Korzun (back to camera, left), Expedition Five mission commander; astronaut Peggy A. Whitson (back to camera, right), Expedition Five NASA ISS science office. Pictured, left to right (background), are astronaut Kenneth D. Bowersox, Expedition Six mission commander; cosmonaut Nikolai M. Budarin, Expedition Six flight engineer; and astronaut James D. Wetherbee, STS-113 mission commander. Korzun and Budarin represent Rosaviakosmos.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The STS-125 crew listens to instructions about emergency escape procedures from the shuttle. They are on the 195-foot level of the fixed service structure on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Seen from left (suited in blue uniforms) are Mission Specialist John Grunsfeld, Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Mission Specialists Andrew Feustel, Megan McArthur and Mike Massimino. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT, activities before launching on space shuttle Atlantis mission to service NASAs Hubble Space Telescope. TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization, emergency training and a simulated launch countdown. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 10.

S98-08745 (May 1998) --- Four members of the STS-95 crew are briefed on flight hardware during a training session in the shuttle crew compartment trainer (CCT) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Donald C. Carico, an instructor, holds a loc-line bracket. Crewmembers, from the left, are Scott E. Parazynski and Pedro Duque, both mission specialists; Chiaki Mukai and U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr., both payload specialists. Duque represents the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai, Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-119 Mission specialists Richard Arnold (left) and Steve Swanson handle tools to be used on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy for a Crew Equipment Interface Test that provides experience handling tools, equipment and hardware they will use on the mission. On the STS-119 mission, space shuttle Discovery will carry the S6 truss segment to complete the 361-foot-long backbone of the International Space Station. The truss includes the fourth pair of solar array wings and electronics that convert sunlight to power for the orbiting laboratory. Discovery is targeted for launch on Feb. 12, 2009.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, members of the STS-114 crew look at tools from the Tool Stowage Assembly. At left is Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson; at right is Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi, who is with the Japanese Space Agency. They and other crew members are at Kennedy for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities. During CEIT, the crew has an opportunity to get a hands-on look at the payloads with which theyll be working on orbit. The Return to Flight mission STS-114 will carry a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope and the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, filled with supplies for the International Space Station. Launch of STS-114 has a launch window of May 12 to June 3.

jsc2018e097290 - In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 58 crewmember Anne McClain of NASA prepares to board her Soyuz spacecraft Nov. 20 during a vehicle fit check. McClain, Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency will launch Dec. 3 on the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-134 Mission Specialist Andrew Feustel looks on as European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori greets the media after the arrival of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS.AMS, a state-of-the-art particle physics detector, is designed to operate as an external module on the International Space Station. It will use the unique environment of space to study the universe and its origin by searching for dark matter. AMS will fly to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission targeted to launch Feb. 26, 2011.

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is greeted by Astronaut Nancy Jane Currie upon Mrs. Clinton's arrival at the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Station. Waiting at left are Astronauts Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper and Steven W. Lindsey. Mrs. Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea (far right) are here to view the launch of Space Shuttle mission STS-93, scheduled for 12:36 a.m. EDT July 20. Much attention has been generated over the launch due to Commander Eileen M. Collins, the first woman to serve as commander of a Shuttle mission. The primary payload of the five-day mission is the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the universe. The new telescope is 20 to 50 times more sensitive than any previous X-ray telescope and is expected to unlock the secrets of supernovae, quasars and black holes

3981a:At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 42/43 crewmember Terry Virts of NASA pauses to look at Russian space memorabilia during a tour of the Gagarin Museum Nov. 6. Virts, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency will launch Nov. 24, Kazakh time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on their Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft for a 5 ½ month mission on the International Space Station.NASA/Stephanie Stoll

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At SPACEHAB members of the STS-106 crew check out equipment they will be using during their mission to the International Space Station. Starting second from left, they are Mission Specialists Daniel C. Burbank, Edward T. Lu, and Yuri I. Malenchenkov; Pilot Scott D. Altman, and Mission Specialists Richard A. Mastracchio and Boris V. Morukov. Not seen is Commander Terrence W. Wilcutt. Malenchenko and Morukov represent the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The crew is taking part in Crew Equipment Interface Test activities at KSC. On the 11-day mission, the seven-member crew will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the living quarters in the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module for the first long-duration crew, dubbed Expedition One,” which is due to arrive at the Station in late fall. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:31 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B

12-52-00-3:In the Baikonur Cosmodrome Museum in Kazakhstan, Expedition 39/40 Flight Engineer Steve Swanson of NASA (foreground) signs a wall mural March 21 to honor a tradition as he and his crewmates prepare for launch to the International Space Station. Looking on is Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos). Swanson, Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos and Artemyev are wrapping up training for their launch to the station March 26, Kazakh time, on the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft for a six-month mission on the orbital laboratory.NASA/Victor Zelentsov

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Mission Specialist Michael Fossum (left) talks to Tomas Gonzalez-Torres, with NASA's Johnson Space Center, about the equipment he is handling. Next to Fossum is Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson. The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with equipment to be used on-orbit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.

With NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, far right, looking on, the prime and backup crews for the Expedition 8 mission to the International Space Station and the prime and backup European Space Agency astronauts receive final well-wishes from Russian and U.S. space officials at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2003 prior to their departure for launch. Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Science Officer Michael Foale, Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander Alexander Kaleri and the ESA's Pedro Duque of Spain were launched on a Soyuz TMA-3 vehicle, arriving at the ISS on Oct. 20.

SpaceX Crew-5 Astronaut Patch Placing. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata (right) adds NASAs SpaceX Crew-5 mission sticker to a wall inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 4, 2022. From left are NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, and NASA astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann. The crew will launch to the International Space Station aboard SpaceXs Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft for a science expedition mission as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff of SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for noon EDT on Oct. 5, 2022, from Kennedys Launch Complex 39A.

jsc2017e043852 (April 14, 2017) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome Museum in Kazakhstan, Expedition 51 crewmember Jack Fischer of NASA signs a wall mural April 14 during a traditional tour of the facility. Fischer and Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will launch April 20 on the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft for a four and a half month mission on the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-107 Commander Rick Husband and Mission Specialist Laurel Clark learn to work with mission-related equipment at SPACEHAB, Cape Canaveral, Fla. STS-107 is a research mission. The primary payload is the first flight of the SHI Research Double Module (SHI_RDM). The experiments range from material sciences to life sciences (many rats). Also part of the payload is the Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research (FREESTAR) that incorporates eight high priority secondary attached shuttle experiments Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX), Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment (SOLSE-2), Student Tracked Atmospheric Research Satellite for Heuristic International Networking Experiment (STARSHINE), Critical Viscosity of Xenon-2 (CVX-2), Solar Constant Experiment-3 (SOLOCON-3), Prototype Synchrotron Radiation Detector (PSRD), Low Power Transceiver (LPT), and Collisions Into Dust Experiment -2 (COLLIDE-2). STS-107 is sc

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-126 crew members sign autographs and chat with Kennedy workers after the astronauts' presentation of their experiences during the mission. Here, Pilot Eric Boe autographs a picture of the crew.

At the Korolev Museum in the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 30 Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA signs a picture of a Soyuz rocket December 16, 2011 as he and his Expedition 30 crewmates enter the final days of preparations for launch December 21 on their Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft. Pettit, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency will spend five and a half months on the station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson (left), Pilot Doug Hurley and Closeout Crew Lead Travis Tod Thompson with United Space Alliance, check out the plaque that will be placed in front of space shuttle Atlantis' hatch in the White Room at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A. An access arm supports the White Room that is in place against the shuttle which provides entry to the crew compartment.The astronauts are at Kennedy to participate in a launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training. Atlantis and its crew are targeted to lift off July 8, taking with them the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - STS-135 Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus autographs a space shuttle replica for an employee inside Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility-2, where space shuttle Atlantis is being prepared for eventual display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Magnus, along with Commander Chris Ferguson and Pilot Doug Hurley, was at the center for the traditional post-flight crew return presentation. STS-135 Mission Specialist Rex Walheim was unable to attend the Kennedy event. In July 2011, Atlantis and its crew delivered to the International Space Station the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis and the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-98 Mission Specialists Tom Jones and Robert Curbeam test tools that will be used during extravehicular activities (EVA) on their mission. Scheduled for launch Jan. 18, 2001, STS-98 will be transporting the U.S. Lab, Destiny, to the International Space Station with five system racks already installed inside of the module. After delivery of electronics in the lab, electrically powered attitude control for Control Moment Gyroscopes will be activated

At the historic museum near the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 31/32 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba of NASA signs a mural depicting the likeness of Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space May 11, 2012 as his crewmates, Flight Engineer Sergei Revin (center) and Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka (right) look on. The trio will launch on their Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft May 15 from the same launch pad Gagarin left the planet 51 years ago to begin a four-month mission on the International Space Station.NASA/Victor Zelentsov

STS-100 Mission Specialist Chris A. Hadfield, with the Canadian Space Agency, practices maneuvers on a simulator for installing the Canadian-built Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS). He and Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski will undertake two spacewalks to install the SSRMS. The 11-day mission to the International Space Station will also deliver the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, carrying six system racks and two storage racks for the U.S. Lab. Liftoff on mission STS-100 is scheduled at 2:41 p.m. EDT April 19

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 38/39 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (far left), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin (left, center) and NASA Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio (left, right) report for the start of their final flight qualification exam simulations Oct. 17, 2013. The trio is scheduled to launch on Nov. 7, local time, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station.NASA/Stephanie Stoll

The crew of Expedition 23 are seen on a large TV screen in the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia, Sunday, April 4, 2010, shortly after the Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft docked to the International Space Station and delivered Expedition 23 Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Kornienko and Tracy Caldwell Dyson. Clockwise from top right are NASA astronaut TJ Creamer, NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi and Expedition 23 commander Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov .

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson autographs a book for an employee inside Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility-2, where space shuttle Atlantis is being prepared for eventual display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Ferguson, along Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus, was at the center for the traditional post-flight crew return presentation. STS-135 Mission Specialist Rex Walheim was unable to attend the Kennedy event. In July 2011, Atlantis and its crew delivered to the International Space Station the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis and the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program.

JSC2010-E-087710 (25 May 2010) --- STS-134 crew members and dieticians are pictured during a food tasting session in the Habitability and Environmental Factors Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Crew members pictured counter-clockwise (from bottom left) are NASA astronauts Gregory H. Johnson, pilot; Greg Chamitoff and Michael Fincke, both mission specialists; Mark Kelly, commander; European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori and NASA astronaut Andrew Feustel, both mission specialists.

At the 195-foot level of the Fixed Service Structure on Launch Pad 39A, the STS-92 crew get instructions on using the emergency egress equipment. Standing left to right, in uniform, are Pilot Pamela Ann Melroy, Commander Brian Duffy and Mission Specialists Peter J.K. Jeff” Wisoff, Michael E. Lopez-Alegria, Koichi Wakata of Japan, Leroy Chiao and William S. McArthur Jr. The training is part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that also provide opportunities to inspect the mission payload and take part in a simulated countdown. STS-92 is scheduled to launch Oct. 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT on the fifth flight to the International Space Station. It will carry two elements of the Space Station, the Integrated Truss Structure Z1 and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter. The mission is also the 100th flight in the Shuttle program

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- During Crew Equipment Interface Test activities at SPACEHAB, STS-106 crew members check out some of the equipment they will be using on their mission to the International Space Station. At left is Mission Specialist Daniel C. Burbank; at right are Mission Specialists Richard A. Mastracchio and Edward T. Lu. Malenchenko and Morukov represent the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:31 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B on an 11-day mission. The seven-member crew will prepare the Space Station for its first resident crew and begin outfitting the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module. They will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the Zvezda living quarters for the first long-duration crew, dubbed Expedition One,” which is due to arrive at the Station in late fall

NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 at NASM. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum curator Jennifer Levasseur, left, speaks with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins, and Robert Hines as they view the lunar overshoes worn by Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan on the final lunar landing of the Apollo Program in the Destination Moon exhibit during a tour, Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Lindgren, Hines, and Watkins spent 170 days in space as part of Expeditions 67 and 68 aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold presents a montage from his mission to Alan Peel, program director, and Erin Thompson, program associate, for the Science, Discovery and the Universe Scholars Program following his presentation to students, May 2, 2019 at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. During Arnolds 197 days onboard the International Space Station, as part of Expeditions 55 and 56, he ventured outside the space station on three spacewalks in addition to conducting numerous experiments and educational downlink events.

Expedition 33/34 Flight Engineer Kevin Ford performs the traditional door signing before he and fellow cremates, Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy, and Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin depart the Cosmonaut Hotel for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station, on Tuesday, October 23, 2012, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket will send Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin on a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

PHOTO DATE: 05-18-09LOCATION: Bldg 9NW CCTIISUBJECT: STS-128 Preflight Training, Post Insertion Activities

NASAs SpaceX Crew-5 Astronauts with Agency Leadership. NASAs SpaceX Crew-5 astronaut Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) signs a montage for NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, Monday, June 5, 2023 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Wakata, and fellow NASAs SpaceX Crew-5 crewmates Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann of NASA spent 157 days in space as part of Expedition 68 aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Dryden historian Christian Gelzer explains functions of the high-altitude pressure suit he is wearing to (left to right) Brandon Blankenship and Garrett Clay of Lancaster and Eddie Patterson of Tehachapi during Take Your Children to Work Day activities at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center June 22.

Astronauts Mike Massimino, left, and Alvin Drew sign autographs at the NASA booth set up on the National Mall as part of the National Day of Service, Saturday, January 19, 2013, in Washington. NASA along with other federal agencies set up along the Mall as part of events surrounding the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky talks to Launch Director Mike Leinbach beneath Space Shuttle Discovery during post-landing inspections on Runway 15 at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. During the STS-116 mission, three spacewalks attached the P5 integrated truss structure to the station, and completed the rewiring of the orbiting laboratory's power system. A fourth spacewalk retracted a stubborn solar array. Main gear touchdown was at 5:32 p.m. EST. Nose gear touchdown was at 5:32:12 p.m. and wheel stop was at 5:32:52 p.m. At touchdown -- nominally about 2,500 ft. beyond the runway threshold -- the orbiter is traveling at a speed ranging from 213 to 226 mph. Discovery traveled 5,330,000 miles, landing on orbit 204. Mission elapsed time was 12 days, 20 hours, 44 minutes and 16 seconds. This is the 64th landing at KSC.

Participating in the Crew Equipment Integration Test (CEIT) at Kennedy Space Center is STS-87 Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk of the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU). Here, Cosmonaut Kadenyuk is inspecting flowers for pollination and fertilization, which will occur as part of the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment, or CUE, aboard Columbia during its 16-day mission, scheduled to take off from KSCs Launch Pad 39-B on Nov. 19. The CUE experiment is a collection of 10 plant space biology experiments that will fly in Columbias middeck and feature an educational component that involves evaluating the effects of microgravity on the pollinating Brassica rapa seedlings. Students in Ukrainian and American schools will participate in the same experiment on the ground and have several live opportunities to discuss the experiment with Kadenyuk in Space. Kadenyuk of the Ukraine will be flying his first Shuttle mission on STS-87.

NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold speaks about his time onboard the International Space Station (ISS) during Expeditions 55 and 56, Friday, May 3, 2019 at the Challenger Center in Lanham, MD. During Expedition 55/56, Arnold completed three spacewalks for a total of 19.5 hours outside the space station, and concluded his 197 day mission when he landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan in Oct. 2018. He also flew to the space station on shuttle mission STS-119 to deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings.

PHOTO DATE: 16 July 2010, LOCATION: Bldg. 9NW, SVMTF - ISS Mockups, SUBJECT: Joint STS-134, Expedition 25 and Expedition 26 ISS EmergencyScenario training.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, Mission STS-120 Pilot George Zamka (left) and Commander Pam Melroy stand in front of the Node 2 module with it's new name, Harmony, unveiled, as Russ Romanella, director of International Space Station and Spacecraft Processing presides over the ceremony. The name, Harmony, was chosen from an academic competition involving thousands of students in kindergarten through high school. The Node 2 Challenge required students to learn about the International Space Station, build a scale model of the module, and write an essay explaining their proposed name. This will be the first U.S. piece of the space station named by someone other than a NASA official. Node 2 is a pressurized module that will act as a connecting port and passageway to additional international science labs and supply spacecraft. It also will be a work platform for the station's robotic arm. The module is scheduled to fly on mission STS-120 aboard Spac

NASA 50th Anniversary Plum Brook Open House 2008

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Astronaut John Herrington (left) shows tools and equipment used in space to Norm Abram, master carpenter of televisions "This Old House" and "The New Yankee Workshop." At right are two of the film crew with Abram. Abram is at KSC to film an episode of "This Old House.

STS-90 Payload Specialists James Pawelczyk, Ph.D. (at left), and Jay Buckey Jr., M.D., examine items to be used during the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) in Kennedy Space Center's (KSC's) Operations and Checkout Building, where the Neurolab payload is undergoing processing. The CEIT gives astronauts an opportunity to get a hands-on look at the payloads with which they will be working on-orbit. STS-90 is scheduled to launch aboard the Shuttle Columbia from KSC on April 2. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Specifically, experiments will study the adaptation of the vestibular system, the central nervous system, and the pathways that control the ability to sense location in the absence of gravity, as well as the effect of microgravity on a developing nervous system

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After a luncheon celebrating Native American Heritage Month held at the Patrick Air Force Base NCO Club, astronaut John Herrington signs autographs for invited guests. Herrington is a tribally enrolled Chickasaw and the worlds first Native American astronaut, who last flew on mission STS-113 in 2002.

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