Laboratory Investigations and Equipment Testing

Images of scientists in protective gear examining space mission equipment and conducting inspections in a high-tech laboratory setting with sterilized conditions.

Two scientists working in laboratory

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-102 Mission Specialist Andrew S.W. Thomas (center), and Expedition Two astronaut James S. Voss (right) talk with two workers inside Leonardo, one of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules in the Space Station Processing Facility. The MPLM, part of the payload on the STS-102 mission, is the first of three pressurized modules that will serve as the International Space Stations “moving vans,” carrying laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies to and from the Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle. STS-102 is scheduled to be launched in early March. On that flight, Leonardo will be filled with equipment and supplies to outfit the U.S. laboratory module Destiny. The mission will also be carrying the Expedition Two crew to the Space Station, replacing the Expedition One crew who will return on Shuttle Discovery

At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., members of two Shuttle crews look at components of a Russian cargo crane, the Strela, to be mounted to the exterior of the Russian station segment on the International Space Station (ISS). From left are STS-96 Mission Specialist Julie Payette and Daniel T. Barry, Commander Kent V. Rominger and Mission Specialist Tamara E. Jernigan; three technicians from DaimlerChrysler Aerospace; (in the background, facing right) STS-101 Commander James Donald Halsell Jr.; STS-101 Mission Specialists Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko, with the Russian Space Agency, and Edward Tsang Lu; and two more technicians from DaimlerChrysler. Both missions include the SPACEHAB Double Module, carrying internal and resupply cargo for Station outfitting. For the first time, STS-96 will include an Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) that will carry the Strela; the SPACEHAB Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), which is a logistics items carrier; and a U.S.-built crane (ORU Transfer Device, or O

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-130 Mission Specialist Kathryn Hire holds a piece of hardware associated with the Cupola, part of the payload on the mission to the International Space Station. The seven-windowed module will be used as a control room for robotics on the station. Endeavour will also deliver the final connecting node, Node 3.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers make adjustments on one of the solid rocket boosters being mated to the first stage of the Delta 2 launch vehicle that will carry the Kepler spacecraft into orbit. The Kepler mission is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine how many of the billions of stars in our galaxy have such planets. Results from this mission will allow us to place our solar system within the continuum of planetary systems in the Galaxy. NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than March 5, 2009.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the Columbia Reconstruction Project Team check out a piece of Columbia debris. The team is identifying pieces and placing them on a floor grid in a configuration of the orbiter. The team will attempt to reconstruct the orbiter as part of the investigation into the accident that caused the destruction of Columbia and loss of its crew as it returned to Earth on mission STS-107.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Mission Specialist Steven MacLean looks over part of the mission payload in the Space Station Processing Facility during Crew Equipment Interface Test activities. MacLean is with the Canadian Space Agency. 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 Endeavour is scheduled for May 23, 2003.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials and Apollo astronauts tour the refurbished Operations and Checkout Building, newly named for Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon. From left, are NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, Rick Armstrong, Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Scott Wilson, manager, production operations for the Orion Program, and Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. Behind Lovell is Mark Armstrong, Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, and partially hidden is Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana. The building's high bay is being used to support the agency's new Orion spacecraft, which will lift off atop the Space Launch System. Orion is designed to take humans farther than they've ever gone before, serving as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronauts to deep space and sustain the crew during travel to destinations such as an asteroid or Mars. The visit of the form

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Astronauts John Young, commander, and Robert Crippen, pilot, are assisted by members of the closeout crew as they enter the cockpit of Columbia for the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle on April 12. Fully suited, they entered through the clean room at Launch Pad 39A. Launch followed at a few seconds past 7 a.m., beginning an orbital mission scheduled to last for 54 hours, ending with an unpowered landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. 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.

Senior leaders with Kennedy Space Center in Florida, familiarize newly appointed officials from NASA Headquarters with the centers facilities during a tour on April 19, 2021. The group views plant experiments inside a growth chamber in the Space Station Processing Facility. Plant experiments at Kennedy supports research enabling deep space exploration including experiments in the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat systems aboard the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At SPACEHAB, Port Canaveral, Fla., STS-116 crew members take part in training for their mission. Seen here are Pilot Michael Oelefein (left) and Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang, who is with the European Space Agency. Other crew members are Commander Terrence Wilcutt and Mission Specialist Robert Curbeam. 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. -- At Astrotech, engineers from Dutch Space are making repairs on the slight damage done by a technician's tool to the back of a solar array panel of the Dawn spacecraft on June 11 during a procedure to prepare Dawn for spin-balance testing. The size of the affected area is about 2.5 inches by 2 inches. There is no impact to the launch date of July 7. Dawn's goal is to characterize the conditions and processes of the solar system's earliest epoch 4.5 billion years ago by investigating in detail two of the largest asteroids, Ceres and Vesta. They reside between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt.

Professors explaining operation of water ultra purification system to engineering students in a laboratory

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 39A, members of the space shuttle Atlantis STS-122 crew get a close look at the Columbus module during terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT, activities. Columbus was installed in the orbiter's payload bay on Nov. 11. From left, in clean room attire, are Mission Specialists Stanley Love, Hans Schlegel of the European Space Agency and Rex Walheim. The TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with equipment familiarization, emergency egress training and a simulated launch countdown. On mission STS-122, Atlantis will deliver the Columbus module to the International Space Station. The European Space Agency's largest single contribution to the station, Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony. The module is approximately 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 large racks of experiments. The laboratory will expand the research facilities aboar

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA Kennedy Space Center, members of the STS-121 crew look at elements inside the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, which is part of the payload on the mission. The crew is at KSC to take part in Crew Equipment Interface Test activities, which provide hands-on experience with equipment they will use on-orbit. Seen pointing is Mission Commander Steven Lindsey. STS-121, the second Return to Flight mission, is targeted for launch in a lighted planning window of Sept. 9 to Sept. 25.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the Columbia Reconstruction Project team continue their work to identify pieces of Columbia debris delivered to the RLV Hangar. Shipped from Barksdale Air Force Base, Shreveport, La., more than 70,000 items, weighing 78,000 pounds, about 36 percent of the Shuttle by weight, have been delivered to KSC for use in the mishap investigation. Ground teams have completed 78 percent of their primary search area, and airborne crews finished 80 percent of their assigned area. Search teams have completed 98 percent of the underwater searches in Lake Nacogdoches and Toledo Bend Reservoir.

JSC2002-E-03557 (17 January 2002) --- Astronaut James H. Newman (right), STS-109 mission specialist, inspects still camera equipment while astronaut John M. Grunsfeld, payload commander, looks over checklist during a crew equipment bench review in an offsite facility near Johnson Space Center (JSC). STS-109 will be the 108th shuttle flight and the fourth Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In KSC's Vertical Processing Facility, Louise Kleba of the Vehicle Integration Test Team (VITT) and engineer Devin Tailor of Goddard Space Flight Center examine the Pistol Grip Tool (PGT), which was designed for use by astronauts during spacewalks. The PGT is a self-contained, micro-processor controlled, battery-powered tool. It also can be used as a nonpowered ratchet wrench. The experiences of the astronauts on the first Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission led to recommendations for this smaller, more efficient tool for precision work during spacewalks. The PGT will be used on the second HST servicing mission, STS-82. Liftoff aboard Discovery is scheduled Feb. 11.

PHOTO DATE: 5-10-13LOCATION: NBL - Pool TopsideSUBJECT: NBL EVA dive with Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoforetti in support of ISS ammonia leak trouble-shooting.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, astronaut Peggy Whitson (center) is familiarizing herself with the U.S. Laboratory Node 2, which is the payload for mission STS-120 targeted for launch in September.

CubeSail is a nano-scale flight experiment to demonstrate deployment and control of a single 250-meter (20 m2) solar sail blade as a low-cost risk reduction precursor of the exciting advanced interplanetary UltraSail concept having four 5-kilometer blades (with approximately 100,000 m2 of sail area). CubeSail was built by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and CU Aerospace, the same team that designed the I-Sail and UltraSail concepts funded by NASAs SBIR program. CubeSail represents an affordable stepping-stone towards the future development of the UltraSail solar sail concept that would enable very high-energy inner heliosphere and interstellar scientific missions. In addition, near-earth missions such as Heliostorm for early warning of solar storms will provide more warning margin as the solar sail performance is increased with UltraSail technology. Spacecraft design studies show that for sail areal densities below 5 gm/m2, as proposed with UltraSail, that spacecraft pa

Autopsy of a corpse of mallard duck Moselle France

Portrait of scientist working in laboratory

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside Orbiter Processing Facility 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, United Space Alliance technicians inspect a reinforced carbon-carbon panel on Endeavour's wing leading edge using thermography to detect structural abnormalities. Endeavour will deliver a multi-purpose logistics module to the International Space Station on its STS-126 mission. Launch is targeted for Nov. 10.

Astronaut Scott Kelly initiated VEG-01 B, the second crop of lettuce, on July, 8, 2015, and both Kelly and Astronaut Kjell Lindgren cared for the plants. The crop grew for 33 days. VEG-01 B included one set of six plant pillows planted with red romaine lettuce seeds. On Aug. 10, 2015, the crew harvested and consumed leaves from each plant. This was the first crop grown and consumed in NASA hardware. They harvested the rest of the plant tissue and froze it in the stations Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for return to Earth for further study including microbial analysis, antioxidant capacity, mineral analysis and anthocyanin concentration.

An operator dons a Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble (SCAPE) suit inside a room in the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 31, 2018. SCAPE operators, wearing the suits, will participate in a hypergolic systems hot flow test at the MPPF. The test will serve as operational validation of the hypergol subsystem and demonstrate that the hypergols subsystem can service the Orion spacecraft, flow fuel at the required rates, drain and de-service the system, and meet the intended timeline. SCAPE suite are used in operations involving toxic propellants and are supplied with air either through a hardline or through a self-contained environmental control unit.

Reportage at the IRSN (the French public expert in nuclear and radiological risks) in Vésinet, France. Simulating a chemical accident and the emergency measures to be taken. Protection system to be used in case of chemical substance spillage.

OSIRIS-REx Sample Return. Curation teams process the sample return capsule from NASAs OSIRIS-REx mission in a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASAs OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- During a bench review in the Space Station Processing Facility, astronauts (at left) Tim Kopra and Garrett Reisman get hands-on experience with hardware they will be taking into and using in orbit. Reisman is slated to join Expedition 16 aboard the International Space Station in 2008, flying on mission STS-123; Kopra is his backup.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Highbay 1 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, a technician carefully begins to carefully sand away the red dye that has been applied to the external tank to help expose cracks or compression dents. A severe thunderstorm with golf ball-sized hail caused visible divots in the giant tank's foam insulation and minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. A new target launch date has not been determined, but teams will focus on preparing Atlantis for liftoff in late April on mission STS-117.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Changeout Room on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the STS-129 crew, dressed in clean-room attire known as "bunny suits," take time out from their payload familiarization training for a photo. From left are Mission Specialists Robert L. Satcher Jr., Leland Melvin, and Randy Bresnik.The training affords the crew an opportunity to observe the placement of the Express Logistics Carriers 1 and 2 in space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay before launch. The six astronauts for space shuttle Atlantis STS-129 mission came to Kennedy to participate in their launch dress rehearsal, the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. Additional training associated with the test was done last month, but the simulated countdown was postponed because of a scheduling conflict with the launch of NASAs Ares I-X test rocket. Launch of Atlantis on its STS-129 mission to the International Space Station is set for Nov. 16. On STS-129, the

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dr. Takeshi Kobayashi, at left, an assistant professor at Nagoya University in Japan, and Dr. Toko Hashizume, an engineer with AES, prepare samples for the Cell-Mechanosensing 2 experiment for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The experiment is one of many that will be delivered to the International Space Station on the SpaceX-4 commercial cargo resupply mission.Kennedy's ISS Ground Processing and Research Project Office is providing the necessary laboratories, equipment, supplies and consumables for 61 principal investigators, including 17 from other countries, as they prepare their science experiments for flight. The SpaceX-4 flight is targeted to launch in September 2014.

ISS036-E-008126 (14 June 2013) --- Expedition 36 Flight Engineer Karen Nyberg of NASA puts together a meal in the Unity node of the International Space Station on the eve of a special but busy day for the six person crew aboard the outpost. The European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 (ATV-4) Albert Einstein” is scheduled to dock to the orbital outpost June 15, 2013, following a ten-day period of free-flight.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- During a bench review in the Space Station Processing Facility, astronaut (at left) Koicki Wakata gets a close look at hardware that will be used in orbit. Wakata, with the Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency, will join the Expedition 18 crew in 2008, flying on mission STS-126.

S85-26569 (Feb 1985) --- Two prime crew payload specialists (PS) for NASA's Space Life Sciences-1 (STS-40) mission and a backup PS rehearse medical experiments in a JSC trainer. Left to right are Millie Hughes-Fulford, Robert Phillips and Drew Gaffney. Hughes-Fulford and Gaffney are scheduled to join five NASA astronauts for a Space Shuttle mission devoted to the study of life sciences.

S73-25898 (25 May 1973) --- Astronaut Paul Weitz, pilot of the Skylab 2 mission, is suited up in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building at the Kennedy Space Center during Skylab 2 prelaunch preparations.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the SPACEHAB training module, STS-95 Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, M.D., helps with connections on the mesh cap worn by Payload Specialist John Glenn, who is a senator from Ohio. Glenn is also wearing the Respiratory Inductance Plethysmograph (RIP) suit he will wear on the mission to monitor respiration. The cap and suit are part of the equipment that will be used to seek to improve the quality of sleep for future astronauts. The STS-95 crew are participating in SPACEHAB familiarization at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral. The mission, scheduled to launch Oct. 29, 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

ISS030-E-051107 (27 Jan. 2012) --- NASA astronaut Don Pettit, Expedition 30 flight engineer, works on a Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite (SPHERES) in a portable glovebox facility in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, STS-115 Mission Specialist Joe Tanner is removing the P3 truss multiplexer-demultiplexer launch to activation multilayer installation blanket. He and other crew members are at the center for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities. Equipment familiarization is 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.

Astronaut Scott Kelly initiated VEG-01 B, the second crop of lettuce, on July, 8, 2015, and both Kelly and Astronaut Kjell Lindgren cared for the plants. The crop grew for 33 days. VEG-01 B included one set of six plant pillows planted with red romaine lettuce seeds. On Aug. 10, 2015, the crew harvested and consumed leaves from each plant. This was the first crop grown and consumed in NASA hardware. They harvested the rest of the plant tissue and froze it in the stations Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for return to Earth for further study including microbial analysis, antioxidant capacity, mineral analysis and anthocyanin concentration.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - TIn Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-128 crew members are lowered into space shuttle Discovery's payload bay to check equipment. At center is Mission Specialist John "Danny" Olivas. The crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which provides hands-on training and observation of shuttle and flight hardware. The STS-128 flight will carry science and storage racks to the International Space Station on Discovery. Launch is targeted for Aug. 7.

PHOTO DATE: 10-28-10LOCATION: Bldg 9NW, ISS MockupsSUBJECT: Expedition 27 crew members Ron Garan, Andre Borisenko and Aleksandr Samokutyayev all working with instructors Nadine Lashier and Jennifer James during the crew's Routine Ops training

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside Orbiter Processing Facility 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, United Space Alliance technicians install Boeing Replacement Insulation 18, or BRI-18, tile on space shuttle Endeavour during processing activities. BRI-18 is the strongest material used for thermal insulation on the orbiters and, when coated to produce toughened unipiece fibrous insulation, provides a tile with extremely high-impact resistance. It is replacing other tiles on areas of the vehicle where impact risk is high, such as the landing gear doors, the wing leading edge and the external tank doors. Endeavour will deliver a multi-purpose logistics module to the International Space Station on its STS-126 mission. Launch is targeted for Nov. 10.

Microbiologist in ppe suit standing in laboratory looking at camera

At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers prepare to remove NOAA's Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) from its shipping container. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Alicante 10/17/2007 Aiju Research Association of the Toy Industry, laboratory photo Juan Carlos Soler Archdc.

iss060e019992 (7/31/2019) --- NASA Astronaut Nick Hague with the Cell Science-02 investigation aboard the International space Station (ISS). The Cell Science-02 (CS-02) investigation compares the ability of two different bone inducing growth factors, one novel and one currently used in bone healing therapies, to stimulate growth, differentiation, and related cellular functions of osteoblast cells in culture.

An employee in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) sews thermal insulation material on the back cover and heat shield of the Huygens probe during prelaunch processing, testing and integration in that facility. The Huygens probe and the Cassini orbiter being processed at KSC are the two primary components of the Cassini spacecraft, which will be launched on a Titan IVB/Centaur expendable launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Station. Cassini will explore Saturn, its rings and moons for four years. The Huygens probe, designed and developed for the European Space Agency (ESA), will be deployed from the orbiter to study the clouds, atmosphere and surface of Saturns largest moon, Titan. The orbiter was designed and assembled at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Following postflight inspections, integration of the 12 science instruments not already installed on the orbiter will be completed. Then, the parabolic high-gain antenna and the propulsion module will be m

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At SPACEHAB, in Titusville, Fla., members of the STS-102 crew pose for a photograph with SPACEHAB workers in front of the International Cargo Carrier, which will carry cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). The crew are, left to right, Mission Specialists James Voss, Yuri Usachev, who is with the Russian Space Agency (RSA), and Susan Helms. STS-102 is a resupply mission to the International Space Station, transporting the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) with equipment to assist in outfitting the U.S. Lab, which will already be in place. The mission is also transporting Helms, Voss and Usachev as the second resident crew (designated Expedition crew 2) to the station. In exchange, the mission will return to Earth the first expedition crew on ISS: William Shepherd, Sergei Krikalev (RSA) and Yuri Gidzenko (RSA). STS-102 is scheduled to launch no earlier than Oct. 19, 2000

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-121 Mission Specialist Piers Sellers looks at cables in the mid-body of Space Shuttle Discovery on Launch Pad 39B. On the 12-day mission, the crew will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the station. This mission is the 115th shuttle flight and the 18th U.S. flight to the station.

Reportage at the IRSN (the French public expert in nuclear and radiological risks) in Vésinet, France. Simulating a chemical accident and the emergency measures to be taken. Protection system to be used in case of chemical substance spillage.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-114 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas (right) shows some of the mission equipment to other crew members (from left) Wendy Lawrence, mission specialist; Eileen Collins, commander; and Charles Camarda, mission specialist. Crew members are at KSC for equipment familiarization. STS-114 is classified as Logistics Flight 1 to the International Space Station, delivering new supplies and replacing one of the orbital outposts Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 will also carry a Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. The crew is slated to conduct at least three spacewalks: They will demonstrate repair techniques of the Shuttles Thermal Protection System, replace the failed CMG with one delivered by the Shuttle, and install the External Stowage Platform.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the SPACEHAB facility in Cape Canaveral, STS-114 Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), participates in familiarization activities with the hardware that will fly on the STS-114 mission. STS-114 is a utilization and logistics flight that will carry Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello and the External Stowage Platform (ESP-2), as well as the Expedition 7 crew, to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for March 1, 2003.

On March 20, 2021, members of the NISAR mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California received the S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) from their partner in India. Together with the L-band SAR provided by JPL, the two radars serve as the beating heart of the mission (the S and L denote the wavelength of the signal they transmit). A collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), NISAR (short for NASA-ISRO SAR) will use SAR to track subtle changes in Earth's surface. In doing so, it will spot warning signs of imminent volcanic eruptions, help to monitor groundwater supplies, track the melt rate of ice sheets tied to sea level rise, and observe shifts in the distribution of vegetation around the world.

Kepler project; technicians from Ball Aerospace work on and in the test chamber assembled at Nasa Ames Research center testing components

FUTUREWORLD (1976), directed by RICHARD T. HEFFRON.

JSC2002-E-01668 (9 January 2002) --- The STS-113 crewmembers are briefed by dietitians during food tasting in the Flight Projects Division Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). From front to back are astronauts James D. Wetherbee and Christopher J. (Gus) Loria, mission commander and pilot, respectively, and Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and John B. Herrington, both mission specialists.

S63-03966 (1963) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., prime pilot for the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission, carrying the portable air conditioner to his spacesuit, leaves Hanger S after completing the day's simulated flight tests.

Female astronaut peeking through glass window

Patrick Follis, an intern at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, assembles the flight hardware for the agencys Orbital Syngas Commodity Augmentation Reactor, or OSCAR. OSCAR is an Early Career Initiative project at the spaceport that studies technology to convert trash and human waste into useful gasses such as methane, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. By processing small pieces of trash in a high-temperature reactor, OSCAR is advancing new and innovative technology for managing waste in space. OSCAR would reduce the amount of space needed for waste storage within a spacecraft, turn some waste into gasses that have energy storage and life support applications, and ensure waste is no longer biologically active. A prototype has been developed, and a team of Kennedy employees are in the process of constructing a new rig for suborbital flight testing.

Robotics

ISF Space Station Mock up @ MAFC (McGowen)

FLUIDS COMBUSTION FACILITY COMBUSTION INTEGRATED RACK INTERNATIONAL MICROGRAVITY WORKING GROUP

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. --In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-122 crew members get a close look at some of the equipment for the mission. From left, in the foreground, are Mission Specialists Stanley Love and Rex Walheim and Pilot Alan Poindexter. In the background at left is Mission Specialist Leland Melvin; at right is European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who will be on the mission and joining the Expedition 16 crew as flight engineer on the International Space Station. The crew is at Kennedy Space Center to take part in a crew equipment interface test, which includes equipment familiarization. The mission will carry and install the Columbus Lab, a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to Node 2 of the space station to carry out experiments in materials science, fluid physics and biosciences, as well as to perform a number of technological applications. It is Europes largest contribution to the construction of the Internat

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-128 crew members are lowered into space shuttle Discovery's payload bay to check equipment. At left is Mission Specialist John "Danny" Olivas and at right is Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang. The crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which provides hands-on training and observation of shuttle and flight hardware. The STS-128 flight will carry science and storage racks to the International Space Station on Discovery. Launch is targeted for Aug. 7.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Jim Smodell, left, a technician with SGT, and Chuck Spern, lead project engineer with QinetiQ North America on the Engineering Services Contract, move the plant pillows containing the outredgeous red lettuce leaves outside of the International Space Station Environmental Simulator chamber at the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The growth chamber was used as a control unit for Veggie and procedures were followed identical to those being performed on Veggie and the Veg-01 experiment on the International Space Station. The chamber mimicked the temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration of those in the Veggie unit on the space station. Veggie and Veg-01 were delivered to the space station aboard the SpaceX-3 mission. Veggie is the first fresh food production system delivered to the station. Six plant pillows, each containing outredgeous red romaine lettuce seeds and a root mat were inserted into Vegg

iss060e035085 (8/12/2019) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Luca Parmitano injects media into the culture bag of the Micro-15 investigation in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) abroad the International space Station (ISS). The goal of this investigation is to better understand the effects of gravity on the differentiation of mammalian cells using 3-D cultures of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. This study investigates how exposure to microgravity fundamentally alters cell regulation and how these changes can affect the timing, progression, and outcomes of cell differentiation.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-114 crew members familiarize themselves with elements in the mid-body and upper deck of the orbiter Discovery, as part of Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) activities. At left is Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas; kneeling in center is Mission Specialist Charles Camarda; standing in center is Commander Eileen Collins. At right is Steve Contella, an engineer with Johnson Space Center. During CEIT, the crew has an opportunity to get a hands-on look at the orbiter and equipment they will be working with on the mission. Return to Flight Mission STS-114 will carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, filled with supplies for the International Space Station, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope. Launch of STS-114 has a launch window of May 12 to June 3.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Astronaut John Young, in the 'white room' at Launch Pad 39A, suits up for the dry Countdown Demonstration Test, the last major simulated countdown and launch for spaceraft and crew before the launch of America's first Space Shuttle. Young, commander, and Robert Crippen, pilot, are scheduled as the total crew for the maiden flight of the pioneer reusable space transportation system (STS-1).

LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation Sensing Satellite) Near InfraRed Spectrometer shake test in Ames N-244 high bay EEL Lab - with Anthony Colaprete, Ames code SST

Visit to Glenn Research Center by Expedition-25 Commander Astronaut Douglas Wheelock

jsc2018e084486 - At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 57 crewmember Nick Hague of NASA suits up in a Russian Sokol launch and entry suit Sept. 26 as part of pre-launch training. Hague and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos will launch Oct. 11 in the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken, right, wearing a SpaceX spacesuit, and a suit technician shake hands in the Astronaut Crew Quarters at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 17, 2020, during a dress rehearsal ahead of the companys uncrewed In-Flight Abort Test. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft will lift off from Launch Complex 39A on the flight test, which will demonstrate the spacecrafts escape capabilities in preparation for crewed flights to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. Behnken and NASA astronaut Doug Hurley are slated to fly on the companys first crewed mission, Demo-2.

In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, STS-103 Mission Specialist Steven L. Smith (right) and other members of the crew look over new Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) intended for the Hubble Space Telescope. The seven-member crew, taking part in a Crew Equipment Interface Test, are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, and Mission Specialists Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), Claude Nicollier of Switzerland, and Jean-François Clervoy of France. Nicollier and Clervoy are with the European Space Agency. Mission STS-103 is a "call-up" due to the need to replace portions of the pointing system, the gyros, which have begun to fail on the Hubble Space Telescope. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. The gyroscopes allow the telescope to point at stars, galaxies and planets. The STS-103 crew will not only replace gyroscopes, it will also replace a Fine

Two scientists shaking hands

JSC2012-E-106514 (20 July 2012) --- Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy (foreground) and Evgeny Tarelkin, both Expedition 33/34 flight engineers, participate in a routine operations training session in an International Space Station mock-up/trainer in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Crew instructor Elisca Hicks assisted Novitskiy and Tarelkin.

STS-88 First Crew at SSP

S85-37165 (8-12 July 1985) -- Sharon C. (Christa) McAuliffe of Concord High, Concord, New Hampshire, runs in place on treadmill to test physiological responses at Johnson Space Center. Christa McAuliffe was eventually chosen as the first Teacher in Space and was a member of the seven-member Challenger shuttle crew which died tragically in the explosion of the spacecraft during the launch of STS-51L from the Kennedy Space Center about 11 40 a.m., EST, on Jan. 28, 1986. The explosion occurred 73 seconds into the flight as a result of a leak in one of two Solid Rocket Boosters that ignited the main liquid fuel tank. The crew members of the Challenger represented a cross-section of the American population in terms of race, gender, geography, background, and religion. The explosion became one of the most significant events of the 1980s, as billions around the world saw the accident on television and empathized with any one of the several crew members killed.

The underground launch control center for Minuteman II missiles, the site was deactivated after the Cold War, National Historic Site, Cactus Flat, South Dakota, USA, North America

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Members of the space shuttle Discovery's STS-124 crew pause for a photo while inspecting cables on Launch Pad 39A. From left are Mission Specialists Karen Nyberg, Akihiko Hoshide, Mike Fossum and Ron Garan. Hoshide represents the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The crew is getting ready for launch at 5:02 p.m. on May 31. The STS-124 mission is the second of three flights launching components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. The shuttle crew will install Kibo's large Japanese Pressurized Module and its remote manipulator system, or RMS. The 14-day flight includes three spacewalks.

STS-131 LAUNCH L-4 CREW SHARP EDGE INSPECTION

Communications, Navigation, and Network Reconfigurable Test-bed (CoNNeCT) Flight Hardware Compatibility Test Sets - Glenn Research Center and Networks Integration Management Office (NIMO) Testing for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) - Goddard Space Flight Center Testing

Computer with coronavirus illustration on screen standing on table

This photograph is of the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)-2 telescope being evaluated by engineers in the clean room of the X-Ray Calibration Facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The MSFC was heavily engaged in the technical and scientific aspects, testing and calibration, of the HEAO-2 telescope The HEAO-2 was the first imaging and largest x-ray telescope built to date. The X-Ray Calibration Facility was built in 1976 for testing MSFC's HEAO-2. The facility is the world's largest, most advanced laboratory for simulating x-ray emissions from distant celestial objects. It produced a space-like environment in which components related to x-ray telescope imaging are tested and the quality of their performance in space is predicted. The original facility contained a 1,000-foot long by 3-foot diameter vacuum tube (for the x-ray path) cornecting an x-ray generator and an instrument test chamber. Recently, the facility was upgraded to evaluate the optical elements of N

Scientist reviewing items in a laboratory setting.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-115 Pilot Christopher Ferguson inspects the window of the cockpit in the orbiter Atlantis. The crew is at KSC for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities, which involve equipment familiarization and inspection, a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations. The STS-115 mission will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 truss, to the International Space Station. The crew will attach the P3 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.

Cosmonaut propulsion unit. The so-called "space motorcycle" was first tested in space by A. A. Serevrov and A. S. Viktorenko.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-121 Commander Steve Lindsey prepares for his upcoming mission inside Space Shuttle Discovery. 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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers prepare to load experiments requiring low temperatures into the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic International Space Station ISS Experiment Refrigerator, or GLACIER. The samples will then be transported to Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where the GLACIER will be loaded aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule. Scheduled for launch on March 1 atop a Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon will be marking its third trip to the space station. The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the orbiting laboratory.

G-Scan computer tomograph

ISS007-E-13293 (24 August 2003) --- Astronaut Edward T. Lu, Expedition 7 NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer, floats in the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS).

STS-95 crew members (from left) Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), and Pilot Steven W. Lindsey look over equipment that Hideo Ishikawa of NASDA has presented at SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The STS-95 crew is at KSC to look at the SPACEHAB module and the equipment that will fly with them on the Space Shuttle Discovery, scheduled to launch 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

Operation to stack Ares 1-X Segment US5 onto US4

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-118 crew members look over parts of the mission payload, the S5 integrated truss, in the Space Station Processing Facility during crew equipment interface test activities. Seen here are Mission Specialists Richard Mastracchio (left) and Tracy Caldwell. The crew comprises Commander Scott Kelly, Pilot Charles Hobaugh, and Mission Specialists Dr. Dafydd Williams, Barbara Morgan, Mastracchio, Caldwell and Benjamin Drew. Williams is with the Canadian Space Agency. The STS-118 mission will be delivering the third starboard truss segment, the ITS S5, to the International Space Station, and a SPACEHAB Single Cargo module with supplies and equipment. Launch aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour is targeted for August.

NASA astronaut Bob Behnken wears a SpaceX spacesuit in the Astronaut Crew Quarters at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 17, 2020, during a dress rehearsal ahead of the companys uncrewed In-Flight Abort Test. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft will lift off from Launch Complex 39A on the flight test, which will demonstrate the spacecrafts escape capabilities in preparation for crewed flights to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. Behnken and NASA astronaut Doug Hurley are slated to fly on the companys first crewed mission, Demo-2.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - United Space Alliance technician Jerry Goudy performs arc welding on one of Atlantis' flow liners. Following an extensive investigation into the cause of tiny cracks inside fuel lines of the four space shuttle orbiters, a welding and polishing process is being implemented that will restore flow-liner integrity to design condition. These liners are inside the space shuttle Main Propulsion System fuel lines to preclude liquid hydrogen and oxygen turbulent flow into the engines during launch and climb to orbit. The technique has called for welds of three very small cracks on Atlantis and two on Endeavour. Additionally, the microscopic rough edges of the liner holes are being smoothed by polishing to reduce the chance of more cracks developing in the future. Atlantis is scheduled on mission STS-112, an assembly flight to the International Space Station, no earlier than Sept. 28, 2002.

JSC2001-E-25712 (27 August 2001) --- The STS-111 crewmembers are briefed by dietitian Gloria Mongan with Lockheed Martin Space Operations during food testing in the Flight Projects Division Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). From back to front are astronauts Kenneth D. Cockrell and Paul S. Lockhart, mission commander and pilot, respectively, and Franklin R. Chang-Diaz and Philippe Perrin, both mission specialists. Perrin represents CNES, the French Space Agency.

On Jan. 21, 2020, inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, intern Emily Kennebeck (left) and Jess Bunchek, a pseudonaut and associate scientist, prepare plant pillows for their upcoming flight to the International Space Station. The pillows, which are a common method used to grow plants in space, are being sent to the orbiting laboratory on Northrop Grummans 13th resupply services (NG-13) mission for a series of VEG-03 experiments that will study the growth of three types of leafy greens in a microgravity environment. Once the pillows are assembled and packaged for flight, they will be transported to the agencys Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, where liftoff will occur. NG-13 is scheduled to launch on Feb. 9, 2020, at 5:39 p.m.

PHOTO DATE: 07-10-14LOCATION: Bldg. 17, Room 1070 - Food Lab SUBJECT: Soyuz 43 (Expedition 44/45) crew members Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui during Food Tasting #2.

Expedition 43 Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), left, NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, center, and Russian Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka are seen during media day, Saturday, March 21, 2015, Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Kelly, Padalka, and Kornienko are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan March 28, Kazakh time (March 27 Eastern time.) As the one-year crew, Kelly and Kornienko will return to Earth on Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016.

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