NASA Launch Vehicles and Facilities

Photographs of NASA launch vehicles and facilities at Kennedy Space Center, illustrating advancements in space exploration and transport.

STS-132 PAYLOAD CANISTER PASSES VAB-LCC ENROUTE TO PAD 39A

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, rolls down the runway at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. The SCA touched down at 5 05 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Endeavours ferry flight to the Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 17.

NASAs Pegasus barge, carrying the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) for the agencys Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, arrives at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on July 29, 2020. Traveling to Florida from NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the LVSA will connect the SLS core stage to the rockets upper stage for the Artemis I launch. Once the LVSA is offloaded, it will be moved to High Bay 4 in the Vehicle Assembly Building for processing ahead of launch. The first launch under the agencys Artemis program, Artemis I will test SLS and the Orion spacecraft as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon.

STS-132 PAYLOAD CANISTER PASSES VAB-LCC ENROUTE TO PAD 39A

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Mobile Launcher Platform-3 (MLP), which supported space shuttle Atlantis for its final flight to the International Space Station on the STS-135 mission, is making its last journey atop a massive crawler-transporter from Launch Pad 39A into the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). For more than 40 years, the MLPs have traveled between the VAB to both launch pads at Launch Complex 39, and then returned to the VAB for future use. MLP-3 was first used to launch Columbia on the STS-32 mission on Jan. 9, 1990.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, rolls onto the ramp area of NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. The SCA touched down at 5 05 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Endeavours ferry flight to the Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 17.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The crawler-transporter transporting Mobile Launcher Platform-2, or MLP-2, from Launch Pad 39A creeps along the crawlerway toward the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MLP is being moved to a nearby park site in Launch Complex 39.The historic launch pad was the site from which numerous Apollo and space shuttle missions began and is beginning a new mission as a commercial launch site. NASA signed a property agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, of Hawthorne, California, on April 14 for use and occupancy of the seaside complex along Florida's central east coast. It will serve as a platform for SpaceX to support their commercial launch activities.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A large crowd of news media and spectators were on hand near the control tower viewing area at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with the space shuttle Endeavour mounted atop, begin its ferry flight to California.The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

Trucks transport the Atlas V rocket and Centaur upper stage from the United Launch Alliance Delta Mariner to the Atlas V Spaceflight Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket will be used to launch NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the canister with space shuttle Atlantis Hubble Space Telescope payload inside makes its way to the Canister Rotation Facility. The payload comprises four carriers holding various equipment for the mission. After rotation to horizontal, the canister will be transported back to Kennedys Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where the hardware will be stored until a new target launch date can be set for Atlantis STS-125 mission in 2009. Atlantis October target launch date was delayed after a device on board Hubble used in the storage and transmission of science data to Earth shut down on Sept. 27. Replacing the broken device will be added to Atlantis servicing mission to the telescope

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA pilot Jeff Moultrie guides the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft along the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The aircraft, known as an SCA, arrived at 5:35 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Discoverys ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Va., on April 17. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, originally manufactured for commercial use. One of two SCAs employed over the course of the Space Shuttle Program, NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 911 was decommissioned at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in California in February. Discovery will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

Castellón, 09/15/2015. Castellón airport receives its first passengers. Rober Solsona ARCHDC.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - This aerial view shows the 15,000-foot long Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. At the north end of the runway, to the right, is a rock and crater-filled planetary scape has been built so engineers can test the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology, or ALHAT system on the Project Morpheus lander. Testing will demonstrate ALHATs ability to provide required navigation data negotiating the Morpheus lander away from risks during descent.Checkout of the prototype lander has been ongoing at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for its first free flight. The SLF site will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing. Project Morpheus is one of 20 small projects comprising the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, program in NASAs Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. AES projects pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabil

Clouds over Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the waning light, space shuttle Discovery is towed along a two-mile tow-way to the Orbital Processing Facility, or OPF, where processing Discovery for another flight begins. Towing normally begins within four hours after landing and is completed within six hours unless removal of time-sensitive experiments is required on the runway. In the OPF, turnaround processing procedures on Discovery will include various post-flight deservicing and maintenance functions, which are carried out in parallel with payload removal and the installation of equipment needed for the next mission. Before post-flight deservicing can continue beyond initial safing operations, certain vehicle systems must be mechanically secured and access platforms installed. Discovery completed mission STS-120 with an on-time landing at 1:01 p.m. EST.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - This aerial photo shows the runway at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility extending left to upper right. Longer and wider than most commercial runways, it is 15,000 feet long, with 1,000-foot paved overruns on each end, and 300 feet wide, with 50-foot asphalt shoulders. The runway is used by military and civilian cargo carriers, astronauts T-38 trainers, Shuttle Training Aircraft and helicopters, as well as the Space Shuttle. In the foreground is the parking apron with the orbiter mate/demate tower, the hangar and other storage facilities, and the tow-way stretching from the runway to the lower center. In the upper right is a grassy area where the new control tower is located.

ML is rolled to Pad 39B, shot from VAB roof

The flight line at Pope Air Force Base is deserted after all of the composite wing's aircraft were deployed in fear of Hurricane Felix which was expected on 23 August 1995. Fortunately the hurricane shifted direction and the aircraft were able to return to the base. Base: Pope Air Force Base State: North Carolina (NC) Country: United States Of America (USA)

NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B in this view of Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center, Monday, April 4, 2022, as the Artemis I launch team conducts the wet dress rehearsal test at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Ahead of NASAs Artemis I flight test, the wet dress rehearsal will run the Artemis I launch team through operations to load propellant, conduct a full launch countdown, demonstrate the ability to recycle the countdown clock, and drain the tanks to practice timelines and procedures for launch.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is seen inside the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, is seen on the ramp. The SCA will carry Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, rolls onto the ramp area at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. The SCA touched down at 5:05 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Endeavours ferry flight to the Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 17. The Mate/Demate Device, or MDD, is located at the ramp area and will be used to hoist and lower Endeavour onto the back of the SCA.

Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) lands at Washington Dulles International Airport, Tuesday, April 17, 2012, in Sterling, Va. The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is seen in the background. Discovery, the first orbiter retired from NASAs shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles. NASA will transfer Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum to begin its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the early morning hours at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with space shuttle Discovery secured atop, taxies down the runway for a takeoff at 7 a.m. EDT. In the background is the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building.The aircraft, known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Pegasus Barge carrying the Space Shuttle Program's last external fuel tank, ET-122, arrives at the Turn Basin at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tank traveled 900 miles by sea from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Next, the tank will be offloaded and moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building where it eventually will be attached to space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station. STS-134, targeted to launch in Feb. 2011, currently is scheduled to be the last mission in the Space Shuttle Program. The tank, which is the largest element of the space shuttle stack, was damaged during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and restored to flight configuration by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company employees.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the early morning hours after landing, space shuttle Endeavour's "towback" vehicle slowly pulls it from the Shuttle Landing Facility to Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A purge unit that pumps conditioned air into a shuttle after landing is connected to Endeavour's aft end. In the background is the massive Vehicle Assembly Building. Once inside the processing facility, Endeavour will be prepared for future public display.Endeavour's final return from space completed the 16-day, 6.5-million-mile STS-134 mission. Main gear touchdown was at 2:34:51 a.m. EDT, followed by nose gear touchdown at 2:35:04 a.m., and wheelstop at 2:35:36 a.m. Endeavour and its crew delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) and the Express Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) to the International Space Station. AMS will help researchers understand the origin of the universe and search for evidence of dark matter, strange matter and antimatter

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft moves into position under space shuttle Discovery suspended 60 feet off the ground in the mate-demate device. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

ML is rolled to Pad 39B, shot from VAB roof

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is seen inside the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, is seen on the ramp. The SCA will carry Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display. The center's Reusable Launch Vehicle hangar and other structures at the SLF are also visible.

View of the Shuttle Landing Facility

Coast Guard Stations - 26-HK-333-28. Air Station New Orleans - Aerial. Hurricane Katrina

Exterior view of Launch Complex 39A

The Artemis I aft skirts for NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rockets twin solid rocket boosters are moved along the road to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 10, 2020. The aft skirts were refurbished by Northrop Grumman. They house the thrust vector control system, which controls 70 percent of the steering during initial ascent of the SLS rocket. The aft skirts will remain in the RPSF until ready for stacking with the forward and aft parts of the boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Through the Artemis Program, NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A NASA Fire Rescue Services vehicle, ambulance and Huey II helicopter take part in the aviation safety exercise during Emergency Response Safety Training at the Shuttle Landing Facility, Runway 33, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The simulated helicopter mishap exercise was conducted to evaluate emergency response and mishap investigations of aircraft at Kennedy. Participants included Air Rescue Fire Fighters, Flight Operations, Disaster Preparedness, Security, and Safety. NASA mandates simulated aviation safety training take place every two years.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery lands on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:08 a.m. EDT, completing the 15-day STS-131 mission to the International Space Station. Main gear touchdown was at 9:08:35 a.m. EDT followed by nose gear touchdown at 9:08:47 a.m. and wheelstop at 9:09:33 a.m. Aboard are Commander Alan Poindexter; Pilot James P. Dutton Jr.; and Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio, Clayton Anderson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The seven-member STS-131 crew carried the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that were transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also switched out a gyroscope on the stations truss, installed a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieved a Japanese experiment from the stations exterior. STS-131 is the 33rd

Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Kill Devil Hills and Outer Banks environs in North Carolina for tours, events marking the centennial of the first powered flight, Wright Brothers National Memorial

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, thousands of workers, their friends and families, and members of the news media are near the Launch Complex 39 Press Site to watch space shuttle Discovery embark on its final scheduled mission. Liftoff is set for 4:50 p.m. EST on Feb. 24. Discovery and its six-member STS-133 crew will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the International Space Station. Discovery, which will fly its 39th mission, is scheduled to be retired following STS-133. This will be the 133rd Space Shuttle Program mission and the 35th shuttle voyage to the space station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting space shuttle Discovery to its new home takes off from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7 a.m. EDT. In the background is the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building and NASAs new mobile launcher.The aircraft, known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Kill Devil Hills and Outer Banks environs in North Carolina for tours, events marking the centennial of the first powered flight, Wright Brothers National Memorial

On the same day it arrived, the Atlas V Centaur stage is being transported to the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center near Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) will launch aboard the Atlas V rocket in November. GOES-R will be the first satellite in a series of next-generation NOAA GOES Satellites.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is seen inside the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft will carry Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is seen inside the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, is seen on the ramp. The SCA will carry Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display.

Coast Guard Structures - Air Stations - New Orleans - 26-HK-95-79. AIRSTA NOLA--aerial view of crowded highway in wooded area (2). Hurricane Katrina

STS-132 ET-136 OFFLOAD FROM BARGE AND XFER TO VAB

View of the Shuttle Landing Facility

United States Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, training at Homestead ARB.

Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Kill Devil Hills and Outer Banks environs in North Carolina for tours, events marking the centennial of the first powered flight, Wright Brothers National Memorial

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This overhead view shows the Space Shuttle Program's last external fuel tank, ET-122 (right), as it is being transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The tank traveled 900 miles by sea, carried in the Pegasus Barge, from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Once inside the VAB, it eventually will be attached to space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station targeted to launch Feb. 2011. STS-134 currently is scheduled to be the last mission in the shuttle program. The tank, which is the largest element of the space shuttle stack, was damaged during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and restored to flight configuration by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company employees.

Exterior view of Launch Complex 39A

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This panoramic image was taken from the balcony of the Operations Support Building II, located in the Launch Complex 39 area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the far background is the Pegasus Barge carrying the Space Shuttle Program's last external fuel tank, ET-122, into Kennedy's Turn Basin. Once docked, the tank will be offloaded from the barge and transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). NASA's Liberty Star solid rocket booster retrieval ship also is docked at the Turn Basin.The tank traveled 900 miles by sea, carried in the barge, from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Once inside the VAB, it eventually will be attached to space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station targeted to launch Feb. 2011. STS-134 currently is scheduled to be the last mission in the shuttle program. The tank, which is the largest element of the space shuttle stack, was damaged during Hurricane Katrina i

Helo Air Station - 26-HK-147-139. Hurricane Katrina

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft or SCA, taxis at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

ESU Incident Command Post New Orleans - Fly Over - 26-HK-297-8. Hurricane Katrina

Frankfurt, Germany - September 29, 2024: A large technical hall of the Lufthansa Airline at Frankfurt Airport 1127134858

A formation of A-6E Intruder aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 7 flies over the air station. They are returning from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69). F-14A Tomcat aircraft are parked on the flight line. Base: Naval Air Station, Oceana State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, payload canister #1 is reflected in the water standing beside the roadway leading from the Canister Rotation Facility to the Reutilization, Recycling and Marketing Facility on Ransom Road. The two payload canisters used to transport space shuttle payloads to the launch pad for installation in the shuttles' cargo bays are being decommissioned following the end of the Space Shuttle Program. Each canister weighs 110,000 pounds and is 65 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 18 feet, 7 inches high. The canisters were prescreened through NASA Headquarters as possible artifacts, but their size makes them difficult to transport to locations off the center. Federal and state agencies now will be given the opportunity to screen the canisters for potential use before a final decision is made on their disposition.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The NASA Railroad train hauling the solid rocket booster, or SRB, segments recovered from space shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 launch in November moves past the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its way to Titusville, Fla. There it will interchange with Florida East Coast Railway to begin the trip back to Utah. The SRB segments are under protective covers.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- One of the shuttle training aircraft, or STA, takes off from the runway at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The commander and pilot of the STS-124 mission, Mark Kelly and Ken Ham, are practicing landing the shuttle on the runway. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the aircraft duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to lift off on the STS-124 mission at 5:02 p.m. May 31.

Aeropuerto de Lérida-Alguaire.

Movie Base Camp. A major motion picture is being filmed in February 2023 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Filming is in progress in the lower parking lot of the News Center.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The rotating service structure has been moved from around space shuttle Atlantis at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Preparations are under way to transfer the payload for the STS-129 mission to the International Space Station - Express Logistics Carriers 1 and 2 - into Atlantis' payload bay.The STS-129 crew will deliver two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. Launch is set for Nov. 16.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis is transported along NASA Causeway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where it will be put on public display.As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions.

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen at launch Pad-0A, Sunday, May 20, 2018 at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Antares will launch with the Cygnus spacecraft filled with 7,400 pounds of cargo for the International Space Station (ISS), including science experiments, crew supplies, and vehicle hardware. The mission is Orbital ATK's ninth contracted cargo delivery flight to ISS for NASA.

Le Havre, or elsewhere. Series on the city of Le Havre celebrating its 500th anniversary this year. Many festivities are organized even if the context is not very favorable because the port, gradually losing ground compared to its competitors in northern Europe, is likely to be gently stripped of the striped map. Le Havre, ou ailleurs. Série sur la ville du Havre qui fête ses 500 ans cette année. De nombreuses festivités sont organisées même si le contexte y est peu propice car le port, perdant peu à peu du terrain par rapport à ses concurrents du Nord de lEurope, risque dêtre doucement rayé de la rayé de la carte.

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. - Following arrival at Port Canaveral, Fla., the United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage and Centaur upper stage that will boost the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft into orbit is being transported to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center for checkout in preparation for launch.TDRS-L is the second of three next-generation satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop an Atlas V rocket in January 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay service to missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Endeavour's drag chute is deployed as the orbiter touches down on Runway 15 at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility, completing mission STS-108. After a mission-elapsed time of 11 days, 19 hours and 35 minutes, the landing is the 57th at KSC in the history of the program. Main gear touchdown occurred at 12 55 10 p.m. EST (17 55 10 GMT), nose gear touchdown at 12 55 23 p.m. (17 55 23 GMT) , wheel stop at 12 56 13 p.m. (17 56 13 GMT). STS-108 was the 12th mission to the International Space Station. This mission was the 107th flight in the Shuttle program and the 17th flight for the orbiter. Endeavour carries both the mission crew and the Expedition 3 crew - Commander Frank Culbertson and cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin - who are returning to Earth after 129 days in space on the Space Station

The Astrovan carrying the STS-135 crew; Chris Furgeson, commander, Doug Hurley, pilot, and mission specialists Rex Walheim and Sandy Mangus, rolls toward launch pad 39a and space shuttle Atlantis, Friday, July 8, 2011, at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of Atlantis, STS-135, is the final flight of the shuttle program, a 12-day mission to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At 6:30 a.m. EDT an aerial view captures a first in Space Shuttle history: a fully stacked Shuttle - Atlantis - is rolling into the Vehicle Assembly Building's (VAB) high bay 2 on the building's west side (center of photo). The VAB and nearby rock-paved crawlerway (circling to the left) have recently undergone major modifications to provide Shuttle fliglht hardware more storage space and protection - "Safe Haven" - from hurricanes or tropical storms. Atlantis, the twin solid rocket boosters and external tank begain moving out of VAB high bay 1 on the east side at 2:59 a.m. EDT. The 6-million pound crawler transporter carried the Mobile Launcher Platform and Space Shuttle around the north side of the VAB and into high bay 2. To the right of the VAB is the turn basin. In the background can be seen both Launch Pads with the Atlantic Ocean behind them. After the successful "Safe Haven" fit check, Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A field of wild flowers greets Atlantis as it touches down on runway 33 at KSC, the drag chute just deployed. The landing completes the 10-day, 19-hour, 4.5-million mile mission STS-110 to the International Space Station. In the upper right corner is the chase plane following Atlantis' path. The orbiter carries the returning crew Commander Michael Bloomfield, Pilot Stephen Frick and Mission Specialists Jerry Ross, Steven Smith, Ellen Ochoa, Lee Morin and Rex Walheim. Main gear touchdown was 12 26 57 p.m. EDT, nose gear touchdown was 12 27 09 p.m. and wheel stop was 12 28 07 p.m. The crew delivered and installed the S0 truss, which will support cooling and power systems essential for the addition of future international laboratories, on the Station.

aerial, airport, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

ESU Incident Command Post New Orleans - Fly Over - 26-HK-297-4. Hurricane Katrina

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Pegasus barge carrying external tank 130 moves up the Banana River in Florida after an ocean voyage towed by a solid rocket booster retrieval ship from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. Pegasus will continue to the turn basin near the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After the Pegasus docks, the fuel tank will be offloaded and transported to the VAB. External tank 130 is the one designated for space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission targeted for launch on May 15.

Wilmington, IL - 15 November 2020: Aerial view of a huge parking lot with trucks in Wilmington near Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.

KODIAK ISLAND, Alaska -- Trucks transporting Castor 120, the first stage of the Athena 1 launch vehicle, arrive at Kodiak Island, Alaska, as preparations to launch Kodiak Star proceed. The first orbital launch to take place from Alaska's Kodiak Launch Complex, Kodiak Star is scheduled to lift off on a Lockheed Martin Athena I launch vehicle on Sept. 17 during a two-hour window that extends from 5 00 to 7 00 p.m. ADT. The payloads aboard include the Starshine 3, sponsored by NASA, and the PICOSat, PCSat and Sapphire, sponsored by the Department of Defense (DoD) Space Test Program.

Container cars at road crossing

Temporary housing trailer for oil workers in Watford City, North Dakota, USA

A view looking northwest showing the ship basin and the air station. The Naval Reserve aircraft carrier USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV-67) is tied up at the carrier pier. Base: Naval Station, Mayport State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Video frame grab of Baledogle Airfield. Aerial view, flying parallel to and overhead of the runway. Blurred images of unidentifiable aircraft are to the left of the runway. The airfield was used in support of Operation Restore Hope. Subject Operation/Series: RESTORE HOPE Base: Bale Dogle Country: Somalia (SOM)

Aerial view of a railroad in Victoria State, Australia.

Aftermath - Aerial - 26-HK-330-31. Empire Vessels on Hwy 23. Hurricane Katrina

An air-to-air right side view of an F-4 Phantom II (background) and an F-16 fighter aircraft (foreground), over Tampa Bay. Base: Macdill Air Force Base State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, carrying the Space Shuttle Orbiter Enterprise piggyback, lifts off from the Shuttle Landing Facility's 15,000-foot-long runway at 11 03, August 10. Enterprise flown to KSC on April 10 for use in checking out assembly, test and launch facilities which will be used for the launch of its sister ship Columbia on the first Space Shuttle flight, will make a five-stop flight to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California.

Melbourne Australia December 1999 Historic view of the Philip Island Circuit during a race event in the 1990s

RBSP Centaur Stage is Unloaded at Port & Moved to ASOC

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft or SCA, taxis down the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

Video frame grab of Baledogle Airfield. Medium shot, aerial view, as the camera aircraft flies over the end of the runway that is straight ahead. The airfield was used in support of Operation Restore Hope. Subject Operation/Series: RESTORE HOPE Base: Bale Dogle Country: Somalia (SOM)

Texas, Padre Island. Rv in Padre Island National Seashore. in Padre Island National Seashore.

Aerial view of Maui, Hawaii airport with Pacific ocean.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - One of the featured displays at the KSC Visitor Complex is the genuine external tank (center) with twin solid rocket boosters, seen here at the lower end. The tank and boosters are paired with a full-size replica of a Space Shuttle Orbiter in the Shuttle Plaza.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis approaches NASA Causeway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as it is transported on its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where it will be put on public display.As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions.

A Centaur upper stage, standing upright on a transporter, is driven to Space Launch Complex 41 on Floridas Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be attached to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket first stage booster. The rocket will boost NASAs Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.Targeted for liftoff Sept. 8, 2016, OSIRIS-Rex will be the first U.S. mission to sample an asteroid, retrieve at least two ounces of surface material and return it to Earth for study. The asteroid, Bennu, may hold clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of water and organic molecules found on Earth.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An aerial view of the Solid Rocket Booster Recovery Ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Hangar AF. The ships recently returned from recovering the boosters from space shuttle Discovery's launch on the STS-128 mission.

Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Kill Devil Hills and Outer Banks environs in North Carolina for tours, events marking the centennial of the first powered flight, Wright Brothers National Memorial

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The STS-135 crew members speak to media after their arrival at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. From left are Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim.The STS-135 astronauts arrived at Kennedy about 2:30 p.m. EDT on July 4 for final preparations for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis is scheduled to lift off on July 8 to deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the 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 station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Pr

In this aerial view, NASA's Orion crew module, enclosed in its crew module transportation fixture and secured on a flatbed truck is passing the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on its way to the entrance gate to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In view is the Space Shuttle Atlantis facility. Orion made the 2,700 mile overland trip from Naval Base San Diego in California. Orion was recovered from the Pacific Ocean after completing a two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission Dec. 5 to test systems critical to crew safety, including the launch abort system, the heat shield and the parachute system. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program led the recovery, offload and transportation efforts.

barges on the Chain of Rocks Canal of MIssissippi River above St Louis - aerial view

An aerial view, looking due west, of the Norfolk Naval Air Station. Beyond the station is the Norfolk Naval Base with various Navy ships tied up at the piers on the Hampton Roadstead. Base: Naval Air Station, Norfolk State: Virginia (VA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

DHL Hub Leipzig Halle LEJ Airport aircraft, Leipzig, Germany, Europe

of 2