Satellites and Space Probes

3D renderings of various satellites and space probes orbiting Earth, exhibiting advanced technology amidst the backdrop of space.

TESS Spacecraft, illustration

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Primary function: Collect terrestrial, space en- vironment and Earth surface data. Dimensions: Approximately 14 ft. long. Weight: 2,545 lbs., includ- ing 592-pound sensor payload. Power: 10 panels, generating 2,000 watts of power. Orbit: Approximately 525 miles.

This artist's rendering shows NASA's Juno spacecraft above the north pole of Jupiter.

ISS035-E-029910 (26 April 2013) --- Surrounded by the blackness of space, the Russian Progress 51 cargo craft approaches the Zvezda service module (out of frame) of the International Space Station on April 26, 2013. The unmanned cargo vehicle minutes later successfully docked with the orbital outpost.

The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, mission will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon to measure its gravity field in unprecedented detail. GRAIL is a part of NASA's Discovery Program.

ISS023-E-026917 (22 April 2010) --- The unpiloted ISS Progress 35 supply vehicle departs from the International Space Station's Pirs Docking Compartment on April 22, 2010. Filled with trash and discarded items, the Progress will be used for scientific experiments until it is deorbited and burned up in Earth's atmosphere. Its departure clears the way for the ISS Progress 37 cargo ship that is scheduled to launch to the station April 28.

the space probe Deep Impact mission the space probe Deep Impact mission. Elements of this image furnished by NASA Copyright: xZoonar.com/StanislavxRishnyakx 14361651

A Deep Space Vehicle (DSV) with an Extended Stay Module (ESM) and Manned Maneuvering Vehicles (MMVs) approaches a small asteroid.

Peering into the Moon's permanently shadowed regions, Lunar Trailblazer will detect signatures of water ice in reflected light, and it will pinpoint the locations of micro-cold traps less than a football field in size. The small satellite will collect measurements at multiple times of day over sunlit regions, helping scientists understand if the water signature on the illuminated surface changes as the lunar surface temperature changes by hundreds of degrees over the course of a lunar day. The goal is to produce high-resolution maps to locate water ice in support of NASA's Artemis Program, which aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon and prepare for future missions to Mars.

Orbital maintenance platform rendezvous with the James Webb Space Telescope.

Global Surveyor orbiting Mars planet Global Surveyor orbiting Mars planet. This image elements furnished by NASA Copyright: xZoonar.com/StanislavxRishnyakx 14361646

Satellite Reentry Satellite hurtling through space burning up as it enters the atmosphere Copyright: xZoonar.com/PaulxFleetx 3961463

S125-E-011805 (19 May 2009) --- An STS-125 crew member aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis captured this still image of the Hubble Space Telescope as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation on May 19, after having been linked together for the better part of a week. During the week five spacewalks were performed to complete the final servicing mission for the orbital observatory.

Syncom, the First Geosynchronous Satellite

JSC2006-E-38949 (August 2006) --- Computer generated graphic of the International Space Station configuration after STS-115/12A with the addition of the P3/P4 integrated truss segments.

This illustration of the Mars 2020 spacecraft (the solar-panel-covered cruise stage most visible here along with a portion of the white back shell) in interplanetary space was generated using imagery from NASA's Eyes on the Solar System. The image is from the mission's midway point between Earth and Mars 146.3 million miles (235.4 million kilometers) away from each. In straight-line distance, Earth is 26.6 million miles (42.7 million kilometers) behind Perseverance, and Mars is 17.9 million miles (28.8 million kilometers) in front. Visible in the graphic are the solar panels on the cruise stage surrounding the top of the aeroshell.

Artist's conception of the Clementine spacecraft, a joint mission of the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative Organization and NASA..

The illustration shows the modules of the TIANGONG 3 - Chinese space station with blue arrows pointing the direction of coupling to the TIANHE core module with the planet Earth behind on black space with stars background. 3D Illustration. TIANGONG 3 - Chinese space station modules with blue arrows pointing the direction of coupling to the TIANHE core module with the planet Earth behind on black space with stars background. 3D Illustration

Psyche asteroid mission, illustration

Space satellite orbiting the earth. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

The Boussard Interstellar Ramjet engine concept uses interstellar hydrogen scooped up from its environment as the spacecraft passes by to provide propellant mass. The hydrogen is then ionized and then collected by an electromagentic field. In this image, an onboard laser is uded to heat the plasma, and the laser or electron beam is used to trigger fusion pulses thereby creating propulsion.

astronomical observatory telescope stars night sky

. OSIRIS-REx Executes First Deep Space Maneuver

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite TESS space telescope traveling through space in search of exo planets. 3D illustration

ISS036-E-007852 (15 June 2013) --- Surrounded by the blackness of space, the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 (ATV-4) Albert Einstein” approaches the International Space Station. The spacecraft went on to successfully dock to the orbital outpost at 2:07 GMT, June 15, 2013, following a ten-day period of free-flight.

Computer artwork of the proposed European Space Agency ESA mission called PLATO. PLATO will be a wide_field mission comprised of lots of small telesco...

Apollo astronauts coming into contact with an alien UFO while on the surface of the moon.

Space satellite orbiting the earth on a background star sun. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

Space probe, illustration

Artist's concept of Galaxy Evolution Explorer.

Fantasy space shuttle placing in the orbit of planet Earth a communications satellite with the moon and the sun in the background. 3D illustration

Space satellite orbiting the earth. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

Using a precision formation-flying technique, the twin GRAIL spacecraft maps the moon's gravity field, as depicted in this artist's rendering.

Rosetta probe in the universe next to an asteroid - Elements of this image furnished by NASA. Rosetta probe and asteroid- 3D render

Tones represents sound waves that traveled through the early universe, and were later 'heard' by ESA's Planck space telescope. The primordial sound waves have been translated into frequencies we can hear.

Using Gravitational Microlensing to Detect Dark Body

JSC2008-E-038662 (June 2008) --- Computer-generated artist's rendering of the International Space Station after flight STS-124/1J in June 2008. Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Pressurized Module (JEM-PM) and Japanese Remote Manipulator System (JEM-RMS) are installed. The Japanese Logistics Module - Pressurized Section (JLP), which was installed in a temporary location on the Harmony node during STS-123, is moved onto the JEM Pressurized Module. The STS-124 mission is the second of three flights that will launch components to complete the Kibo laboratory.

This artist's concept shows NASA's Voyager spacecraft against a backdrop of stars.

The unberthed Kounotori H-II Transfer Vehicle 5 (HTV-5) is grappled by the Canadarm2 Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) prior to its release for reentry. This image is part of a time lapse sequence (iss045e125963 through iss045e126960) taken at a rate of 12 frames per minute. Image was released by astronaut on social media.

Artist's concept of the New Horizons spacecraft as it approaches Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, in July 2015. The craft's miniature cameras, radio science experiment, ultraviolet and infrared spectrometers and space plasma experiments will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's atmosphere in detail. The spacecraft's most prominent design feature is a nearly 7-foot (2.1-meter) dish antenna, t

Space exploration, conceptual illustration

. Jovian Family Portrait. This photo illustration of Jupiter and the three Jovian moons NASA's Juno mission has flown past was generated from data collected by the spacecraft's JunoCam imager. Ganymede, the moon furthest to the left, was imaged by JunoCam as it flew past on June 8, 2021. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill created this image using data from JunoCam. The moon second from the left is Europa, which Juno imaged on Sept. 29, 2022. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill created this image using data from JunoCam. The image of Io was captured during a flyby of the moon on May 16, 2023. Citizen scientist Thomas Thomopoulos created this image using data from JunoCam. The image of Jupiter was captured on Dec. 15, 2022. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill created this image using data from JunoCam.

Spacecraft launch into space. Cosmos art. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

An artist's depiction of a team of astronauts performing work on a space station while orbiting a large alien planet.

An artist's conception of a fully integrated environmental monitoring system including satellites, balloons, ships, aircraft, buoys, and data reception and processing facilities.

Artist's concept of the Nautilus X spacecraft leaving lunar orbit.

Astronauts in open space isometric composition with cartoon style terrestrial sphere and two spacemen in armour vector illustration. Outer Space Astronauts Composition

Artwork of a space hotel

JWST in space near Earth. James Webb telescope far galaxies and planets explore. Sci-fi space collage. Astronomy science.

99-E-10020 (23 July 1999) --- The Chandra X-Ray observatory and its upper stage were captured during separation from the Space Shuttle Columbia with the STS-93 HDTV Camcorder inside the crew cabin.

iss061e150137 (Jan. 31, 2020) --- The Cygnus space freighter from Northrop Grumman is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm before its release as the International Space Station orbited above west Africa. Cygnus had completed an 88-day stay attached to the Unity module after delivering nearly 8,200 pounds of research and supplies to the space station on Nov. 4, 2019.

Spacecraft launch into space. Cosmos art. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

Artwork of a space elevator

Artist's concept of U.S.-European Jason-3 Ocean Altimetry Satellite over France.

Artist concept of NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, managed by JPL. It will expand our understanding of the origins and destinies of stars and galaxies.

This artist's rendering shows NASA's Europa mission spacecraft, which is being developed for a launch sometime in the 2020s.

S134-E-007756 (20 May 2011) --- Intersecting the thin line of Earths atmosphere, International Space Station solar array wings are featured in this image photographed by an STS-134 crew member while space shuttle Endeavour remains docked with the station.

Euclid space telescope, illustration

iss059e016966 (April 8, 2019) --- Expedition 59 Flight Engineers Anne McClain of NASA (red stripes) and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency are seen while working outside the International Space Station. In a six and a half hour spacewalk, McClain and Saint-Jacques successfully established a redundant path of power to the Canadian-built robotic arm, known as Canadarm2, and installed cables to provide for more expansive wireless communications coverage outside the orbital complex, as well as for enhanced hardwired computer network capability. The duo also relocated an adapter plate from the first spacewalk in preparation for future battery upgrade operations.

An artist's depiction of a team of astronauts performing work on a space station while orbiting a large alien planet.

A montage of images showing an artist's concept of NuSTAR (top); a color image of one of the galaxies targeted by NuSTAR (lower left); and artist's concept of a hidden black hole.

A model of the Mariner-C spacecraft at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

JSC2009-E-223488 (October 2009) --- Computer-generated artists rendering of the International Space Station as of Oct. 30, 2009. Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) is unberthed from the Harmony nodes nadir port. Soyuz 19 (TMA-15) remains docked to the Zarya nadir port and Soyuz 20 (TMA-16) remains linked to the Zvezda Service Modules aft port.

RainCube was deployed into low-Earth orbit from the International Space Station in July, 2018, where it has been measuring rain and snowfall from space. The size of the tiny weather satellite can be seen in comparison to the Space Station. RainCube is a prototype for a possible fleet of small satellites that could one day help monitor severe storms, lead to improving the accuracy of weather forecasts and track climate change over time. A closer look at these images reveals there are two CubeSats very close together -- RainCube is the bottom CubeSat closer to Earth, while the one above it is HaloSat, used to map the distribution of hot gas in the Milky Way.

Artist's concept of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Satellite Cassini is approaching Saturn. Cassini Huygens is an unmanned spacecraft sent to the planet Saturn. Satellite Cassini is approaching Saturn

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope whizzes in front of a brilliant, infrared view of the Milky Way galaxy's plane in this artistic depiction.

astronomical observatory telescope stars night sky

Digital Illustration of a Mars Flight

S61-E-008 (4 Dec 1993) --- This view of the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was photographed with an Electronic Still Camera (ESC), and down linked to ground controllers soon afterward. This view was taken during rendezvous operations. Endeavour's crew captured the HST on December 4, 1993 in order to service the telescope. Over a period of five days, four of the crew members will work in alternating pairs outside Endeavour's shirt sleeve environment. Electronic still photography is a relatively new technology which provides the means for a handheld camera to electronically capture and digitize an image with resolution approaching film quality. The electronic still camera has flown as an experiment on several other shuttle missions.

Artist concept an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon. Country: Unknown

STS077-711-039 (21 May 1996) --- The Spartan 207 free flyer is held in a hover mode above its berth (out of frame) in the Space Shuttle Endeavours cargo bay in the grasp of the Remote Manipulator System (RMS). The satellite is backdropped over the coast of Saudi Arabia, about 200 miles south of Jiddah near Al Qunfudhah. The free-flyer was re-captured by the six crew members on May 21, 1996. The Endeavour crew spent a portion of the flight time in various activities involving the Spartan 207 and the related Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE). The Spartan project is managed by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center for NASAs Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C.

Voyager 2Neptune & Triton8/24/89 Rendering

Chinese Space Station Tiangong 2022, Tianhe Core Module.

ISS036-E-007854 (15 June 2013) --- Surrounded by the darkness of space, the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 (ATV-4) Albert Einstein” approaches the International Space Station. The spacecraft went on to successfully dock to the orbital outpost at 2:07 GMT, June 15, 2013, following a ten-day period of free-flight.

JSC2011-E-016371 (March 2011) --- Computer-generated artists rendering of the International Space Station as of March 2011, during which space shuttle Discovery (STS-133/ULF5) delivers the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC4) and Permanent Multi-Purpose Module (PMM). European Space Agency's Johannes Kepler Automated Transfer Vehicle-2 (ATV2) is docked to the Zvezda Service Modules aft port. The Japanese Kounotori2 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV2) is linked to the Harmony nodes zenith port.

This artist concept is of NASA's MISR spacecraft which views the sunlit Earth simultaneously at nine widely spaced angles.

This image shows how NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to snap a picture of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander as it parachuted down to the surface of Mars.

S118-E-06075 (10 Aug. 2007) --- A crewmember on the Space Shuttle Endeavour took this picture as the spacecraft approached the International Space Station, surrounded by the blackness of space and getting closer by the second.

S69-33765 (12 May 1969) --- Artist's concept depicting the firing of the Apollo 10 Lunar Module descent engine for 42 seconds to propel Snoopy back into a higher lunar orbit for rendezvous and docking with the Command and Service Modules. Earlier, the LM descent engine will be fired for 27 seconds to take astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, Apollo 10 commander; and Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot, to within 10 miles of the moon's surface. Astronauts John W. Young, command module pilot, will remain in the Command Module, Charlie Brown, in lunar orbit. Developed by TRW's Systems Group at Redondo Beach, California, under Grumman subcontract, the throttleable descent engine will be used to soft land the LM on the lunar surface during Apollo 11 and subsequent Apollo missions.

Sequence of assembly of the TIANGONG 3 - Chinese Space Station with TIANHE core module, Shenzhou manned space vessels and automated Tianzhou resupply vehicle on black background. 3D Illustration. Sequence of assembly of the TIANGONG 3 - Chinese Space Station with TIANHE core module on black background. 3D Illustration

New Horizons spacecraft approaches dwarf planet Pluto and its moon Charon.

Centaur Rocket and LCROSS

MMS Spacecraft Animation The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth's magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence. These processes occur in all astrophysical plasma systems but can be studied in situ only in our solar system and most efficiently only in Earth's magnetosphere, where they control the dynamics of the geospace environment and play an important role in the processes known as "space weather." Learn more about MMS at a href= http //www.nasa.gov/mms rel= nofollow www.nasa.gov/mms /a Learn more about MMS at a href= http //www.nasa.gov/mms rel= nofollow www.nasa.gov/mms /a

Birds Eye" View of Egress" -title=""Birds

iss061e061561 (Nov. 29, 2019) --- Russia's Progress 73 (73P) cargo craft is pictured departing the International Space Station after undocking from the Pirs docking compartment. Loaded with trash, the 73P was deorbited a few hours later and burned up safely over the Pacific Ocean.

An Asteroid Lander is docked to a Deep Space Vehicle.

mission to mars 3d rendering of a mission to mars Copyright: xZoonar.com/magannx 9771686

Space shuttle, illustration

JSC2010-E-008593 (January 2010) --- Computer-generated artists rendering of the International Space Station as of Jan. 23, 2010. Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 (PMA-3) is relocated from the Unity node port to the Harmony node zenith port to allow for the arrival of the Tranquility module (Node 3). Soyuz 20 (TMA-16) is docked to the Poisk Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2). Soyuz 21 (TMA-17) is linked to the Zarya nadir port and Progress 35 resupply vehicle remains docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment.

Artist's concept of a P80-2 space vehicle in orbit. Country: Unknown

Asteroid mining outpost.

A manned lunar space elevator ascends from the surface of the moon.

A fanciful 1950's view of a stream-lined finned spaceship beginning the landing phase (tail-first) on to the lunar surface

Artist's rendering of the Orion Artemis I spacecraft.

Artwork of an O'Neill Cylinder

Artwork of Starship Above Mars

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera to take a picture of the Phoenix lander roughly 22 hours after landing.

Lunar cycler centrifuge

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