Space Shuttle Landings

Photos of various space shuttles touching down at Kennedy Space Center, highlighting the grandeur of space travel and missions.

Space shuttle Atlantis touches down at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Space shuttle Atlantis touches down at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
253 assets in this story
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis is towed toward Orbiter Processing Facility 1. Atlantis was demated from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, via the mate/demate device at the Shuttle Landing Facility. After its May 24 landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, which concluded its STS-125 mission, the modified Boeing 747 SCA carried the shuttle on a two-day ferry flight from Edwards to Kennedy beginning June 1. Atlantis' next assignment is the STS-129 mission, targeted to launch in November 2009.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers accompany the orbiter Endeavour as it rolls past the Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to Florida Space Authoritys Reusable Launch Vehicle hangar for temporary storage. Endeavour is being moved from the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) to allow work to be performed in the OPF that can only be accomplished while the bay is empty. Work scheduled in the OPF includes modifications to the bay and platform validation in the bay. Endeavour will remain in the hangar for approximately 30 days, then return to the OPF. Endeavour was pulled out of service in December 2003 for Orbiter Major Modification (OMM). OMMs are scheduled at regular intervals to enhance safety and performance, infuse new technology, and, in this case, perform RTF modifications.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With the aid of a drogue chute, space shuttle Discovery slows for landing on Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to complete the 13-day, 5.3-million mile journey on the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station. Main gear touchdown was at 3:13:17 p.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 3:13:40 p.m. and wheels stop was at 3:14:45 p.m. Discovery delivered the final pair of large power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. The mission was the 28th flight to the station, the 36th flight of Discovery and the 125th in the Space Shuttle Program, as well as the 70th landing at Kennedy.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour kicks up dust as it touches down on Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to complete the 16-day, 6.5-million mile journey on the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour landed on orbit 248. Main gear touchdown was at 10:48:08 a.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 10:48:21 a.m. and wheels stop was at 10:49:13 a.m. Endeavour delivered the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section to the International Space Station. The mission was the 29th flight to the station, the 23rd flight of Endeavour and the 127th in the Space Shuttle Program, as well as the 71st landing at Kennedy.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A firetruck stands by as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with its cargo the orbiter Columbia comes to a stop at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip. Columbias ferry flight began in California March 1. Unfavorable weather conditions kept it on the ground at Dyess AFB, Texas, until it could return to Florida. Columbia is returning from a 17-month-long modification and refurbishment process as part of a routine maintenance plan. The orbiter will next fly on mission STS-107, scheduled Oct. 25
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Viewed across the creek bordering runway 33, orbiter Discovery prepares to touch down at the Shuttle Landing Facility after a successful mission of nearly nine days and 3.6 million miles. Flying above it is the Shuttle Training Aircraft. Main gear touchdown was at 12:04 p.m. EST, landing on orbit 135. In the background, right, is the Vehicle Assembly Building. The STS-95 crew consists of Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr.; Pilot Steven W. Lindsey; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson; Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio; Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA); and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The mission included 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 mod
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is "go" for takeoff from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida mounted atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA. Takeoff came at 7:22 a.m. EDT.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.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- With its drag chute trailing behind, orbiter Discovery and its crew land on KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility runway 15. Main gear touchdown was at 2:22:58 p.m. EDT; wheel stop, at 2:24:06 p.m. EDT. The 11-day, 21-hour, 12-minute STS-105 mission accomplished the goals set for the 11th flight to the International Space Station: swapout of the resident Station crew; delivery of equipment, supplies and scientific experiments; and installation of the Early Ammonia Servicer and heater cables for the S0 truss on the Station. Discovery traveled 4.3 million miles on its 30th flight into space, the 106th mission of the Space Shuttle program. The landing was the first of five in 2001 to occur in daylight at KSC
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T&R Atlantis Move from OPF-1 to VAB HB
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Space shuttle Discovery, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), flies over the Washington skyline as seen from a NASA T-38 aircraft, Tuesday, April 17, 2012. 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. Photo Credit: (NASA/Robert Markowitz)
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USA, California, Los Angeles, Space shuttle Endeavour being towed
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Endeavour clears the trees as it approaches landing on runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The Space Shuttle Endeavour crew, led by Commander Scott Kelly, completes a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-118 mission began Aug. 8 and installed a new gyroscope, an external spare parts platform and another truss segment to the expanding station. Endeavour's main gear touched down at 12:32:16 p.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 12:32:29 p.m. and wheel stop was at 12:33:20 p.m. Endeavour traveled nearly 5.3 million miles, landing on orbit 201. STS-118 was the 119th space shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, the 20th flight for Endeavour and the second of four missions planned for 2007. This was the 65th landing of an orbiter at Kennedy.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Bob Cabana, director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, walks around space shuttle Discovery, following its final return from space. Touchdown on the Shuttle Landing Facility's Runway 15 was at 11:57 a.m. EST, bringing an end to the 13-day STS-133 mission to the International Space Station.Discovery and its six-member crew delivered the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the orbiting outpost. STS-133 was Discovery's 39th and final mission. This was the 133rd Space Shuttle Program mission and the 35th shuttle voyage to the space station.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The space shuttle Atlantis is viewed by guests at Space Florida's Exploration Park where it paused during its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The stop will provide a viewing opportunity before completing the trip to its new home.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.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with the space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop taxis down the runway for its ferry flight to California. The Vehicle Assembly Building can be seen in the background.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.
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Space Shuttle Returns Home
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Former space shuttle astronaut Rick Searfoss, now representing XCOR Aerospace, speaks to guests at Space Florida's Exploration Park where the space shuttle Atlantis pauses during its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Visitor Complex.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.
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STS036-S-018 (3 March 1990) --- The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down at Edwards Air Force Base in California to complete the STS-36 mission. Onboard were Astronauts John O. Creighton, John H. Casper, David C. Hilmers, Richard M. (Mike) Mullane and Pierre J. Thuot.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Orbiter Endeavour kicks up dust as it 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
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Standing in front of Atlantis, the STS-110 crew poses for a photo. From left are Commander Michael Bloomfield, Pilot Stephen Frick, and Mission Specialists Rex Walheim, Jerry Ross and Steven Smith. Missing crew members are Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa and Lee Morin. Atlantis landed on KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility after 171 orbits, completing a 10-day, 19-hour, 4.5-million mile mission to the International Space Station. 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
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Fireworks celebrate the arrival of the space shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex following a 10-mile journey.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.
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NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) with Space Shuttle Enterprise, OV-101, attached comes in for a landing at Koln Airport during a tour of Europe which included a stop at the Paris Air Show. Exact Date Shot Unknown. Country: Deutschland / Germany (DEU)
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SOFIA's 747
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USA, Florida, Titusville, Astronaut Hall of Fame.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Endeavour team gathers for a final farewell as the orbiter gets ready to roll to the Vehicle Assembly Building. In the VAB, it will be stacked with the external tank and solid rocket boosters atop the mobile launcher platform for its launch on mission STS-118. The mission will be Endeavour's first flight in more than four years. The shuttle has undergone extensive modifications, including the addition of safety upgrades already added to shuttles Discovery and Atlantis. Endeavour also features new hardware, such as the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System that will allow the docked shuttle to draw electrical power from the station and extend its visits to the orbiting lab. Endeavour is targeted for launch on Aug. 7.
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Space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop a NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) performs a low flyby at Los Angeles International Airport, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Endeavour, built as a replacement for space shuttle Challenger, completed 25 missions, spent 299 days in orbit, and orbited Earth 4,671 times while traveling 122,883,151 miles. Beginning Oct. 30, the shuttle will be on display in the California Science center's Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion, embarking on its new mission to commemorate past achievements in space and educate and inspire future generations of explorers.
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September 11, 2009 - Technicians clad in protective suits check for any hazardous gases emanating from space shuttle Discovery moments after it rolled to a stop on the main runway at Edwards Air Force Base. The checks are required before the crews move in for recovery operations.
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SOFIA (Stratospheric Ovservatory for Infrared Astronomy) taking off from Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA to return to Dryden Flight Reseach Facility, CA when the aircraft is stationed.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Members of the Kennedy Space Center team that processed the space shuttle Endeavour gather for a group picture shortly after the spacecraft backed out of Bay 2 of the Orbiter Processing Facility. Endeavour switched places with Atlantis which had been in Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB. In the VAB, Endeavour will undergo final preparations for its cross-country ferry flight targeted for mid-September. The work is part of Transition and Retirement of the remaining space shuttles, Endeavour and Atlantis. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Endeavour was the last space shuttle added to NASAs orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery is towed along the access road to the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A tail cone has been installed over its three replica shuttle main engines to reduce aerodynamic drag and turbulence during its upcoming ferry flight.At the SLF, Discovery will be hoisted onto a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with the aid of a mate-demate device. The SCA, a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A Shuttle Training Aircraft, or STA, top center, watches over space shuttle Atlantis as it touches down on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle approached from the southeast in a crystal-clear blue sky, giving the Space Coast quite a show. Landing was at 8 48 a.m. EDT, completing the 12-day STS-132 mission to the International Space Station. The six-member STS-132 crew carried the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the space station. STS-132 is the 34th shuttle mission to the station, the 132nd shuttle mission overall and the last planned flight for Atlantis.
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First Shuttle/747 Captive Flight
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With Commander Kevin Kregel and Pilot Steven Lindsey at the controls, the orbiter Columbia touches its main gear down on Runway 33 at KSCs Shuttle Landing Facility at 7:20:04 a.m. EST Dec. 5 to complete the 15-day, 16-hour and 34-minute-long STS-87 mission of 6.5 million miles. Also onboard the orbiter are Mission Specialists Winston Scott; Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D.; and Takao Doi, Ph.D., of the National Space Development Agency of Japan; along with Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk of the National Space Agency of Ukraine. During the 88th Space Shuttle mission, the crew performed experiments on the United States Microgravity Payload-4 and pollinated plants as part of the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment. This was the 12th landing for Columbia at KSC and the 41st KSC landing in the history of the Space Shuttle program
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NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft sits on the flightline at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Dec. 13, 2022. The SOFIA aircraft is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a reflecting telescope. It allowed astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes.
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USA, Virginia, Dulles, National Air and Space Museum, Space Shuttle Enterprise & Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Convoy Command Center vehicle is positioned near space shuttle Atlantis on the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The command vehicle is equipped to control critical communications between the crew still aboard Atlantis and the Launch Control Center. The team will monitor the health of the orbiter systems and direct convoy operations made up of about 40 vehicles, including 25 specially designed vehicles to assist the crew in leaving the shuttle, and prepare the vehicle for towing from the SLF to its processing hangar. Main gear touchdown was at 5:57:00 a.m. EDT, followed by nose gear touchdown at 5:57:20 a.m., and wheelstop at 5:57:54 a.m. On board are STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim.Securing the space shuttle fleet's place in history, Atlantis marks the 26th nighttime landing of NASA's Space Shuttle Program and the 78th landing at Kennedy. Atl
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President and CEO of the California Science Center Jeffrey N. Rudolph speaks from a podium underneath the space shuttle Endeavour during the grand opening ceremony for the center's Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Los Angeles. Endeavour, built as a replacement for space shuttle Challenger, completed 25 missions, spent 299 days in orbit, and orbited Earth 4,671 times while traveling 122,883,151 miles.
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Erik Lindbergh, grandson of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh, rededicated the SOFIA Boeing 747SP as the Clipper Lindbergh at NASA Dryden on June 27, 2007.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An airship from the British Broadcasting Corp., or BBC, flies over Launch Complex 39 past the NASA News Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.A team of scientists from the BBC's television project "Cloud Lab" are conducting a number of experiments aboard the airship as it flies across the U.S., exploring all aspects of the Earth's atmosphere. One of the experiments is NASA's Microorganisms in the Stratosphere, or MIST, which is designed to measure the microbial survival and cellular responses to exposure in the upper atmosphere.
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Space shuttle Discovery is rolled toward the transfer ceremony at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Thursday, April 19, 2012 in Chantilly, Va. Discovery will be permanently housed at the Udvar-Hazy Center, part of the Smithsonian Institutions Air and Space Museum. 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.
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S84-30898 (16 Oct 1983) --- NASA Space Shuttle Orbiter 103, Discovery, is rolled out in formal ceremonies at the Rockwell International Palmdale, California, facility. On hand to greet the vehicle and the public are members of the 41-D crew--the first team of astronauts to man the new vehicle. Scheduled for a spring or summer flight in 1984 are astronauts Henry W. Hartsfield (right), commander; Michael L. Coats (second right), pilot; and Judith A. Resnik, Richard M. (Mike) Mullane and Steven A. Hawley (on left of stage), all mission specialists. Don Beall of Rockwell International (at lectern) prepares to introduce Dr. Rocco A. Petrone, president of Rockwell's Space Transportation Systems Division.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the space shuttle Atlantis pauses during its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Visitor Complex for a ceremony to commemorate the transfer. Kennedy Director Bob Cabana spoke Kennedy employees and guests at the event.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.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- James Kelly (at right), pilot on Return to Flight mission STS-114, walks away from the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) at the Shuttle Landing Facility on NASAs Kennedy Space Center. He and Mission Commander Eileen Collins are practicing landing the orbiter using the STA, which is a modified Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II executive jet that was modified to simulate an orbiters cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiters atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-114 is scheduled to launch aboard Space Shuttle Discovery with a crew of seven on July 13 at 3 51 p.m. from Launch Pad 39B.
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First test flight testing the visual display for the X59. The XVS display is aboard the B200 and the camera is mounted on the nose of the aircraft and inside the cockpit.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Thousands of workers who have processed, launched and landed space shuttles for more than three decades, gather in front of space shuttle Atlantis after an employee appreciation event at Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis' final return to Earth occurred at 5:57 a.m. EDT July 21, 2011. Securing the space shuttle fleet's place in history, Atlantis marks the 26th nighttime landing of NASA's Space Shuttle Program and the 78th landing at Kennedy. Atlantis and its crew delivered to the International Space Station the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 is the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis and the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program.
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Aviat hot air balloons space shuttle
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(TRACT) Transport Rotorcraft Aircraft Testbed: Helicopter airframe drop test at NASA Langley's Landing and Impact Research Facility (LandIR)
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CV-990 (NASA-712) Galileo II aircraft in flight over the San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. A digital navigation, guidance and autopilot system tested on Galileo 1 and Galileo II in 1975 looked at the feasibility of energy-management approach concepts for an unpowered vehicle. Flight tests carried out by pilot Fred Drinkwater with technical direction by Fred Edwards and John D Foster along with significant input from Gordon Hardy on the pilot's system interface. Note Used in publication in Flight Research at Ames; 57 Years of Development and Validation of Aeronautical Technology NASA SP-1998-3300 fig 95 ref 99
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From left, NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Gover and Michael Hopkins, along with Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), board a plane from Ellington Field near the agencys Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, en route to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for NASAs SpaceX Crew-1 mission to begin final launch preparations. Crew-1 is the first operational mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program.
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Space shuttle icon with vector carrier rocket, spaceship and Earth planet, galaxy universe stars, meteors and asteroids. Isolated retro symbol of space travel, aerospace center and cosmos adventure. Space shuttle icon, carrier rocket and spaceship
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Endeavour's six STS-134 astronauts, dressed in their orange launch-and-entry suits, wave to news media and other spectators before hopping aboard the Astrovan parked in front of the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The modified Airstream recreational vehicle has transported astronauts to their spacecraft since 1984. From left, are Mission Specialists Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel, Roberto Vittori with the European Space Agency and Michael Fincke, Pilot Greg H. Johnson and Commander Mark Kelly. STS-134 will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the space station. Endeavour was scheduled to launch at 3:47 p.m. on April 29, but that attempt was scrubbed for at least 72 hours while engineers assess an issue associated with the shuttle's Auxiliary Power Unit 1. STS-134 will be the final
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After a three-day series of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities, the crew of mission STS-121 are leaving NASA's Kennedy Space Center to return to Houston. Waving on his way to the plane at the Shuttle Landing Facility is Thomas Reiter of Germany, who represents the European Space Agency. The TCDT includes equipment familiarization, emergency egress training and a simulated launch countdown. Mission STS-121 is scheduled to launch July 1.
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The Orion crew module flown on NASAs Pad Abort-1 (PA-1) flight test is shown on display at an event at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 4, 2011 before moving into the Operations & Checkout (O&C) Building. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.