Space Shuttle Maintenance Operations

Images showcasing technicians performing maintenance on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, focusing on structural inspections and component handling.

HEROES PAYLOAD AWAITS LAUNCH AS HELIUM BALLOON INFLATES IN BACKGROUND, FORT SUMNER, NEW MEXICO, SEPTEMBER 21, 2013

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Les Hanks (foreground) and Mike Young (behind him), with United Space Alliance, prepare a window on Atlantis for removal. Behind Young is Lance Emery, with USA, works on tile under the windows. The windows are being removed to inspect them for contaminants in the thermal seal. Atlantis has been undergoing routine maintenance in the Orbiter Processing Facility for Return to Flight, on mission STS-114.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers remove the reinforced-carbon carbon, or RCC, panels from the wing leading edge on space shuttle Atlantis. The structural edge of the wing (area of red and green behind the panels) will undergo spar corrosion inspection to verify the structural integrity of the wing. The RCC panels will be placed in protective coverings until the inspection is complete. Atlantis will make the 31st flight to the International Space Station for the STS-129 mission, targeted for launch on Nov. 12.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians in the Orbiter Processing Facility secure the crane that will lift the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), or Shuttle arm. The RMS is being moved for installation in Atlantis payload bay. The RMS includes the electromechanical arm that maneuvers a payload from the payload bay of the orbiter to its deployment position and then releases it. It can also grapple a free-flying payload, maneuver it to the payload bay of the orbiter and berth it in the orbiter. The RMS arm is 50 feet 3 inches long and 15 inches in diameter. It weighs 905 pounds, and the total system weighs 994 pounds. The RMS has six joints that correspond roughly to the joints of the human arm, with shoulder yaw and pitch joints; an elbow pitch joint; and wrist pitch, yaw and roll joints. The end effector is the unit at the end of the wrist that actually grabs, or grapples, the payload. Atlantis is the designated orbiter to fly on mission STS-121. The mission has a launch window of July

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Remote Manipulator System lab in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), Kennedy workers remove the shipping container surrounding part of the new Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS). Once the entire structure has arrived, the OBSS will be assembled and undergo final checkout and testing in the lab prior to being transferred to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) for installation on Space Shuttle Discovery. The 50-foot-long OBSS will be attached to the Remote Manipulator System, or Shuttle arm, and is one of the new safety measures for Return to Flight, equipping the orbiter with cameras and laser systems to inspect the Shuttle's Thermal Protection System while in space. Discovery is slated to fly mission STS-114 once Space Shuttle launches resume. The launch planning window is May 12 to June 3, 2005.

HEROES PAYLOAD AWAITS LAUNCH AS HELIUM BALLOON INFLATES IN BACKGROUND, FORT SUMNER, NEW MEXICO, SEPTEMBER 21, 2013

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower on Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Boeing technicians prepare to remove the second stage from the Boeing Delta II rocket that will launch the Deep Impact spacecraft. Removal of the second stage will allow workers to then remove the rockets inter-stage adapter, which was found to be faulty during a review of launch vehicle hardware. It will be replaced and the second stage re-installed within a few days. Launch of Deep Impact is now scheduled no earlier than Jan. 12.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, a worker (below the upper framework) begins connecting a device to remove the Rudder Speed Brake panel on the vertical tail of orbiter Atlantis. The Rudder Speed Brake is being removed for inspection and maintenance prior to Return to Flight. The vertical tail consists of a structural fin surface made of aluminum, the Rudder Speed Brake surface, a tip and a lower trailing edge. The rudder splits into two halves to serve as a speed brake. The vertical tail and Rudder Speed Brake are covered with a reusable thermal protection system. The Rudder Speed Brake is used to guide and slow the Shuttle as it comes in for a landing.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance aerospace technicians install a heat shield around the base of space shuttle Endeavours replica shuttle main engine RSME number 1. Bill Ward Jr., wearing a safety harness and his back to the camera, assists Chris Peluso.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. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. 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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare a new engine and generator for installation on crawler-transporter 2 CT-2). The Apollo era diesel engines were removed last month.Work continues in high bay 2 to upgrade CT-2 so that it can carry NASAs Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, which is under design, and new Orion spacecraft to the launch pad. The crawler-transporters were used to carry the mobile launcher platform and space shuttle to Launch Complex 39 for space shuttle launches for 30 years.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Columbia Reconstruction Project Team members examine newly arrived pieces of debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia in the RLV Hangar. The debris was shipped to KSC from the collection point at Barksdale Air Force Base, Shreveport, La. As part of the ongoing investigation into the tragic accident that claimed Columbia and her crew of seven, workers will attempt to reconstruct the orbiter inside the hangar.

. The engine that will power NASAs quiet supersonic X-59 in flight is installed, marking a major milestone in the experimental aircrafts journey toward first flight. The installation of the F414-GE-100 engine at Lockheed Martins Skunk Works facility brings the vehicle close to the completion of its assembly.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Working near the top of a solid rocket booster, NASA and United Space Alliance SRB technicians hook up SRB cables to a Cirris Signature Touch 1 cable tester. From left are Steve Swichkow, with NASA, and Jim Silviano (back to camera) and Jeff Suter, with USA. The SRB is part of Space Shuttle Atlantis, rolled back from Launch Pad 39A in order to conduct tests on the cables. A prior extensive evaluation of NASAs SRB cable inventory on the shelf revealed conductor damage in four (of about 200) cables. Shuttle managers decided to prove the integrity of the system tunnel cables already on Atlantis before launching. Workers are conducting inspections, making continuity checks and conducting X-ray analysis on the cables. The launch has been rescheduled no earlier than Feb. 6. <br

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers maneuver the reinforced carbon-carbon nose cap as it is hoisted into the air. The nose cap will be installed on Endeavour. The nose cap is insulated with thermal protection system blankets made of a woven ceramic fabric. The special blankets help insulate the vehicle's nose cap and protect it from the extreme temperatures it will face during a mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The first set of two Ogive panels for the Orion Launch Abort System was uncrated inside the Launch Abort System Facility, or LASF, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. One of the panels is being lifted by crane for the move to a storage stand at the other end of the facility. During processing, the panels will be secured around the Orion crew module and attached to the Launch Abort System.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of Orion is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket and in 2017 on NASAs Space Launch System rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility-3 engine shop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a transportation canister containing the last Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne space shuttle main engine, or SSME, is lifted onto a flatbed truck for shipment to NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.The first two groups of engines were shipped from Kennedy to Stennis in November 2011 and January 2012 the remaining engines departed today. Altogether, 15 shuttle-era engines will be stored at Stennis for reuse on NASAs Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, under development.

A worker removes one of the securing straps from the second of two Northrop Grumman-manufactured aft exit cones to arrive for the Space Launch Systems solid rocket boosters inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 9, 2019. The right aft exit cone was shipped from Promontory, Utah. It will be checked out and prepared for the Artemis I uncrewed test flight. The aft exit cones sit at the bottommost part of the twin boosters. The cones help provide added thrust for the boosters, while protecting the aft skirts from the thermal environment during launch.

John C. Stennis Space Center employees install a new master interface tool on the A-2 Test Stand on Oct. 27, 2010. Until July 2009, the stand had been used for testing space shuttle main engines. With that test series complete, employees are preparing the stand for testing the next-generation J-2X rocket engine being developed. Testing of the new engine is scheduled to begin in 2011.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers remove the vent line attached to the ground umbilical carrier plate (GUCP) on the bright-orange external fuel tank. Next, the GUCP's 7-inch quick disconnect will be removed. A hydrogen gas leak at that location during tanking for space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission to the International Space Station caused the launch attempt to be scrubbed Nov. 5. The GUCP will be examined to determine the cause of the hydrogen leak and then repaired. The GUCP is the overboard vent to the pad and the flame stack where the vented hydrogen is burned off. Discovery's next launch attempt is no earlier than Nov. 30 at 4:02 a.m. EST.

THE ORION HEAT SHIELD THAT SUCCESSFULLY SURVIVED A HIGH-VELOCITY REENTRY DURING ITS DEC. 5 FLIGHT TEST, IS CONTINUING ITS JOURNEY, NOW AT MARSHALL. IT ARRIVED ON MONDAY, MARCH 9 AND WILL BE INSTALLED IN THE BUILDING 4705 7-AXIS MILLING AND MACHINING CENTER.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Delta Operations Center, Leslie Guzman (yellow shirt), with Pratt and Whitney, watches closely as the nozzle for the RL-10 engine is lifted into place on the second stage of the Boeing Delta IV rocket. The Delta IV is the launch vehicle for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-N), scheduled to launch in April 2005 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GOES-N is a weather satellite for NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The first in a series of three advanced weather satellites including GOES-O and GOES-P, the GOES-N will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. It will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric triggers of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility-3 engine shop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a transportation canister containing the last Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne space shuttle main engine, or SSME, is lowered onto a flatbed truck for shipment to NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.The first two groups of engines were shipped from Kennedy to Stennis in November 2011 and January 2012 the remaining engines departed today. Altogether, 15 shuttle-era engines will be stored at Stennis for reuse on NASAs Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, under development.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, United Space Alliance and B.F. Goodrich technicians begin work on the starboard landing gear assembly of space shuttle Discovery. They will replace a leaking dynamic seal in Discovery's right main-gear strut. The struts act as shock absorbers during the shuttle's landing. Engineers determined the observed leak of hydraulic fluid in the main landing gear strut exceeded specification and could not be reduced to an acceptable rate. Removing the strut and replacing seals require disconnecting and replacing the brakes and tires, disconnecting and reconnecting instruments and other requirements to allow access to the strut. Discovery had been scheduled to roll over Sept. 19 from its processing hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building. A new rollover date will be set after technicians determine how long replacing the seal will take.

Pegasus/Nustar, Arival for the Aft Skirt & Fins, Installation of the Aft Skirt to the Aft End of Stage 1

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Workers secure the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, onto a launch stand in the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Launch is scheduled for July 2014. The observatory will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the Columbia Reconstruction Project Team work with pieces of debris in the RLV Hangar. The items shipped to KSC number more than 82,000 and weigh 84,800 pounds or 38 percent of the total dry weight of Columbia. Of those items, 78,760 have been identified, with 753 placed on the left wing grid in the Hangar.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - In the Horizontal Processing Facility at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the engine bell is installed around the second-stage nozzle of the Delta II rocket for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2. OCO-2 is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 in July. The rocket's second stage will insert OCO-2 into a polar Earth orbit. OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) primary mirror being coated in the Ames N-211 Vacuum Chamber.

Pegasus/Nustar, Arival for the Aft Skirt & Fins, Installation of the Aft Skirt to the Aft End of Stage 1

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, are removing cover plates in preparation for replacing the roller bearing assemblies on crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2. The modifications are designed to ensure CT-2's ability to transport launch vehicles currently in development, such as the agency's Space Launch System which will send the Orion spacecraft carrying humans to new destinations in the solar system.The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades to CT-2 so that it can carry NASAs Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket and new Orion spacecraft to the launch pad. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform and the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and, later, space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and B.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers help install the nose cap (right) onto the orbiter Atlantis. The nose cap was removed from the vehicle in May and sent back to the vendor for thorough Non-Destructive Engineering evaluation and recoating. Thermography was also performed to check for internal flaws. This procedure uses high intensity light to heat areas that are immediately scanned with an infrared camera. White Thermal Protection System blankets were reinstalled on the nose cap before installation. Processing continues on Atlantis for its future mission to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, the media photograph work being done on the tiles on the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight in the Orbiter Processing Facility. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiters wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - Technicians perform a fit check on an Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket as the launcher is processed for the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph mission known as IRIS. The technicians are attaching the portion of the Pegasus that joins the wing to the fuselage, a piece called a fillet.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers help guide the aft skirt for the Ares 1-X rocket as it is moved. The segment is being lifted into a machine shop work stand for drilling modifications. The modifications will prepare it for the installation of the auxiliary power unit controller, the reduced-rate gyro unit, the booster decelerator motors and the booster tumble motors. Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low-Earth orbit. Ares I-X is a test rocket. The Ares I first stage will be a five-segment solid rocket booster based on the four-segment design used for the shuttle. Ares Is fifth booster segment allows the launch vehicle to lift more weight and reach a higher altitude before the first stage separates from the upper stage, which ignites in midflight to propel the Orion spacecraft to Earth orbit.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers install a parachute pack in the Ares I-X forward skirt segment. The forward skirt is the initial piece of first-stage hardware in preparation for the July 2009 test flight of the agency's next-generation spacecraft and launch vehicle system.

KODIAK ISLAND, Alaska -- Technicians inspect Castor 120, the first stage of the Athena 1 launch vehicle, 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.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Workers attach the interstage adapter, or ISA, for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, to a lifting device in the high bay of the Building 836 hangar on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. OCO-2 is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 in July. The ISA is the interface between the Delta II first and second stages. The second stage engine fits within the ISA. OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building's extended duration orbiter lab, or EDO, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers remove the shipping cover from the fifth segment simulator of the Ares I-X. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ares I is the essential core of a safe, reliable, cost-effective space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. Ares I-X is targeted for launch in July 2009.

Inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians prepare the fins for installation on Northrop Grumman's Pegasus XL rocket on July 30, 2018. The Pegasus XL rocket, attached beneath the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, will launch NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Launch is scheduled for Oct. 26. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1, workers are installing a new window in Atlantis. The orbiter is being processed for launch in late August on mission STS-115. It will carry a truss and other key components on the Space Shuttle Program's 19th mission to the International Space Station.

Spraying work before transferring the first two General Dynamics F-16s built by Breeder in license to the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

NASA's X-37 Approach and Landing Test Vehicle is installed is a structural facility at Boeing's Huntington Beach, California plant, where technicians make adjustments to composite panels. Tests, completed in July, were conducted to verify the structural integrity of the vehicle in preparation for atmospheric flight tests. Atmospheric flight tests of the Approach and Landing Test Vehicle are scheduled for 2004 and flight tests of the Orbital Vehicle are scheduled for 2006. The X-37 experimental launch vehicle is roughly 27.5 feet (8.3 meters) long and 15 feet (4.5 meters) in wingspan. It's experiment bay is 7 feet (2.1 meters) long and 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter. Designed to operate in both the orbital and reentry phases of flight, the X-37 will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000.00 per pound. The X-37 program is managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and built by the Boeing Company.

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - Workers load half of a payload fairing inside a hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California where it will be processed and used for NASA's IRIS mission. The fairing will be fitted to the nose of an Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket and will protect the IRIS spacecraft from atmospheric heating and stress during launch.

T&R/Atlantis - Weight and CG in Preparation for Roll to VAB

NASA Connects All Major Structures of Artemis II Moon Rocket Core Stage. Teams with NASA and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have fully integrated all five major structures of the Space Launch System (SLS) rockets core stage for Artemis II, the first Artemis mission that will send four astronauts around the Moon and return them home. Technicians joined the engine section to the rest of the rocket stage March 17. Next, teams will integrate the four RS-25 engines to the engine section to complete the stage. Located at the bottom of the 212-foot-tall core stage, the engine section is the most complex and intricate part of the rocket stage, helping to power Artemis missions to the Moon. In addition to its miles of cabling and hundreds of sensors, the engine section is a crucial attachment point for the RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters that produce a combined 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. It houses the engines a

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Part of the final shipment of Columbia debris is transferred into the RLV Hangar at KSC. The recovery efforts have been concluded in East Texas. Prior to this final shipment, the total number of items at KSC is 82,567, weighing 84,800 pounds or 38 percent of the total dry weight of Columbia. Of those items, 78,760 have been identified, with 753 placed on the left wing grid in the RLV Hangar.

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - Workers load half of a payload fairing inside a hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California where it will be processed and used for NASA's IRIS mission. The fairing will be fitted to the nose of an Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket and will protect the IRIS spacecraft from atmospheric heating and stress during launch.

NASA Connects All Major Structures of Artemis II Moon Rocket Core Stage. Teams with NASA and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have fully integrated all five major structures of the Space Launch System (SLS) rockets core stage for Artemis II, the first Artemis mission that will send four astronauts around the Moon and return them home. Technicians joined the engine section to the rest of the rocket stage March 17. Next, teams will integrate the four RS-25 engines to the engine section to complete the stage. Located at the bottom of the 212-foot-tall core stage, the engine section is the most complex and intricate part of the rocket stage, helping to power Artemis missions to the Moon. In addition to its miles of cabling and hundreds of sensors, the engine section is a crucial attachment point for the RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters that produce a combined 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. It houses the engines a

In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 50-51 backup crewmember Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency climbs aboard the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft Nov.2 during pre-launch training. Nespoli, Jack Fischer of NASA and Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will back up the prime crewmembers, Peggy Whitson of NASA, Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, who will launch Nov. 18, Baikonur time, for a six-month mission on the International Space Station.NASA/Alexander Vysotsky

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the second stage of the Pegasus XL rocket, left, that will launch the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) to orbit is moved onto a jackable rail for processing in Building 1555. On the right is the rocket's third stage. After the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be shipped to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site located at the Pacific Oceans Kwajalein Atoll for launch.The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician using a Hyster forklift begins removing one of the three main engines on space shuttle Discovery. Engine removal is part of the post-landing processing. Discovery completed the STS-119 mission March 28 with a landing at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Each engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 6,700 pounds, and is 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. Discovery next will be used on the STS-128 mission to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. The launch is targeted for Aug. 6.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers prepare to install a new ground umbilical carrier plate (GUCP) on space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank. A hydrogen gas leak at that location during tanking for Discovery's STS-133 mission to the International Space Station caused the launch attempt to be scrubbed Nov. 5. The GUCP is the overboard vent to the pad and the flame stack where the excess hydrogen is burned off.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Delta Operations Center, Jack Reynolds and Leslie Guzman (both at left), with Pratt and Whitney, prepare the nozzle for the RL-10 engine to be attached to the second stage of the Boeing Delta IV rocket. The Delta IV is the launch vehicle for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-N), scheduled to launch in April 2005 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GOES-N is a weather satellite for NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The first in a series of three advanced weather satellites including GOES-O and GOES-P, the GOES-N will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. It will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric triggers of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Inside the well deck of the U.S. Navy's USS Anchorage, the Orion boilerplate test vehicle is secured on its cradle before the start of a portion of the Underway Recovery Test 2. Workers check the pressure of the bright orange stabilizers that will keep Orion upright in the water if needed. NASA, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy are conducting the test in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego to prepare for recovery of the Orion crew module on its return from a deep space mission. The underway recovery test will allow the team to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes, procedures, new hardware and personnel in open waters.The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is conducting the underway recovery test. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialists Daniel Burbank (left) and Steven MacLean (right) check out equipment 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. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians secure several of space shuttle Endeavours main propulsion system tanks after they were removed from the orbiters mid-body. The tanks will be retained for possible future use on the agencys Space Launch System Program. The work is part of Endeavours transition and retirement processing. The spacecraft is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Endeavour flew 25 missions, spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122, 883, 151 miles over the course of its 19-year career.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A United Space Alliance technician monitors the placement of Rudder Speed Brake actuator No.4 as work proceeds to install it on Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery in the Orbiter Processing Facility. Discovery has been assigned to the first Return to Flight mission, STS-114, a logistics flight to the International Space Station.

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - Technicians perform a fit check on an Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket as the launcher is processed for the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph mission known as IRIS. The technicians are attaching the wing of the Pegasus to the fuselage.

The Orion Lockheed Martin team continues fabricating and assembling composite structures for the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion service module and launch abort system at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Feb. 5, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a large crane lowers a new engine and generator for installation inside crawler-transporter 2 CT-2). The Apollo era diesel engines were removed last month. Work continues in high bay 2 to upgrade CT-2 so that it can carry NASAs Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, which is under design, and new Orion spacecraft to the launch pad. The crawler-transporters were used to carry the mobile launcher platform and space shuttle to Launch Complex 39 for space shuttle launches for 30 years.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Inside the well deck of the U.S. Navy's USS Anchorage, the Orion boilerplate test vehicle is secured on its cradle before the start of a portion of Underway Recovery Test 2. Workers check hardware associated with the recovery test. NASA, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy are conducting the test in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego to prepare for recovery of the Orion crew module on its return from a deep space mission. The underway recovery test will allow the team to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes, procedures, new hardware and personnel in open waters. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is conducting the underway recovery test. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpi

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in the Orbiter Processing Facility cover up areas of Atlantis with plastic, preparing for the expected impact of Hurricane Frances on Saturday. Other preparations at KSC include powering down the Space Shuttle orbiters, closing the payload bay doors and stowing the landing gear. Workers are also taking precautions against flooding by moving spacecraft hardware off the ground and sandbagging facilities. The Orbiter Processing Facility is constructed of concrete and steel and was designed to withstand winds of 105 mph. The Vehicle Assembly Building is constructed of concrete and steel and was designed to withstand winds of 125 mph. Other payload and flight hardware support facilities can endure winds of 110 mph. Launch pads and the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility can withstand 125-mph winds.

The Orion Crew Module Adapter simulator arrives at NASA Glenn's Plum Brook Station Space Power Facility in Sandusky, Ohio on June 24, 2015. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

Day In The Life of Artemis Employees

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Columbia Reconstruction Project Team members move debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia into a designated sector of the RLV Hangar. The debris is being shipped to KSC from the collection point at Barksdale Air Force Base, Shreveport, La. As part of the ongoing investigation into the tragic accident that claimed Columbia and her crew of seven, workers will attempt to reconstruct the orbiter inside the hangar.

On an upper level of high bay 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building, technicians place protective material around the nose cone of Atlantis' external tank. The nose cone will undergo repair for hail damage. 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. Further evaluation of the tank is necessary to get an accurate accounting of foam damage and determine the type of repair required and the time needed for that work. 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.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Technicians prepare to move a solid rocket motor to a different transporter inside the Solid Rocket Motor Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The motor will be attached to the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket slated to launch NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2, spacecraft in July 2014. OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Vehicle Assembly Building high bay 4, cables lift ballast that will be installed in segment 7 for the Ares I-X rocket. These ballast assemblies are being installed in the upper stage segments 1 and 7 and will mimic the mass of the fuel. Their total weight is approximately 160,000 pounds. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ares I is the essential core of a safe, reliable, cost-effective space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. The Ares I-X is targeted for launch in July 2009.

At the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, technicians support operations to mate a solid rocket booster (SRB) to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage. The SRB will be help boost NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S, to orbit. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites that 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.

Technicians prepare to mate the second satellite to Spacecraft II in Bldg. 995. Base: Vandenberg Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

NASA Hosts National Lunar Robotics Excavation Competition '2009 Regolith Excavation Challenge At NASA's Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the Columbia Reconstruction Project Team check pieces of Columbia debris on the floor of the RLV Hangar at KSC. The team is attempting to reconstruct the bottom of 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. To date, more than 35,000 pieces have been shipped to KSC for examination and identification.

Technicians at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., loaded the German-built primary mirror assembly of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, onto an Air Force C-17 for shipment to NASA's Ames Research Center on May 1, 2008. In preparation for the final finish coating of the mirror, the more than two-ton mirror assembly had been removed from its cavity in the rear fuselage of the highly modified SOFIA Boeing 747SP two weeks earlier. After arrival at NASA Ames at Moffett Field near Mountain View, Calif., the mirror would receive its aluminized finish coating before being re-installed in the SOFIA aircraft.

Blue-collar workers in factory overlooking storage tanks

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance aerospace technicians install a heat shield around the base of space shuttle Endeavours replica shuttle main engine RSME number 1. Bill Ward Jr., wearing a safety harness, monitors the work of Tim Seymour in the lower portion of the image and Chris Peluso, above.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. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers remove the overhead crane from the nose cap that was removed from Atlantis. The reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) nose cap is being sent to the original manufacturing company, Vought in Ft. Worth, Texas, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, to undergo non-destructive testing such as CAT scan and thermography.

220414-N-IL330-1022 PACIFIC OCEAN (April 14, 2022) - Aviation Boatswains Mate (Handling) Airman Jerry Blakeley, from Victorville, California, practices operating an aircraft tow tractor in the hanger bay aboard amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), April 14, 2022. Tripoli is underway conducting routine operations in U.S. 3rd Fleet.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the Columbia Reconstruction Project Team look at a piece of Columbia debris placed on the floor grid of the RLV Hangar. 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.

Federal technicians from various Utah National Guard maintenance shops put their skills to the test during the 10th annual Utah Mechanic of the Year Competition at Camp Williams, Utah, March 27, 2023. Hosted by the Utah National Guard, the Utah Mechanic of the Year Competition kicks off the Equipment Readiness Symposium (formerly Maintenance Symposium), which is a week-long event that concentrates on honing vehicle and equipment maintenance proficiencies.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers ensure the safe removal of a Rudder Speed Brake Actuator from the orbiter Atlantis. This and three other actuators are being shipped to the vendor for inspection. An actuator is a motor that moves the tail rudder back and forth to help steer it during landing and brake its speed. The vertical tail consists of a structural fin surface made of aluminum, the Rudder Speed Brake surface, a tip and a lower trailing edge. The rudder splits into two halves to serve as a speed brake. The vertical tail and Rudder Speed Brake are covered with a reusable thermal protection system. Atlantis is undergoing maintenance and inspection in the Orbiter Processing Facility for a future mission.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Workers prepare to rotate a section of the fairing for NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, or SMAP, in a lifting device in the Building 836 high bay on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.The fairing will protect the SMAP spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during its ascent to orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2. SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. These measurements will be used to enhance understanding of processes that link the water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capabilities of weather and climate prediction models. SMAP data will also be used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flood prediction and drought monitoring capabilities. Launch is scheduled for November 2014.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers on Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California place protective covers over the engine of the Delta II second stage. It will be lifted into the mobile service tower for installation on the first stage for launch of the OSTM/Jason-2 spacecraft. The OSTM, or Ocean Topography Mission, on the Jason-2 satellite is a follow-on to Jason-1. It will take oceanographic studies of sea surface height into an operational mode for continued climate forecasting research and science and industrial applications. This satellite altimetry data will help determine ocean circulation, climate change and sea-level rise. OSTM is a joint effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, Frances Centre National dEtudes Spatiales and the European Meteorological Satellite Organisation. OSTM/Jason-2 will be launched on June 20.

Ground support equipment is being secured in the well deck of the USS Anchorage at Naval Base San Diego in California. The equipment will be used during recovery of the Orion crew module after its first flight test. Before launch of Orion on a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA, Lockheed Martin and U.S. Navy personnel will head out to sea in the USS Anchorage and the USNS Salvor, a salvage ship, and wait for splashdown of the Orion crew module in the Pacific Ocean. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program will lead the recovery efforts. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted flight test of Orion is scheduled to launch in December atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy r

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians monitor the progress as an overhead crane lowers one of Endeavours main propulsion system tanks after it was removed from the orbiters mid-body. The tanks will be retained for possible future use on the agencys Space Launch System Program. The work is part of Endeavours transition and retirement processing. The spacecraft is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Endeavour flew 25 missions, spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122, 883, 151 miles over the course of its 19-year career.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers install C-shaped T-seals, which fit between each Reinforced Carbon Carbon panel, on the left-side wing leading edge of the orbiter Atlantis.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers lower Atlantis Rudder Speed Brake panel toward the floor after removing the panel from the vertical tail. The Rudder Speed Brake is being removed for inspection and maintenance prior to Return to Flight. The vertical tail consists of a structural fin surface made of aluminum, the Rudder Speed Brake surface, a tip and a lower trailing edge. The rudder splits into two halves to serve as a speed brake. The vertical tail and Rudder Speed Brake are covered with a reusable thermal protection system. The Rudder Speed Brake is used to guide and slow the Shuttle as it comes in for a landing.

Automobile Assembly PlantCoventryEngland

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the aft stub adapter (ASA) and nozzle for a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is removed from its shipping container. The launch vehicle will send NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft to land on Mars. InSight is the first mission to explore the Red Planet's deep interior. It will investigate processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system including Earth. Liftoff from Vandenberg is scheduled for May 5, 2018.

SHELL BUCKLE KNOCKDOWN FACTOR (SBKF) COMPOSITE BARREL EPOXY POUR.

Technicians carefully maneuver a spreader bar into place before removing the telescope aperture assembly from NASA's SOFIA infrared observatory Boeing 747SP.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ground support technicians assist with removal of bearings from the B truck tread of crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2. New roller bearing assemblies will be installed. Work continues in high bay 2 to upgrade CT-2. The modifications are designed to ensure CT-2s ability to transport launch vehicles currently in development, such as the agencys Space Launch System, to the launch pad. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform and the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and, later, space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and B.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ground support technicians use a special work stand to guide a roller bearing shaft for insertion on the C truck of crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2. A section of the treads on the C truck were removed to allow access to the bearings.Work continues in high bay 2 to upgrade CT-2. The modifications are designed to ensure CT-2s ability to transport launch vehicles currently in development, such as the agencys Space Launch System, to the launch pad. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform and the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and, later, space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and B.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare the main parachute for the Orion spacecraft for lifting by crane. The parachute will be prepared for installation on Orion. The Orion spacecraft is being prepared for its first unpiloted flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1, scheduled for launch atop a Delta IV rocket in September 2014. The Orion spacecraft is designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orion is scheduled to launch atop NASAs Space Launch System rocket in 2017.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the RLV Hangar, members of the Columbia Reconstruction Project Team look at a stack of Columbia debris shipped from Barksdale AFB, Shreveport, La. Barksdale continues to be the receiving and shipping point for Columbia materials being sent to KSC for final identification. The team is attempting 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.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - In the Astrotech payload processing facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Orbital Sciences workers and technicians move their work platforms away from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2, in preparation for its lift from the transportation trailer.Testing and launch preparations now will get underway for its launch from Space Launch Complex 2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, scheduled for July 1, 2014. The observatory will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas. OCO-2 is a NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Program mission managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL in Pasadena, Ca

NASA Kennedy Space Centers prime contractor Reynolds, Smith and Hill presents a mock-up of a launch pad escape basket to NASA, Kennedy Fire Rescue personnel and other stakeholders on Feb. 19, 2020. The basket would be utilized at the Florida spaceports Launch Pad 39B in the unlikely event of an emergency at the pad requiring evacuation during crewed missions under the Artemis Program. The actual egress basket will be designed larger than ones used during the shuttle era in order to accommodate fire rescue crew, astronauts and closeout crew. During the presentation, a fire rescue team walked through a series of trial scenarios and addressed items such as basket release location, seat depth to accommodate firefighters in full gear, sequence of loading and more.

5FTH SBKF (SHELL BUCKLE KNOCKDOWN FACTOR) WORKSHOP, MSFC, FEB. 3-4, 2015

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers attach an overhead crane to the fifth and final solid rocket booster for lifting into the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41. It then will be attached to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster stage, already at the pad.NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers install C-shaped T-seals, which fit between each Reinforced Carbon Carbon panel, on the left-side wing leading edge of the orbiter Atlantis.

5TH SBKF (SHELL BUCKLE KNOCKDOWN FACTOR) WORKSHOP, MSFC, FEB. 3-4, 2015

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An overhead crane lifts the Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC), with equipment on top, toward the payload canister (right) where the SPACEHAB module is already stowed. The canister will transport its cargo to Launch Pad 39B in preparation for mission STS-106, scheduled to launch Sept. 8 at 8:31 a.m. EDT. During the mission to the International Space Station, the crew will complete service module support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and outfit the Space Station for the first long-duration crew

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