Spacecraft Maintenance and Engineering

Technicians working on spacecraft components, engines, and processing activities at aerospace facilities, focusing on advancements in space technology.

T & R Discovery, Right OMS Pod Removal

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers test the hydraulic system that will lift the shuttle Atlantis off the floor to enable the orbiter transport system, or OTS, to be rolled underneath for its move, or "rollover," to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Once there Atlantis will be joined with the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher platform. Atlantis is being prepared for the STS-135 mission, which will deliver the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. STS-135 is targeted to launch June 28, and will be the last spaceflight for the Space Shuttle Program.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians lift a heat shield to one of the work platforms for installation around one of space shuttle Endeavours replica shuttle main engines.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 Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians provide assistance as a large crane begins to lift a dome heat shield that will be installed around one of space shuttle Discoverys three replica shuttle main engines. The dome heat shields are composed of two, semi-circle-shaped sections of thermal protection system tiles that surround the engines. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

Engineers lift the Orion Crew Module Adapter Structural Test Article into the test stand at NASA Glenn Research Center Plum Brook Facility on Sept. 23, 2015. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Technicians monitor a Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne space shuttle main engine, or SSME, as a crane lifts it off its base inside the SSME Processing Facility, the engine shop at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Operations are under way to rotate the engine into a horizontal position on a portable workstand.The engine is one of the last SSMEs remaining at Kennedy and is being prepared 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 are scheduled to depart on April 9. Altogether, 15 shuttle-era engines will be stored at Stennis for reuse on NASAs Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, under development.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians install the aft skirt on the Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus XL rocket which will launch the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS, spacecraft.Scheduled for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base no earlier than Feb. 27, 2013, IRIS will open a new window of discovery by tracing the flow of energy and plasma through the chromospheres and transition region into the suns corona using spectrometry and imaging. IRIS fills a crucial gap in our ability to advance studies of the sun-to-Earth connection by tracing the flow of energy and plasma through the foundation of the corona and the region around the sun known as the heliosphere.

Jan 20, 2023, load crews form the 477th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 90th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, and 525th Aircraft Maintenance Unit went head-to-head in the 3rd Wing Weapons Load Competition.

At NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana, Lockheed Martin technicians complete the first weld on the pressure vessel for Orion which will carry humans to deep space on Artemis II on Dec. 21, 2017.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 (OPF-2) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, doors begin to close around the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module after it was secured in the payload canister. A special payload removal device was used to remove it from Atlantis cargo bay. Raffaello will then be readied for transport to the Space Station Processing Facility where its contents will be unloaded. Atlantis completed NASAs final space shuttle mission, STS-135, after landing at the centers Shuttle Landing Facility, July 21, 2011, at 5:57 a.m. EDT. Following removal of all payloads in Atlantis cargo bay, workers will begin to prepare the spacecraft for eventual permanent display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

This image shows technicians and engineers preparing to movie and connect the forward skirt to the liquid oxygen tank (LOX) as they continue the process of the forward join on the core stage of NASAs Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASAs Artemis program at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility. The forward join connects the forward skirt, the liquid oxygen tank (LOX) and the intertank structures to form the top part of the SLS rockets core stage. Now, NASA and Boeing, the SLS prime contractor, will continue to integrate various systems inside the forward part of the core stage and prepare for structural joining of the liquid hydrogen tank and engine section to form the bottom of the stage. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rockets massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASAs Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies bey

Technicians begin welding the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion pressure vessel at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Sept. 9, 2011. Orions pressure vessel is underlying frame of the crew module that will provide an air-tight, habitable space for astronauts on future missions to the Moon. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians prepare a crane to remove the airlock from space shuttle Endeavours payload bay.The airlock was the connecting point between the shuttle and the International Space Station. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. 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 bay 1, the main engine is in place on Discovery. The main engine configuration is manufactured by Boeing Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, Calif., and includes a Pratt & Whitney high-pressure fuel turbo pump. Each space shuttle main engine is 14 feet (4.3 meters) long, weighs about 6,700 pounds (3,039 kilograms), and is 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) in diameter at the end of the nozzle. Discovery is being processed for the second return-to-flight mission STS-121.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The first Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) is installed on Space Shuttle Atlantis following the welding repair of the propulsion system flow liners as preparations to launch mission STS-112 continue. Mission STS-112 is an assembly flight to the International Space Station and is targeted for launch no earlier than Sept. 28, 2002. Members of the STS-112 crew are Commander Jeffrey Ashby; Pilot Pamela Melroy; and Mission Specialists David Wolf, Piers Sellers, Sandra Magnus, and Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Space Agency.

. Technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift a ring for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to move it to another location in the 43-acre factory for further inspection and production. Flight hardware of the SLS EUS, a more powerful in-space propulsion stage beginning with Artemis IV, is in early production at Michoud. The rings make up the barrel sections for the flight hardware. The Exploration Upper Stage will be used on the second configuration of the SLS rocket, known as Block 1B, and will provide in-space propulsion to send astronauts in NASAs Orion spacecraft and heavy cargo on a precise trajectory to the Moon. EUS will replace the interim cryogenic propulsion stage for the Block 1 configuration of SLS. It has larger propellant tanks and four RL10 engines, enabling SLS to launch 40% more cargo to the Moon along with crew. NASA and Boeing, the SLS lead contractor for the core stage and EUS, are currently manufacturing

JSC2010-E-044362 (30 March 2010) --- In preparation for an April 2 liftoff for Expedition 23, the final assembly for Soyuz TMA-18 was performed March 30 by TsSKB-Progress personnel in the Launch Vehicle Assembly facility at Site 112 of Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Interior view of the Space Station Processing Facility

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Inside Orbital Sciences Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers move the aft skirt toward the Pegasus XL launch vehicle for mating. The Pegasus will launch the Space Technology 5 spacecraft later this month. ST5 contains three micro-satellites that will be positioned in a "string of pearls" constellation to perform simultaneous multi-point measurements of the Earth's magnetic field using highly sensitive magnetometers. The scheduled launch date is Feb. 28.

Rolls-Royce aircraft engine production, final assembly of V2500 engines for the Airbus A320 family, Dahlewitz, Blankenfelde-Mahlow, Brandenburg, Germany, Europe

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.

ARES 7 AXIS MILLING EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At a Pegasus booster processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, using a crane, technicians install the second section of the aft skirt on the Pegasus XL rockets first stage. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus rocket will launch the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) into space. After the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on the Orbital Sciences L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site 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. For more information, visit science.nasa.gov/missions/nustar/.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, Atlantis wheels are raised into their wheel bays in preparation for the expected impact of Hurricane Frances on Saturday. Other preparations at KSC include powering down the Space Shuttle orbiters, and closing their payload bay doors. 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.

Discovery/T&R FRCS Removal & Lift to Transporter

The SLS Stages Intertank Structural Test Assembly (STA) is rolling off the NASA Pegasus Barge at the MSFC Dock enroute to the MSFC 4619 Load Test Annex test facility for qualification testing

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The Delta first-stage booster for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, is lowered onto a transportation hardware cradle in the Building 836 hangar at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. OCO-2 is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in July. 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.

Next-C Thruster

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians on a Hyster forklift move space shuttle main engine no. 1 toward Endeavour for installation. Each space shuttle main engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 6,700 pounds, and is 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. The orbiter is targeted for launch on Feb. 14 for mission STS-123 to the International Space Station.

NASA engineers install test hardware for the agency's new heavy lift rocket, the Space Launch System, into a newly constructed 50-foot structural test stand at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. In the stand, hydraulic cylinders will be electronically controlled to push, pull, twist and bend the test article with millions of pounds of force. Engineers will record and analyze over 3,000 channels of data for each test case to verify the capabilities of the engine section and validate that the design and analysis models accurately predict the amount of loads the core stage can withstand during launch and ascent. The engine section, recently delivered via NASA's barge Pegasus from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, is the first of four core stage structural test articles scheduled to be delivered to Marshall for testing. The engine section, located at the bottom of SLS's massive core stage, will house the rocket's four RS-25 engines and be an attachment point for the two solid rocket boos

. These photos show how technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the second of four RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the agencys SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASAs first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. Crews added the second engine, with the serial number E2047 in position one, to the stage Sept. 15. The serial number for the engine installed Sept. 11 in position two on the core stage is E2059. Engineers consider the engines to be soft mated to the rocket stage. Following soft mate of all four engines, technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will fully secure the engines to the stage and integrate the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. All four RS-25 engines are located at the base of the core stage within the engine section.NASA is working to land the first woman and first per

Technicians Lift, Prepare Artemis III SLS Intertank for Next Phase of Production at NASA Michoud. Technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the intertank of the SLS (Space Launch System)s core stage for NASAs Artemis III mission to move it to another location in the 43-acre factory for further inspection and production. The intertank is the backbone of the rockets core stage and is located between the mega rockets liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank. In addition to joining the rockets two massive propellant tanks, the intertank houses avionics and electronics and serves as an attachment point for the rockets two solid rocket boosters positioned on either side of the core stage. The liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank hold 733,000 gallons of super-cold propellant to power the stages four RS-25 engines needed for liftoff. Together, the rockets four RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters provide more than 8.8 million pounds to launch NASAs an

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Workers 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.

England, Shropshire, Royal Airforce Cosford Museum, Volunteer Maintenence Personnel at Work

MAF Orion MGMT Visit

. Crews at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move the forward skirt of NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to another part of the facility Dec. 15. Teams are preparing to apply the thermal protection system to the flight hardware, which will protect it from the extreme temperatures during launch and flight. The forward skirt is part of the core stage that will power the SLS rocket for the Artemis III mission. The forward skirt houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics..The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. When fully stacked, the forward skirt is located at the top of the core stage and connects the stage to the upper part of the rocket. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rockets massive 212-foot-tall core stage the largest stage NASA has ever built and its twin solid rocket boosters produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASAs Orion space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a worker checks the hydraulic system that has lifted shuttle Atlantis off the floor to enable the orbiter transport system, or OTS, to be rolled underneath for its move, or "rollover," to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Once there Atlantis will be joined with the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher platform. Atlantis is being prepared for the STS-135 mission, which will deliver the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. STS-135 is targeted to launch June 28, and will be the last spaceflight for the Space Shuttle Program.

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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers maneuver an overhead crane lowering the external stowage platform 3 into the payload canister below. The platform is part of the payload on mission STS-118 and will be loaded into Space Shuttle Endeavour's payload bay at the pad. Endeavour is targeted for launch on Aug. 9 to the International Space Station. The mission will continue space station construction by delivering a third starboard truss segment, S5, as well as carrying the external stowage platform 3.

Saturn V F-1 engines. Davidson Center for Space Exploration: Saturn V Hall, U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians begin the work to secure a new Cummins engine and generator inside crawler-transporter 1 CT-1. The Apollo era diesel engines were removed so that the new engine can be installed. Work continues in high bay 3 to upgrade CT-1 as part of its general maintenance and could be available to carry commercial launch vehicles 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.

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. - Two C-17 Globemaster aircraft undergo Planned/Scheduled Depot Level Maintenance at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Dec. 8, 2022. Since 2001, the 562nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron has provided P/SDLM on time and on cost and has improved support through continuous process improvement, resulting in reduced costs, increased capacity, maintenance standardization and compliance.

STS-133 ENDEAVOUR TIRES AND BRAKES REMOVAL

Facility for x-raying of welded components during construction of European carrier rocket 'Ariane' for transport of satellites

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the forward skirt extension of the Ares I-X first stage is lowered onto a work stand. The extension will house new, larger parachutes. The three main parachutes each have a 150-foot diameter, compared to the shuttle booster main parachutes, which are 136 feet across.

ENGINEERS USING A STATE-OF-THE-ART VERTICAL WELDING TOOL AT THE MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER IN HUNTSVILLE, ALA., MOVE A "PATHFINDER" VERSION OF THE ADAPTER DESIGN THAT WILL BE USED ON TEST FLIGHTS OF THE ORION SPACECRAFT AND NASA'S SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM

A close view of one of the four, more fuel efficient CFM-56 engines being installed in a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft. Upon completion of the engine change the aircraft will be designated KC-135R. Base: Wichita State: Kansas (KS) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Assembly line at the Beechcraft factory in Wichita, Kansas.

GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The Core Observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space.On Feb. 11, the Core Observatory was moved into the spacecraft fairing assembly building and into the Encapsulation Hall. Final inspections and preparations were completed for the installation into the fairing, which began on Feb 13. The fairing is the part of the rocket that will contain the spacecraft at the top of the H-IIA rocket.The encapsulation process for the H-IIA is very different than for most U.S. rockets. For U.S. rockets, the fairing is usually in two pieces that close around the payload like a clamshell. To install the GPM Core Observatory into the fairing of the H-IIA rocket, first the Core Observatory and the Payload Attach Fitting (PAF) are set up in scaffolding in the Encapsulation Hall. Then, the fairing i

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers move a parachute pack to the Ares I-X forward skirt segment, in which it will be installed. 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.

Maintenance workers at an aviation facility

. Crews at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans move the forward skirt of NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to another part of the facility Dec. 15. Teams are preparing to apply the thermal protection system to the flight hardware, which will protect it from the extreme temperatures during launch and flight. The forward skirt is part of the core stage that will power the SLS rocket for the Artemis III mission. The forward skirt houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics..The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. When fully stacked, the forward skirt is located at the top of the core stage and connects the stage to the upper part of the rocket. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rockets massive 212-foot-tall core stage the largest stage NASA has ever built and its twin solid rocket boosters produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASAs Orion space

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In a processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians help guide the wing for final installation on the Pegasus XL launch vehicle. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus rocket will launch the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) into space. After the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on the Orbital Sciences L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site 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. For more information, visit science.nasa.gov_missions_nustar_.

Madrid, 01/18/2016. Iberia area. Aircraft maintenance hangar 6. Photo: De San Bernardo. ARCHDC.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Workers push space shuttle Atlantis away from the work platforms in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Atlantis will be stored temporarily in the VAB while transition and retirement processing resumes on shuttle Endeavour in the processing hangar. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. A groundbreaking was held Jan. 18 for Atlantis' future home -- a 65,000-square-foot exhibit in Shuttle Plaza at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers attach a crane to the heat shield for the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft. The crane will lift and move the heat shield for installation over the lander within the cruise stage. Targeted for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 3, Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing on Mars is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil.

This image shows technicians and engineers beginning the process of the forward join on the core stage of NASAs Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASAs Artemis program at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility. The forward join connects the forward skirt, the liquid oxygen tank (LOX) and the intertank structures to form the top part of the SLS rockets core stage. Now, NASA and Boeing, the SLS prime contractor, will continue to integrate various systems inside the forward part of the core stage and prepare for structural joining of the liquid hydrogen tank and engine section to form the bottom of the stage. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rockets massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASAs Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earths orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume

Space cargo module

Mixed race team of workers and management people in a large sheet metal factory

The Soyuz rocket and Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft are assembled at Building 112 on the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, and Russian Cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko, and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan March 28, Kazakh time (March 27 Eastern time.) As the one-year crew, Kelly and Kornienko will return to Earth on Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016.

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.

THE ORION HEAT SHIELD, WHICH WAS AT NASAS MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER FROM MARCH-MAY 2015 FOR ENGINEERING AND ANALYSIS, IS READIED FOR DEPARTURE AT THE END OF ITS STAY. THE HEAT SHIELDS ABLATED SURFACE MATERIAL WAS REMOVED AT MARSHALL FOR ANALYSIS, USING THE CENTERS STATE-OF-THE-ART SEVEN-AXIS MILLING MACHINE. IT NEXT WILL GO TO NASAS LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER FOR WATER-IMPACT TESTING. NASAS JOHNSON SPACE CENTER LEADS THE ORION PROGRAM FOR NASA.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -In NASA Kennedy Space Centers Orbiter Processing Facility, bay 3, workers prepare to remove the orbiter boom sensor system from Discoverys payload bay. The boom will undergo inspection. The orbiter will be processed for the second Return to Flight mission, STS-121. The orbiter boom sensor system, built in Canada, was used during Return to Flight mission STS-114 to provide more extensive inspection and photography of Discovery.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians place the right-hand orbital maneuvering system, or OMS, pod from Discovery on a pallet to be transferred to the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility. Removal of the OMS pods is part of the orbiter processing activities to prepare Discovery for its next launch, the STS-133 mission. The STS-133 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for launch in the fall of 2010. Discoverys six-person crew will take important spare parts to the International Space Station along with the Express Logistics Carrier 4.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, testing of the Tilt-Up Umbilical Arm (TUUA) prototype's Environmental Control System Quick Disconnect takes place in the Launch Equipment Test Facility's 6,000-square-foot high bay. The prototype is used to demonstrate the safe disconnect and retraction of ground umbilical plates and associated hardware of a launch vehicle's upper stage and service module. The Environmental Control System consists of regulated air, which would be used to purge an inner tank and crew module. Since 1977, the facility has supported NASAs Launch Services, shuttle, International Space Station, and Constellation programs, as well as commercial providers. The facility recently underwent a major upgrade to support even more programs, projects and customers. It houses a cable fabrication and molding shop, pneumatics shop, machine and weld shop and full-scale control room. Outside, the facility features a water flow test loop, vehicle motion

Technicians at Textron in Wimington, MA, move the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion heat shield into position for X-ray testing on Nov. 23, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

Technicians Lift, Prepare Artemis III SLS Intertank for Next Phase of Production at NASA Michoud. Technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the intertank of the SLS (Space Launch System)s core stage for NASAs Artemis III mission to move it to another location in the 43-acre factory for further inspection and production. The intertank is the backbone of the rockets core stage and is located between the mega rockets liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank. In addition to joining the rockets two massive propellant tanks, the intertank houses avionics and electronics and serves as an attachment point for the rockets two solid rocket boosters positioned on either side of the core stage. The liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank hold 733,000 gallons of super-cold propellant to power the stages four RS-25 engines needed for liftoff. Together, the rockets four RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters provide more than 8.8 million pounds to launch NASAs an

5th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Airmen work quickly to prepare B-52Hs for inclement weather conditions. The 5AMXS squadron The B-52 is capable of dropping or launching the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory.

Engineers working on Boeing 747-400 parked for maintenance & repair at hanger based in Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport or Sahar International Airport ; Bombay Mumbai ; Maharashtra ; India

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Lined up in a row, six Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne space shuttle main engines (SSMEs) sit on stands inside the Engine Shop at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For the first time, all 15 main engines are in the Engine Shop at the same time. They are being prepared for shipment to NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for storage following the completion of the Space Shuttle Program. The engines are being repurposed for use on NASAs Space Launch System heavy lift rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations are under way to install a high pressure oxidizer turbo pump on space shuttle main engine no. 2062, seen here. The engine, or SSME, is the last one scheduled to be built at Kennedy by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne before the end of the Space Shuttle Program. Three main engines are clustered at the aft end of the shuttle and have a combined thrust of more than 1.2 million pounds. Even though an SSME weighs one-seventh as much as a locomotive engine, its high-pressure fuel pump alone delivers as much horsepower as 28 locomotives. Each engine operates during the entire eight-and-a-half minute climb to orbit. Post-flight inspections and maintenance of each engine also are conducted in the SSME Processing Facility between shuttle missions.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Joseph Mathe and Airman 1st Class Vanessa Redman perform routine maintenance on an F-15E Strike Eagle engine May 29, 2012, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. Mathe is a 4th Component Maintenance Squadron jet engine mechanic and Redman is a 4th CMS jet engine mechanic.

Airplane receives some needed maintenance in the hanger by workers

MAF Orion MGMT Visit

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the orbiter boom sensor system, or OBSS, removed from space shuttle Discovery's payload bay, is lowered onto a transporter. The 50-foot-long OBSS attaches to the end of the shuttles robotic arm and supports the cameras and laser systems used to inspect the shuttles thermal protection system while in space. The OBSS' inspection boom assembly, or IBA, is removed from the arm every other processing flow for a detailed inspection. After five consecutive flights, all IBA internal components are submitted to a thorough electrical checkout in Kennedy's Remote Manipulator System Lab. Discovery next will deliver the first Permanent Multi-purpose Module, or PMM; the Express Logistics Carrier 4; and critical spare parts to the International Space Station on the STS-133 mission. Launch is targeted for Sept. 16.

. These photos show how technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans installed the second of four RS-25 engines onto the core stage for the agencys SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASAs first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. Crews added the second engine, with the serial number E2047 in position one, to the stage Sept. 15. The serial number for the engine installed Sept. 11 in position two on the core stage is E2059. Engineers consider the engines to be soft mated to the rocket stage. Following soft mate of all four engines, technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will fully secure the engines to the stage and integrate the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure. All four RS-25 engines are located at the base of the core stage within the engine section.NASA is working to land the first woman and first per

The Soyuz rocket and Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft is assembled at Building 112 on the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sunday, May 25, 2014 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz is scheduled for May 29 and will send Expedition 40 Soyuz Commander Maxim Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, ESA, and Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman of NASA to the International Space Station for a five and a half month stay.

Aircraft maintenance, Melbourne, Australia

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This panoramic image shows space shuttle Endeavour in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where workers have attached an overhead crane to the spacecraft. The crane will lift Endeavour into a high bay where it will be attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters for its final mission, STS-134.Endeavour and its STS-134 crew will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for Dextre and micrometeoroid debris shields to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for April 19 at 7:48 p.m. EDT.

THE ORION HEAT SHIELD, WHICH WAS AT NASAS MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER FROM MARCH-MAY 2015 FOR ENGINEERING AND ANALYSIS, IS READIED FOR DEPARTURE AT THE END OF ITS STAY. THE HEAT SHIELDS ABLATED SURFACE MATERIAL WAS REMOVED AT MARSHALL FOR ANALYSIS, USING THE CENTERS STATE-OF-THE-ART SEVEN-AXIS MILLING MACHINE. IT NEXT WILL GO TO NASAS LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER FOR WATER-IMPACT TESTING. NASAS JOHNSON SPACE CENTER LEADS THE ORION PROGRAM FOR NASA.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility high bay, technicians check the crane that will lift the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) from its transporter. The OBSS will be installed on the starboard side of the payload bay in the orbiter Discovery. The 50-foot-long OBSS attaches to the Remote Manipulator System, or Shuttle robotic arm, and is one of the new safety measures for Return to Flight, equipping the orbiter with cameras and laser systems to inspect the Shuttles Thermal Protection System while in space. The Return to Flight mission, STS-114, has a launch window of May 12 to June 3, 2005.

S89-39624 (3 July 1989) --- Following rollover from the Orbiter Processing Facility, the orbiter Columbia is prepared for mating with the ET/SRB stack in the Vehicle Assembly Building transfer aisle as work continues toward an early August launch of Space Shuttle Mission STS-28. STS-28 is a Department of Defense dedicated mission. Crew members for the mission are: Commander Brewster H. Shaw, Pilot Richard N. Richards, and Mission Specialists Mark N. Brown, James C. Adamson, and David C. Leestma.

Airmen with the 8th Maintenance Squadron aircraft metals technology flight watch fabrication machines work at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Aug. 26, 2022. The flight is certified to operate computer-aided machinery, welding and digital design programs to provide services to various customers around the base.

LT. Geoffrey Lum, a test operations engineer and Milton McIlveen, project manager from Sverdrup Technology, discuss test preparations for the AVCO Lycoming ALF502R-3 turbofan an engine, which powers the British Aerospace 146 medium-range transport aircraft. Base: Arnold Engineering Dev Center State: Tennessee (TN) Country: United States Of America (USA)

An Orion cone panel for Artemis I is prepared for welding at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana on Oct. 9, 2015. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the RLV hangar, members of the Columbia Reconstruction Team work to identify pieces of Thermal Protection System tile from the left wing of Columbia recovered during the search and recovery efforts in East Texas. 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in the Orbiter Processing Facility get ready to remove Ground Support Equipment used to install Discoverys nose cap on Friday. The nose cap had been removed from the vehicle in the summer of 2003 and returned to the vendor, where it underwent numerous forms of Non-Destructive Evaluation. These tests included X-ray, ultrasound and eddy current to ensure its structural integrity prior to installation on the vehicle. The nose cap was also recoated. Once returned to KSC, new Thermal Protection System blankets were assembled inside of the nose cap and thermography was performed prior to installation on the orbiter.

Beechcraft Aircraft factory in Witchita, Kansas. MR

Aircraft Engine Maintenance

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - Technicians remove a lifting apparatus from NASA's IRIS spacecraft at Vandenberg where the spacecraft will be readied for launch aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. IRIS is short for Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph and the spacecraft's mission will improve our understanding of how heat and energy move through the deepest levels of the suns atmosphere, thereby increasing our ability to forecast space weather.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers attach a crane to one of the Rudder Speed Brake Actuators that are being removed from the orbiter Atlantis for shipment 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.

Airmen from the 791st Maintenance Squadron help with a Transporter Erector Semitrailer Hoist Assembly replacement July 12, 2022, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The Airmen removed the old hoist assembly from the semitrailer container and inserted a new one to complete the job. (U.S. Air Force photos by Airman Alysa Knott)

Rolls-Royce aircraft engine production, final assembly of V2500 engines for the Airbus A320 family, Dahlewitz, Blankenfelde-Mahlow, Brandenburg, Germany, Europe

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers, using overhead cranes, begin to raise a cage which will be placed over an Approach and Landing Test Assembly (ALTA) pod. The ALTA pod will be lifted for attachment to space shuttle Endeavour on the site once housing the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod. The demonstration test is being conducted to ensure the centers equipment will fit into the hangar at the National Air and Space Museum when installing an ALTA pod on shuttle Enterprise. The pod must be reinstalled on a shuttle for transport on a 747 carrier aircraft. The simulation also tests procedures and timelines necessary to carry out the process. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing. Enterprise, which was not equipped for space flight, was built as a test vehicle to demonstrate that the orbiter could fly in the atmosphere and land like an airplane. In 1985, Enterprise

ROBERT CARROLL, A MACHINIST WITH LOCKHEED MARTIN, DRILLS ALIGNMENT HOLES ON THE EXTERNAL TANK COMPOSITE NOSE CONE

Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599Event: SEG 410 Main Wing, COBRA Drillng Machine, Drilling Lower Wing SkinsDate: 1/07/20Additional Info:

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida,workers verify that the processing of space shuttle Endeavour is complete, its payload bay doors are closed, and it is ready for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building. This close-up is of Endeavour's nose-wheel landing gear and tires. The move, or "rollover," is targeted for Dec. 12. The Tranquility module, the payload for Endeavour's STS-130 mission to the International Space Station, will be installed in the payload bay after the shuttle has reached the pad. Endeavour's launch is targeted for Feb. 4, 2010.

NASA is preparing major pieces of the Space Launch System rockets core stage to be joined as part of assembling the core stage for the Artemis II mission that will send crews to lunar orbit. Crews will soon connect the forward assembly with the 130-foot liquid hydrogen tank in the final assembly area at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. When this process is completed, four of the five large structures that make up the core stage will be joined. The 66-foot forward assembly consists of the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank and the intertank, which were mated earlier. This forward assembly will be joined with the 130-foot liquid hydrogen tank, the largest part of the stage that holds more than 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellant. To compete the Artemis II core stage, engineers will add the engine section, which is currently being outfitted and includes the main propulsion systems that connect to the four RS-25 engines, Together, with the SLS twin solid rocket boosters

Day In The Life of Artemis Employees

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - An overhead crane carries the multi-purpose logistics module Raffaello across the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The module is being moved to the Operations and Checkout Building to make room in the SSPF for the arrival of elements from other ISS partners for future flights .

of 3