Spacecraft Preparation and Launch Scenes

Images depicting spacecraft assembly, payload bay operations, and preparations for launch at Kennedy Space Center, emphasizing engineering details.

STS-131 MPLM LEONARDO MEDIA EVENT

Workers at Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carefully maneuver the Delta rocket fairing as it closes in on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. NASAs latest explorer carries three scientific instruments to map the chemical and mineralogical makeup of Mars a thermal-emission imaging system, a gamma ray spectrometer and a Martian radiation environment experiment. The imaging system will map the planet with high-resolution thermal images and give scientists an increased level of detail to help them understand how the mineralogy of the planet relates to the land forms. In addition, Odyssey will serve as a communications relay for U.S. and international landers arriving at Mars in 2003_2004. The Mars Odyssey is scheduled for launch aboard a Delta II rocket April 7, 2001, at 11 02 a.m. EST

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers prepare the second stage of the Delta II launch vehicle to be mated to the Delta first stage below. Phoenix is scheduled to launch 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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a worker examines the closure of the fairing segments around NASA's Kepler spacecraft. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the rocket and forms an aerodynamically smooth nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. The liftoff of Kepler aboard the Delta II rocket is currently targeted for launch in a window extending 10:49 to 10:52 p.m. EST March 6 from Pad 17-B. Kepler is designed to survey more than 100,000 stars in our galaxy to determine the number of sun-like stars that have Earth-size and larger planets, including those that lie in a star's "habitable zone," a region where liquid water, and perhaps life, could exist. If these Earth-size worlds do exist around stars like our sun, Kepler is expected to be the first to find them and the first to measure how common they are.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 17B, Cape Canaveral Air Station, sections of the fairing near closure around the upper stages of the Boeing Delta II rocket and Mars Polar Lander. The rocket is scheduled to launch Jan. 3, 1999. The lander is a solar-powered spacecraft designed to touch down on the Martian surface near the northern-most boundary of the south pole in order to study the water cycle there. The lander also will help scientists learn more about climate change and current resources on Mars, studying such things as frost, dust, water vapor and condensates in the Martian atmosphere. It is the second spacecraft to be launched in a pair of Mars Surveyor '98 missions

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-A , Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the Swift spacecraft still remains covered by plastic as Boeing technicians work to remove the rest of the transport canister surrounding it. A first-of-its-kind multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science, Swifts three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. It is expected to observe more than 200 gamma-ray bursts - the most comprehensive study of GRB afterglows to date - during its 2-year mission. Gamma-ray bursts are distant, yet fleeting explosions that appear to signal the births of black holes. Swift is scheduled to launch aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket at the opening of a one-hour launch window beginning at 12 09 p.m. EST Nov. 17.

Inside the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, USA; Webster, Texas, United States of America

A870154 U12P MISSION CYBER FAC H.E. WRAP STALLER (Project Engineer) JAN 13 87 EG&G/NTS PHOTO LAB Publication Date: 1/13/1987 EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER; EG&G; EQUIPMENT & INSTRUMENTS; EQUIPMENT (SNL); FAC ASSEMBLY; FAC ASSEMBLY PLATFORM; FAC H.E. WRAP; HIGH ENERGY FAC; INSTRUMENTS & EQUIPMENT; MISSION CYBER; NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; NUCLEAR TESTING; P-TUNNEL; STALLER, GEORGE; TEST SITES; TUNNELS; U12P; U12P MISSION CYBER; UGT; UNDERGROUND; UNDERGROUND TESTING; WEAPONS EFFECTS; WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility, workers at each end of a workstand watch as the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) begins its descent onto it. The SRTM, which is the primary payload on mission STS-99, consists of a specially modified radar system that will fly onboard the Space Shuttle during the 11-day mission scheduled for launch in September 1999. The objective of this radar system is to obtain the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of the Earth. It will gather data that will result in the most accurate and complete topographic map of the Earth's surface that has ever been assembled. SRTM is an international project spearheaded by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and NASA, with participation of the German Aerospace Center DLR. SRTM will be making use of a technique called radar interferometry, wherein two radar images are taken from slightly different locations. Differences between these images allow for the calculation of surface el

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) pressure module is moved toward a work stand. A research laboratory, the pressurized module is the first element of the JEM, named "Kibo" (Hope), to be delivered to KSC. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) developed the laboratory at the Tsukuba Space Center near Tokyo and is Japan's primary contribution to the Station. It will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments. The JEM also includes an exposed facility (platform) for space environment experiments, a robotic manipulator system, and two logistics modules. The various JEM components will be assembled in space over the course of three Shuttle missions.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Deep Space 1 is lowered toward the second stage of a Boeing Delta 7326 rocket. The adapter on the spacecraft can be seen surrounding the booster motor. Targeted for launch on Oct. 25, Deep Space 1 is the first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program, and is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century, including the engine. Propelled by the gas xenon, the engine is being flight-tested for future deep space and Earth-orbiting missions. Deceptively powerful, the ion drive emits only an eerie blue glow as ionized atoms of xenon are pushed out of the engine. While slow to pick up speed, over the long haul it can deliver 10 times as much thrust per pound of fuel as liquid or solid fuel rockets. Other onboard experiments include software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the payload changeout room at Launch Pad 39B, technicians move the SPACEHAB Double module from the payload canister before placing it in Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay for mission STS-96. The second flight supporting construction of the International Space Station, STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission, carrying more than 5,000 pounds of supplies, a Russian-built crane and a U.S.-built crane, plus experiments such as STARSHINE, which was developed by and for students. Comprising the crew are Commander Kent V. Rominger, Pilot Rick Douglas Husband, and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.), Daniel Barry (M.D., Ph.D.), Julie Payette, with the Canadian Space Agency, and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev, with the Russian Space Agency. Liftoff is scheduled for May 20 at 9:32 a.m. EDT

Workers on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, help guide the Mars Odyssey spacecraft into position for the enclosure by the fairing of the Delta II rocket already in place. The spacecraft will map the Martian surface in search of geological features that could indicate the presence of water, now or in the past, and may contribute significantly toward understanding what will be necessary for a more sophisticated exploration of Mars. Launch is scheduled for 11 02 a.m. EDT April 7

Airlock of the Mir space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. It had a greater mass than any previous spacecraft

A TRW technician joins STS-93 Commander Eileen Collins (center) and Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby (right) as they observe the Chandra X-ray Observatory on its work stand inside the Vertical Processing Facility. Other members of the STS-93 crew who are at KSC for payload familiarization are Mission Specialists Catherine G. Coleman and Michel Tognini of France, who represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Collins is the first woman to serve as a shuttle mission commander. She was the first woman pilot of a Space Shuttle, on mission STS-63, and also served as pilot on mission STS-84. The fifth member of the crew is Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley. Chandra is scheduled for launch July 9 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, on mission STS-93 . Formerly called the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, Chandra comprises three major elements: the spacecraft, the science instrument module (SIM), and the world's most powerful X-ray telescope. Chandra will allow scientists from around the

Engineers and technicians pore over data during moment-of-inertia testing on the Orion PA-1 Abort Flight Test module in the NASA Dryden Flight Loads Laboratory.

In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-99 crew members inspect the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), the payload for their mission. At left is Commander Kevin R. Kregel talking to Mission Specialist Janice Voss (Ph.D.); and Mission Specialists Gerhard Thiele of Germany and Mamoru Mohri of Japan farther back. In the foreground (back to camera) is Mission Specialist Janet Lynn Kavandi (Ph.D.). The final crew member (not shown) is Pilot Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie. Thiele represents the European Space Agency and Mohri represents the National Space Agency of Japan. An international project spearheaded by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and NASA, with participation of the German Aerospace Center DLR, the SRTM consists of a specially modified radar system that will gather data for the most accurate and complete topographic map of the Earth's surface that has ever been assembled. SRTM will make use of radar interferometry, wherein two radar images are taken from slightly di

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On a visit to Kennedy, STS-114 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas looks at the tiles, part of the Thermal Protection System, on the belly of the orbiter Discovery. The designated vehicle for the mission, Discovery is in the Orbiter Processing Facility for launch processing. Discovery is scheduled for a launch planning window of May 12 to June 3, 2005.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, Ken Tauer (left) and Paul Ogletree, with United Space Alliance, check an area on Discoverys nose cap before conducting thermography on the nose cap. At the bottom, Ross Neubarth looks at the monitor. Thermography is one type of inspection to verify integrity of hardware before flight. This procedure uses high intensity light to heat areas that are immediately scanned with an infrared camera to check for internal flaws. Discovery is the vehicle assigned to the Return to Flight mission, STS-114.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Dawn spacecraft is lifted off its transporter. Dawn will be lifted into the mobile service tower and prepared for mating with the awaiting Delta II rocket.Dawn is scheduled for launch in a window from 7:25 to 7:54 a.m. Sept. 26 from CCAFS. During its nearly decade-long mission, the Dawn mission will study the asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, celestial bodies believed to have accreted early in the history of the solar system. To carry out its scientific mission, the Dawn spacecraft will carry a visible camera, a visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, and a gamma ray and neutron spectrometer, whose data will be used in combination to characterize these bodies. In addition to the three instruments, radiometric and optical navigation data will provide data relating to the gravity field and thus bulk properties and internal structure of the two bodies. Data returned from the Dawn spacecra

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. On Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers separate the Dawn spacecraft from the Delta II second stage. Dawn is being returned to the Astrotech payload processing facility to await a new launch date. The launch opportunity extends from Sept. 7 to Oct. 15. Dawn is the ninth mission in NASA's Discovery Program. The spacecraft will be the first to orbit two planetary bodies, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, during a single mission. Vesta and Ceres lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is also NASA’s first purely scientific mission powered by three solar electric ion propulsion engines. NASA/George Shelton

Photographic documentation showing the bldg. 9 ISS module mock-ups and trainers. Views include: various overall views of the configuration of the ISS module trainers on the floor of bldg. 9 (08445-46, 08449-51, 08458-61, 08464-65, 08469, 08471, 08476); various portions of the mock-ups (08447-48, 08470); views of the Node 2, Experiment Module and Logistics Module (08452); Node 2 (08453, 08466); Destiny and Node 2 (08454); Destiny, Unity and Airlock (08455); Zarya, Service Module and shuttle mock-ups (08456); Logistics Module and Experiment Module (08457, 08468); various views of Columbia, Node 2 and Destiny (08462-63); Columbus, Node 2, Experiment Module and Logistics Module (08467); U.S. Laboratory module (08472); Logistics Module (08473); module layout (08474); Logistics Module and Experiment Module (08475).

England,Hampshire,Gosport,The Royal Navy Submarine Museum,Replica of The Turtle Submersible (1775)

Simulation activities with the RMS in Bldg. 9A, with Astronaut Sally Ride testing the feasibility of the Flyswatter design for the STS-23/51D Mission on 04/15/16/1985. 1. STS-23/51D - Crew Training (Flyswatter) 2. Shuttle - Simulation (Flyswatter) JSC, Houston, TX

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the mobile service tower on Launch pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers remove the protective cover from the metal transportation canister around NASA's Kepler spacecraft. The spacecraft was mated with the Delta II rocket for launch. The liftoff of Kepler is currently scheduled for 10:48 p.m. EST March 5. Kepler is designed to survey more than 100,000 stars in our galaxy to determine the number of sun-like stars that have Earth-size and larger planets, including those that lie in a star's "habitable zone," a region where liquid water, and perhaps life, could exist. If these Earth-size worlds do exist around stars like our sun, Kepler is expected to be the first to find them and the first to measure how common they are.

The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is moved to be installed into a payload canister in the Operations and Checkout Building. Once in the canister, the MSL-1 will be transported to Orbiter Processing Bay 1 where it will be integrated into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia. During the scheduled 16-day STS-83 mission, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments

IRIS/Pegasus Motor Arrival

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The THEMIS spacecraft arrives on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The spacecraft will be lifted into the mobile service tower and, after encapsulation, mated with the third stage of the Delta II rocket. THEMIS consists of five identical probes, the largest number of scientific satellites ever launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. The THEMIS mission is to investigate what causes auroras in the Earth's atmosphere to dramatically change from slowly shimmering waves of light to wildly shifting streaks of color. Discovering what causes auroras to change will provide scientists with important details on how the planet's magnetosphere works and the important Sun-Earth connection. THEMIS is scheduled to launch aboard a Delta II rocket on Feb. 15 during a window extending from 6:08 to 6:27 p.m.

Fifth anniversary of the first element of the International Space Station launch

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas-V rocket is seen with NASA's InSight spacecraft onboard, Thursday, May 3, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to study the "inner space" of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers standing inside the payload canister help guide the Joint Airlock Module into place. The airlock will be installed in the payload bay of Atlantis for mission STS-104 to the International Space Station. The airlock is a pressurized flight element consisting of two cylindrical chambers attached end-to-end by a connecting bulkhead and hatch. Once installed and activated, the Airlock becomes the primary path for spacewalk entry to and departure from the Space Station for U.S. spacesuits, which are known as Extravehicular Mobility Units, or EMUs. In addition, the Joint Airlock is designed to support the Russian Orlan spacesuit for EVA activity. STS-104 is scheduled for launch June 14 from Launch Pad 39B

Glenn Research Center's Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility (formerly Plum Brook Station) in Ohio houses the worlds largest space simulation vacuum chamber where the Orion spacecraft, shown here on March 11, 2020, was rigorously tested for Artemis missions to the Moon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is installed into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. The Spacelab long crew transfer tunnel that leads from the orbiter's crew airlock to the module is also aboard, as well as the Hitchhiker Cryogenic Flexible Diode (CRYOFD) experiment payload, which is attached to the right side of Columbia's payload bay. During the scheduled 16-day STS-83 mission, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments.

White light shape and measurement of a 13.1 Foot diameter fluted-core sandwich composite test article designed by LaRC and fabricated by Boeing Under Space Act Agreement SAA1-737, Annex 14. to be tested in LaRC's combined Loads Testing System (COLTS).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers watch while the U.S. Lab Destiny is lowered onto the Launch Package Integration Stand (LPIS) for a weight and center of gravity determination. Destiny is the payload aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-98 to the Space Station. The lab is fitted with five system racks and will already have experiments installed inside for the flight. The launch is scheduled for January 2001

USA, Arizona, Kitt Peak National Observatory, Telescope

Solar Array Concentrator in Vacuum Tank 6

Artemis II Orion Underway Recovery Training-10 (URT-10) - Day 1 Activities. While onboard the USS John P. Murtha, NASA and the Department of Defense practice Artemis II recovery operations with the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) in July of 2023. The CMTA is a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft and is used to verify the recovery team is ready to support crew recovery after missions to the Moon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, STS-123 crew members look up at the docking system in space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay. The STS-123 crew is at Kennedy for a full launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT. The TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. Endeavour is targeted to launch March 11 at 2:28 a.m. EDT on the 16-day STS-123 mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour and its crew will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians direct the placement of the crew airlock module into Endeavour's payload bay, where it will be installed. The airlock is located in the middeck. The airlock and airlock hatches permit flight crew members to transfer from the middeck crew compartment into the payload bay for extravehicular activities in their space suits without depressurizing the orbiter crew cabin. The airlock is sized to accommodate two fully suited flight crew members simultaneously. Endeavour is targeted for flight on Aug. 9 on mission STS-118 to the International Space Station.

The ESA service module assembly continues at Airbus Defence and Space in Bremen, Germany on June 7, 2017.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Pad 17-B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Boeing Delta II second stage for the STEREO launch is moved inside the mobile service tower. The second stage then will be lifted into the mobile service tower and mated with first stage already in place. STEREO stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and comprises two spacecraft. The STEREO mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-dimension. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. STEREO is expected to lift off in August 2006.

In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, a worker gives a black light inspection to part of the servicing equipment for the third Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission (SM-3A), STS-103. The hardware is undergoing final testing and integration of payload elements. Mission STS-103 is a "call-up" due to the need to replace portions of the Hubble's pointing system, the gyros, which have begun to fail. Although Hubble is operating normally and conducting its scientific observations, only three of its six gyroscopes are working properly. The gyroscopes allow the telescope to point at stars, galaxies and planets. The STS-103 crew will not only replace gyroscopes, it will also replace a Fine Guidance Sensor and an older computer with a new enhanced model, an older data tape recorder with a solid state digital recorder, a failed spare transmitter with a new one, and degraded insulation on the telescope with new thermal insulation. The crew will also install a Battery Voltage/Temperature

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Technicians in the Orbiter Processing Facility help guide Discoverys airlock into the orbiters payload bay for installation. The airlock is sized to accommodate two fully suited flight crew members simultaneously. Support functions include airlock depressurization and repressurization, extravehicular activity equipment recharge, liquid-cooled garment water cooling, EVA equipment checkout, and communications. Discovery is designated as the Return to Flight vehicle for mission STS-114, no earlier than March 2005. STS-114 mission is Logistics Flight 1, which is scheduled to deliver supplies and equipment plus the external stowage platform to the International Space Station.

S74-27049 (4 Aug. 1974) --- Overall view of test set-up in Building 23 at the Johnson Space Center during testing of the docking mechanisms for the joint U.S.-USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The cinematic check was being made when this picture was taken. The test control room is on the right. The Soviet-developed docking system is atop the USA-NASA developed docking system. Both American and Soviet engineers can be seen taking part in the docking testing. The ASTP docking mission in Earth orbit is scheduled for July 1975.

This photograph shows a TRW technician inspecting the completely assembled Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) in the Thermal Vacuum Chamber at TRW Space and Electronics Group of Redondo Beach, California. The CXO is formerly known as the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), which was renamed in honor of the late Indian-American Astronomer, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar in 1999. The CXO will help astronomers worldwide better understand the structure and evolution of the universe by studying powerful sources of x-rays such as exploding stars, matter falling into black holes and other exotic celestial objects. X-ray astronomy can only be done from space because Earth's atmosphere blocks x-rays from reaching the surface. The Observatory provides images that are 50 times more detailed than previous x-ray missions. At more than 45 feet in length and weighing more than 5 tons, it will be one of the largest objects ever placed in Earth orbit by the Space Shuttle. TRW, Inc. was the prime cont

Switzerland, Geneva, Part of ATLAS Cavern in CERN. ATLAS Cavern, located 92 m. below ground, hosts the detector, with its muon wheel, 240 tones end-cap magnets and 830 tones barrel toroid magnets. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the biggest particle physics laboratory in the world.

A view inside the 55-foot high containment vessel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, the lid is removed from the container with the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) pressure module inside. A research laboratory, the pressurized module is the first element of the JEM, named "Kibo" (Hope), to be delivered to KSC. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) developed the laboratory at the Tsukuba Space Center near Tokyo and is Japan's primary contribution to the Station. It will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments. The JEM also includes an exposed facility (platform) for space environment experiments, a robotic manipulator system, and two logistics modules. The various JEM components will be assembled in space over the course of three Shuttle missions.

ISS016-E-006834 (27 Oct. 2007) --- The interior of the Harmony node was photographed after it was attached to its temporary location on the International Space Station during STS-120 flight day five activities.

Helping CryoFILL Turn Oxygen into Fuel. A tank is used in CryoFILL experiments to liquefy oxygen at minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit as it could be done on the Moon or Mars. The tests conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center, used Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) developed by NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, to measure oxygen temperatures inside the tank.

STS-131 MPLM LEONARDO MEDIA EVENT

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers raise the liquid oxygen feedline for the 17-inch disconnect toward orbiter Discovery for installation. The 17-inch liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen disconnects provide the propellant feed interface from the external tank to the orbiter main propulsion system and the three Shuttle main engines.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers monitor the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC) as it is lifted by a crane toward a payload canister, doors open to receive it. Slated to fly on space shuttle mission STS-121, the LMC is ready to be delivered to Launch Pad 39B for installation into orbiter Discovery. It is a cross-bay carrier for hardware required to perform development test objective 848. Test objective 848 is a demonstration of the tools and techniques developed to repair damaged orbiter thermal protection system tiles during a spacewalk, or extravehicular activity. The target launch window for STS-121 is July 1 to July 19, 2006.

Telescopes of the Teide Astronomical Observatory Telescopes of the Teide Astronomical Observatory in Tenerife, Spain. Copyright: xZoonar.com/albertoxgiacomazzix 20690679

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Dawn spacecraft is lowered toward the awaiting Delta II rocket in the mobile service tower. Dawn will be mated with the Delta in preparation for launch. Dawn is scheduled for launch in a window from 7:25 to 7:54 a.m. Sept. 26 from CCAFS. During its nearly decade-long mission, the Dawn mission will study the asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, celestial bodies believed to have accreted early in the history of the solar system. To carry out its scientific mission, the Dawn spacecraft will carry a visible camera, a visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, and a gamma ray and neutron spectrometer, whose data will be used in combination to characterize these bodies. In addition to the three instruments, radiometric and optical navigation data will provide data relating to the gravity field and thus bulk properties and internal structure of the two bodies. Data returned from the Dawn spacecr

Representatives from the European Space Agency, or ESA, and members of NASA's Communication team, toured the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay and viewed the Orion crew module for Exploration Mission-1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Richard F. Gordon Jr. climbing into training simulator. Astronaut Richard (Dick) Gordon, died in November 2017, at his home in California. He was 88. Gordon orbited the Moon on Apollo 12 in 1969 while two other astronauts walked on it. The Apollo 12 crew capsule can be seen at Langley's official visitor center, the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton VA. NASA 2017 Annual report, Celebrating 100 years.page 23 Milestones.

The Apollo Telescope Mount undergoing horizontal vibration testing. The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), one of four major components comprising the Skylab, was designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center.

NASA PLUM BROOK B-2 FACILITY WITH DELTA III 2ND STAGE

Telescopes in Observatory on top of Rundetaarn. Copenhagen City Center. Denmark.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In this closeup, the U.S. Lab Destiny is seen installed in the payload bay of Space Shuttle Atlantis before closure of the doors. A key element in the construction of the International Space Station, Destiny is 28 feet long and weighs 16 tons. Destiny will be attached to the Unity node on the ISS using the Shuttles robot arm, seen here on the left side, with the help of an elbow camera attached to the arm (near the upper end of the lab in the photo). This research and command-and-control center is the most sophisticated and versatile space laboratory ever built. It will ultimately house a total of 23 experiment racks for crew support and scientific research. Destiny will fly on STS-98, the seventh construction flight to the ISS. Launch of STS-98 is scheduled for Jan. 19 at 2 11 a.m. EST

The Neurolab payload for STS-90, scheduled to launch aboard the Shuttle Columbia from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on April 2, 1998, is moved to its workstand in the Operations and Checkout Building at KSC. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Specifically, experiments will study the adaptation of the vestibular system, the central nervous system, and the pathways that control the ability to sense location in the absence of gravity, as well as the effect of microgravity on a developing nervous system. The crew of STS-90 will include Commander Richard Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists Richard Linnehan, Dafydd (Dave) Williams, M.D., and Kathryn (Kay) Hire, and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey, M.D., and James Pawelczyk, Ph.D

In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft begins its rotation into position for its encapsulation into the upper stage of its Soyuz booster Nov. 9. Expedition 50-51 crewmembers Peggy Whitson of NASA, Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency will launch on the Soyuz Nov. 18, Baikonur time, for a six-month mission on the International Space Station.NASA/Alexander Vysotsky

jsc2018e050839 - In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft is inserted into the upper stage of its Soyuz booster rocket May 29. Serena Aunon-Chancellor of NASA, Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency and Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos will launch June 6 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station...Courtesy: Roscosmos and RSC-Energia.

Switzerland, Geneva, Part of ATLAS Cavern in CERN. ATLAS Cavern, located 92 m. below ground, hosts the detector, with its muon wheel, 240 tones end-cap magnets and 830 tones barrel toroid magnets. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the biggest particle physics laboratory in the world.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers help guide the nose cap (right) toward the orbiter Atlantis for installation. 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.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Workers lower the Delta II second stage for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, into position over the rocket's first stage in the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Operations are underway to mate the stages for launch. OCO-2 is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers watch while the U.S. Lab Destiny is lowered onto the Launch Package Integration Stand (LPIS) for a weight and center of gravity determination. Destiny is the payload aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-98 to the Space Station. The lab is fitted with five system racks and will already have experiments installed inside for the flight. The launch is scheduled for January 2001

The completely assembled Saturn 1 S-1 stage is being ready for checkout in the Marshall Space Flight Center, building 4705, January 18, 1961. The Saturn I S-I stage had eight H-1 engines clustered, using liquid oxygen/kerosene-1 (LOX/RP-1) propellants capable of producing a total of 1,500,000 pounds of thrust.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lifts segment 5 of the Ares I-X upper stage simulator segments toward the tall stack behind it. Segment 5 will be placed on segment 4, at top of the tall stack. The upper stage simulator comprises 11 segments, each approximately 18 feet in diameter, that will be used in the test flight known as Ares I-X in 2009. The simulator segments will simulate the mass and the outer mold line. The upper stage accounts for nearly one-quarter of the total height of the Ares I. It will take the Ares I on the second phase of its journey from Earth, providing the guidance, navigation and control needed for the second phase of the Ares I ascent flight.

At Hangar AE, Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), workers on scaffolding pull down a weather-proofing cover over the canister surrounding NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite. The satellite will next be moved to Launch Pad 17A, CCAS, for its scheduled launch June 23 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. FUSE was developed by The Johns Hopkins University under contract to Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., to investigate the origin and evolution of the lightest elements in the universe hydrogen and deuterium. In addition, the FUSE satellite will examine the forces and process involved in the evolution of the galaxies, stars and planetary systems by investigating light in the far ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum

Boeing Subsonic Ultra Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Subsonic Fixed Wing in the (TDT) 16 Foot Transonic Dynamics Tunnel facility 648

PHOTO DATE: 04-09-09LOCATION: NBLSUBJECT: STS-125 EVA OPS 1G training with crew members John Grunsfeld, Mike Good, Andrew Feustel and Mike Massimino.

T&R Discovery, Galley is Reinstalled

A very early scale model of the Apollo command and service module in the MockUp and Integration Laboratory.

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. -- The payload fairing containing the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM, spacecraft has been lifted to the top of Space Launch Complex-3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. where it is about to be mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission LDCM is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government. The Landsat Program provides repetitive acquisition of high resolution multispectral data of the Earth's surface on a global basis. The data from the Landsat spacecraft constitute the longest record of the Earth's continental surfaces as seen from space. It is a record unmatched in quality, detail, coverage, and value. Liftoff is planned for Feb. 11, 2013 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

The Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, with NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) secured in its payload fairing, begins rollout from Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sept. 25, 2019. The Pegasus XL rocket will be attached beneath the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft for the flight to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida. ICON will launch from the Skid Strip at CCAFS. Launch is scheduled for Oct. 10, 2019. 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 and communications systems.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - This view from inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, shows the Boeing Delta II second stage as it reaches the top. The component will be reattached to the interstage adapter on the Delta II. The rocket is the launch vehicle for the Deep Impact spacecraft, scheduled for liftoff no earlier than Jan. 12. A NASA Discovery mission, Deep Impact will probe beneath the surface of Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when the comet is 83 million miles from Earth, and reveal the secrets of its interior. After releasing a 3- by 3-foot projectile to crash onto the surface, Deep Impacts flyby spacecraft will collect pictures and data of how the crater forms, measuring the craters depth and diameter, as well as the composition of the interior of the crater and any material thrown out, and determining the changes in natural outgassing produced by the impact. It will send the data back to Earth through the antennas of the Deep Spa

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers in Building 1555 at Vandenberg AFB secure the wing into place on the Pegasus rocket. The Pegasus will launch NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer Mission, or IBEX, satellite from Kwajalein Island in the Marshall Islands, South Pacific. IBEX will make the first map of the boundary between the solar system and interstellar space. IBEX is the first mission designed to detect the edge of the solar system. As the solar wind from the sun flows out beyond Pluto, it collides with the material between the stars, forming a shock front. IBEX contains two neutral atom imagers designed to detect particles from the termination shock at the boundary between the solar system and interstellar space. IBEX also will study galactic cosmic rays, energetic particles from beyond the solar system that pose a health and safety hazard for humans exploring beyond Earth orbit. IBEX will make these observations from a highly elliptical orbit that takes it beyond th

jsc2017e138115 - At the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 54-55 prime crewmembers Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA, left), Anton Shkaplerov the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, center) and Scott Tingle of NASA (right) walk from their Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft Dec. 13 at the conclusion of a second dress rehearsal fit check activity. They will launch Dec. 17 on the Soyuz MS-07 vehicle for a five month mission on the International Space Station...Andrey Shelepin/Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

Members of the Missile Mishap Response Team place a container lid over the top of Minuteman III inert guidance system container during a training event at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Oct. 4, 2022. The highly-specialized team responds to any number of situations involving an ICBM (except the warhead) where technical procedures do not exist, or the loss of life is possible.

Airlock of the Mir space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. It had a greater mass than any previous spacecraft

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Orbiter Processing Facility watch as the STS-95 payloads are lifted from the cargo bay of the orbiter Discovery by the overhead crane. The experiments will be returned to their respective hosts. At the right is the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. The other payloads include the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, and the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker

PHOTO DATE: 06-08-09LOCATION: Bldg 9NW, SSMTF, MPLMSUBJECT: STS-128 crew during their SSMTF TRANS HANDS-ON review in building 9NW.

Technicians move the Orion heat shield for Exploration Mission-1 toward the thermal chamber in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Protective pads are being attached to the heat shield surface. The heat shield will undergo a thermal cycle test to verify acceptable workmanship and material quality. The test also serves to verify the heat shield's thermal protection systems have been manufactured and assembled correctly. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket on its first uncrewed integrated flight.

193 cm telescope in its dome, Haute-Provence Observatory (OHP), an astronomical observatory located since 1936 in Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In bay 3 of the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers move the tool storage assembly unit into place in Discovery's payload bay, where it will be stored. The tools may be used on a spacewalk, yet to be determined, during mission STS-120. In an unusual operation, the payload bay doors had to be reopened after closure to accommodate the storage. Space shuttle Discovery is targeted to launch Oct. 23 to the International Space Station. It will carry the U.S. Node 2, a connecting module, named Harmony, for assembly on the space station.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Inside Orbital Sciences Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers position the second half of the fairing into place around the Space Technology 5 (ST5) spacecraft. The ST5, which contains three microsatellites with miniaturized redundant components and technologies, is mated to its launch vehicle, Orbital Sciences' Pegasus XL. Each of the ST5 microsatellites will validate New Millennium Program selected technologies, such as the Cold Gas Micro-Thruster and X-Band Transponder Communication System. After deployment from the Pegasus, the micro-satellites will be positioned in a “string of pearls” constellation that demonstrates the ability to position them to perform simultaneous multi-point measurements of the magnetic field using highly sensitive magnetometers. The data will help scientists understand and map the intensity and direction of the Earths magnetic field, its relation to space weather events, and affects on ou

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER, payload is secured inside a protective container. NICER will be delivered to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo carrier on the companys 11th commercial resupply services mission to the space station. NICER will study neutron stars through soft X-ray timing. NICER will enable rotation-resolved spectroscopy of the thermal and non-thermal emissions of neutron stars in the soft X-ray band with unprecedented sensitivity, probing interior structure, the origins of dynamic phenomena and the mechanisms that underlie the most powerful cosmic particle accelerators known.

STS-133 DISCOVERY - HARDWARE REMOVAL FROM ORBITER IN WHITE ROOM - ET FOAM REPAIR PREPS WITH TENTS

Telescope inside Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ

STS-130 TRANQUILITY NODE MEDIA EVENT

iss064e004804 (Nov. 18, 2020) --- (From left) Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Commander Sergey Ryzhikov are pictured inside the International Space Station's Poisk module preparing for a spacewalk to ready the orbiting lab's Russian segment for the new Nauka multipurpose laboratory module due to arrive in 2021.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) Bay 1 make final adjustments to the Keel Yoke Device (KYD) being installed in the orbiter Discovery. The KYD will support the International Cargo Carrier (ICC) to be fitted in the orbiter for mission STS-96. The ICC will carry unpressurized cargo such as the external Russian cargo crane known as STRELA, the SPACEHAB Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), which is a logistics items carrier, and an ORU Transfer Device (OTD), a U.S.-built crane that will be stowed on the station for use during future ISS assembly missions. The primary payload of STS-96 is the SPACEHAB Double Module, an element of the International Space Station. STS-96 is targeted for launch on May 20 at 9:32 a.m. from Launch Pad 39B

S65-61835 (15 Nov. 1965) --- Technicians assist the prime crew for the Gemini-7 spaceflight in systems checks inside their spacecraft in the White Room atop Pad 19. Prime crew members are astronauts Frank Borman (left, inside spacecraft), command pilot, and James A. Lovell Jr. (right, inside spacecraft), pilot. They wear the new light-weight spacesuit planned for use during their 14-day mission.

NASA Orion AA-2 Crew Module Manager Dr. Jon Olansen, left, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, NASA Johnson Space Center Director Mark Geyer, and Orion Program Manager Mark Kirasich, right, are seen inside the Orion test crew capsule for the Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) test, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018 at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Multi-Purpose Processing Facility look over the encapsulation of the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite. The satellite will next be installed in the Pegasus XL launch vehicle. Built by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC), SORCE will study and measure solar irradiance as a source of energy in the Earth's atmosphere. The launch of SORCE is scheduled for Jan. 25 at 3:14 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The drop of the Pegasus will be from OSC's L-1011 aircraft at an altitude of 39,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean approximately 100 miles east-southeast of Cape Canaveral.

This photograph shows technicians installing the meteoroid shield on the Thruster Attitude Control Subsystem (TACS). At one end of the Orbital Workshop (OWS), the TACS provided short-term control of the attitude of the Skylab.

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