NASA Launch Pad Operations

Images of modifications and structures at NASA's Launch Pad 39B, showcasing the preparation and upgrades for upcoming rocket launches.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers attach a crane to the top of the canister containing the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft. CONTOUR will be lifted up the gantry for encapsulation and mating with the launch vehicle. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. Flying as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets, the spacecraft will take the sharpest pictures yet of a nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. Launch of CONTOUR aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for July 1, 2002

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 80-foot lightning mast removed from the top of the fixed service structure (center) rests on the pad surface. The mast is no longer needed with the erection of the three lightning towers around the pad. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. The three new lightning towers are 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a platform is being lifted onto the fixed service structure to be installed where the oxygen vent arm and hood were removed. The pad was transferred from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program. The ground operations team is modifying pad B for the Ares I-X rocket launch. Modifications also include installing access platforms and a vehicle stabilization system. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 30.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the payload canister holding Space Shuttle Discovery's payloads nears the payload changeout room on the rotating service structure. The red umbilical lines are still attached. The payload changeout room provides an environmentally clean or "white room" condition in which to receive a payload transferred from a protective payload canister. After the shuttle arrives at the pad, the rotating service structure will close around it and the payloads, which include the multi-purpose logistics module and integrated cargo carrier, will then be transferred from the changeout room into Discovery's payload bay. Discovery's launch to the International Space Station on mission STS-121 is targeted for July 1 in a launch window that extends to July 19. During the 12-day mission, crew members will test new hardware and techniques to improve shuttle safety.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 39B, the payload canister is lifted toward the payload changeout room (PCR) for transfer of its cargo into the PCR. The canister holds the payload for Atlantis and mission STS-115, the Port 3/4 truss segment with two large solar arrays. The red umbilical lines are still attached to the transporter, lower right. The payload changeout room provides an environmentally clean or "white room" condition in which to receive a payload transferred from a protective payload canister. After the shuttle arrives at the pad, the rotating service structure will close around it and the payload will then be transferred into Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 28. During its 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the STS-115 crew of six astronauts will install the truss, a 17-ton segment of the space station's truss backbone.

The rotating service structure on Launch Pad 39A has moved for the first time in more than a year due to maintenance and upgrades on the pad. Some of the work included sandblasting the structure to remove rust and repainting. In addition, the RSS was jacked up and a new upper-bearing race assembly installed where the RSS pivots against the fixed service structure and a half-inch steel plate added. Pad 39A is being made ready for its first launch in four years, the upcoming STS-117 on March 15.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With a side view of the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, technicians monitor nearby as the final solid rocket motor (SRM) hangs in an upright position for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket which will carry NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. MSL is scheduled to launch Nov. 25 with a window extending to Dec. 18 and arrival at Mars Aug. 2012.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers attach a crane to the top of the canister containing the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft. CONTOUR will be lifted up the gantry for encapsulation and mating with the launch vehicle. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. Flying as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets, the spacecraft will take the sharpest pictures yet of a nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. Launch of CONTOUR aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for July 1, 2002

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft are lifted to the top of their launch pad at Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The lunar probes are attached to a spacecraft adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration and wrapped in plastic to prevent contamination outside the clean room in the Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla.The spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Sept. 8.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Kepler spacecraft on Launch pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida is lifted up to the transfer level of the mobile service tower. It will be moved into the tower for mating 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Pad 39B, the payload canister that delivered payloads launching aboard Space Shuttle Discovery's Return to Flight mission STS-114 is lowered from the Payload Changeout Room onto a transporter. The payloads will be installed into Discovery, scheduled to arrive at the pad later today. Discoverys payloads include the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC), and the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2). Raffaello will deliver supplies to the International Space Station including food, clothing and research equipment. The LMC will carry a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope and a tile repair sample box. The ESP-2 is outfitted with replacement parts. Discoverys launch window extends from July 13 through July 31.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payload canister containing the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo is lifted into the pad's payload changout room. Located on the pad's rotating service structure, the room is an enclosed, environmentally controlled area that supports payload delivery and servicing at the pad and attaches to the shuttle's cargo bay for vertical payload installation. The contents of the canister, including Leonardo, is set to be transferred into space shuttle Discovery's cargo bay on March 24. The seven-member STS-131 crew will deliver Leonardo, filled with resupply stowage platforms and racks, to the International Space Station. STS-131 will be the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall. Launch is targeted for April 5.

Mobile Launcher 1 (ML-1) Rolls to Launch Pad 39B for Artemis ll Testing. The mobile launcher is secured on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 17, 2023. It was transported to the pad by crawler-transporter 2. While at the pad, the mobile launcher will undergo testing for the agencys Artemis II mission. Under Artemis, the mobile launcher will transport NASAs Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to pad 39B for liftoff.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister arrives under the payload changeout room in the rotating service structure on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The canister holds the payloads for mission STS-121: the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station; the lightweight multi-purpose experiment support structure carrier; and the integrated cargo carrier, with the mobile transporter reel assembly and a spare pump module. The payload canister will be lifted into the changeout room where the payloads will be transferred to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 from Launch Pad 39B in a window that opens July 1 and extends to July 19.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Launch pad 39A looks much like it did after the liftoff of STS-135, the final space shuttle mission, on July 8, 2011. The mobile launcher platform remains in place next to the fixed service structure and rotating service structure. Located at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, pad 39A was originally built for the Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and later modified to support the 30-year shuttle program. Both launch pad 39A and 39B pad 39A was originally built for the Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and later modified to support the 30-year shuttle program.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The towering 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket, newly arrived on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, rests securely on its mobile launcher platform following its seven-hour early-morning trek.The test rocket left the Vehicle Assembly Building at 1:39 a.m. EDT on its 4.2-mile trek to the pad and was "hard down" on the pads pedestals at 9:17 a.m. The transfer of the pad from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program took place May 31. Modifications made to the pad include the removal of shuttle unique subsystems, such as the orbiter access arm and a section of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, along with the installation of three 600-foot lightning towers, access platforms, environmental control systems and a vehicle stabilization system. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 27.

The first stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket arrives at the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket is the launch vehicle for the THEMIS spacecraft, consisting of five identical probes, the largest number of scientific satellites ever launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. This unique constellation of satellites will resolve the tantalizing mystery of what causes the spectacular sudden brightening of the aurora borealis and aurora australis - the fiery skies over the Earth's northern and southern polar regions. After the first stage is in the mobile service tower on the pad, nine solid rocket boosters will be placed around the base of the first stage and attached in sets of three. THEMIS is scheduled to launch aboard the Delta II at 6:07 p.m. EST on Feb. 15.

Exterior view of Launch Complex 39A

A swing test of the Orion crew access arm, top right, is in progress on the mobile launcher at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Aug. 21, 2018. The crew access arm is located at about the 274-foot level on the mobile launcher tower. It will rotate from its retracted position and interface with the Orion crew hatch location to provide entry to the Orion crew module. Exploration Ground Systems extended all of the launch umbilicals on the ML tower to test their functionality before the mobile launcher, atop crawler-transporter 2, is moved to Launch Pad 39B and the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Mobile Launcher 1 Modifications and Testing for Artemis II . Teams with Exploration Ground Systems at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida make upgrades and repairs on mobile launcher 1 at its park site location on July 20, 2023, ahead of the first critical ground testing for Artemis II. Under Artemis, the mobile launcher will transport NASAs Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to Kennedys Launch Complex 39B for liftoff. Artemis II will be the first Artemis mission flying crew aboard Orion.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Nearing dawn on Launch Pad 39B, the payload canister is in position to be lifted into the payload changeout room (PCR) for transfer of its cargo into the PCR. The canister holds the payload for Atlantis and mission STS-115, the Port 3/4 truss segment with two large solar arrays. The payload changeout room provides an environmentally clean or "white room" condition in which to receive a payload transferred from a protective payload canister. After the shuttle arrives at the pad, the rotating service structure will close around it and the payload will then be transferred into Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 28. During its 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the STS-115 crew of six astronauts will install the truss, a 17-ton segment of the space station's truss backbone.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Modifications continue on the Mobile Launcher, or ML, at the Mobile Launcher Park Site at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Scaffolding, or work platforms, have been installed around the base of the tower on the ML to continue upgrades and modifications to the structure. The ML is being modified and strengthened to accommodate the weight, size and thrust at launch of NASA's Space Launch System, or SLS, and Orion spacecraft. The ML is one of the key elements of ground support equipment that is being upgraded by the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy. The ML will carry the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B for its first uncrewed mission, Exploration Mission-1, in 2018.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- -- On Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft inches closer to the top of the gantry where it will be encapsulated and mated with the launch vehicle. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. Flying as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets, the spacecraft will take the sharpest pictures yet of a nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. Launch of CONTOUR aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for July 1, 2002

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 39A, the payload canister with the SPACEHAB Double Module and Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC) inside is lifted up the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) toward the Payload Changeout Room, an environmentally controlled facility supporting cargo delivery to the pad and vertical installation in the orbiter cargo bay. At right of the RSS is the Fixed Service Structure, topped by the 80-foot-tall fiberglass lightning mast. The primary payload on mission STS-101, the module and ICC contain internal logistics and resupply cargo for restoring full redundancy to the International Space Station power system in preparation for the arrival of the next pressurized module, the Russian-built Zvezda. The payloads will be transferred to Space Shuttle Atlantis after Atlantis rolls out to the pad. Launch of Atlantis on mission STS-101 is scheduled no earlier than April 17, 2000

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Workers check out space shuttle Atlantis after it was uncovered on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida following the move of the rotating service structure (RSS). The structure provides weather protection and access to the shuttle while it awaits liftoff on the pad. RSS "rollback" marks a major milestone in Atlantis' STS-135 mission countdown.Atlantis and its crew of four; Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, are scheduled to lift off at 11:26 a.m. EDT on July 8 to deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station. Atlantis also will fly the Robotic Refueling Mission experiment that will investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites in orbit. In addition, Atlantis will return with a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On a cloudy and overcast day on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers prepare to roll the rotating service structure (RSS) away from space shuttle Atlantis. The RSS provides weather protection and access to the shuttle while it awaits liftoff. RSS "rollback" marks a major milestone in Atlantis' STS-135 mission countdown.Atlantis and its crew of four; Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, are scheduled to lift off at 11:26 a.m. EDT on July 8 to deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station. Atlantis also will fly the Robotic Refueling Mission experiment that will investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites in orbit. In addition, Atlantis will return with a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future s

First motion move of ML to Pad 39B

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Viewed from below, the second stage of the Delta II launch vehicle for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is lifted up the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The second stage will be moved into the tower and lowered for mating with the Delta's first stage. 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. -- At NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B in Florida, workers using an overhead crane hoist the second stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta II launch vehicle into the tower to be mated with the first stage. The payload fairing then will be raised into the white room of the mobile service tower. The Delta II will carry NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft into lunar orbit. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. GRAIL is scheduled to launch Sept. 8.

The United Launch Alliance Delta II first stage is lifted to vertical at Space Launch Complex 2 on June 8, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The booster will be lifted and moved into the mobile service tower. NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will launch on the final Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry a single instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, is changing in a warming climate.

The Crew Access Arm and White Room for Boeing's CST-100 Starliner are attached to the Crew Access Tower at Cape Canaveral Air Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41. The arm will serve as the connection that astronauts will walk through prior to boarding the Starliner spacecraft when stacked atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. This installation completes the major construction of the first new Crew Access Tower to be built at the Cape since the Apollo era. Under a Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract with NASA, Boeings Starliner system will be certified by NASA's Commercial Crew Program to fly crews to and from the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A crane brings the umbilical swing arm for Exploration Flight Test 1, or EFT-1, closer for installation on the fixed umbilical tower at Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The swing arm is the uppermost of three swing arms that will be attached to the fixed umbilical tower.The swing arm will carry umbilicals that will be mated to Orion's launch abort system and environmental control system. During launch, the umbilicals will pull away from Orion and the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at T-0. During the EFT-1 mission, Orion will travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. The data gathered during the flight will influence design decisions, validate existing computer models and innovative new approaches to space systems development, as well as reduce overall mission risks and costs for later Orion flights. Liftoff of Orion on its first flight test is planned for fall 2014.

The Soyuz rocket is seen on its launch hours before its scheduled launch to the International Space Station, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for September 26 and will send Expedition 37 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov, NASA Flight Engineer Michael Hopkins and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Ryazansky on a five and a half-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, another solid rocket booster is being lifted into the mobile service tower for mating to the first stage of the Kepler's Delta 2 launch vehicle. The Kepler mission is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine how many of the billions of stars in our galaxy have such planets. Results from this mission will allow us to place our solar system within the continuum of planetary systems in the Galaxy. NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than March 5, 2009.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the canister containing the payload for space shuttle Endeavours STS-127 mission is positioned into the Payload Changeout Room, a fixture of the pads Rotating Service Structure. Endeavours rollaround from Pad 39B to Pad 39A is planned for May 30. The STS-127 payload includes the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section of the International Space Station. They will be installed on the Kibo laboratory already on the station. Launch of the STS-127 mission is targeted for June 13.

Space Shuttle Launch Tower at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A showing the Fixed Service Structure (FSS) and the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) after rollback with Space Shuttle Endeavour ready to launch on STS-130, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, USA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Boeing Delta II second stage is lifted up the tower on Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It will be mated with the first stage, completing the erection of the launch vehicle for NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility. SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space. Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed from the ground. Consisting of an 0.85-meter telescope and three cryogenically cooled science instruments, SIRTF is one of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Rotating Service Structure is rolled back at Launch Pad 39B to reveal the Space Shuttle Discovery, scheduled to launch on mission STS-96 at 6:49 a.m. EDT on May 27. STS-96 is a 10-day logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying about 4,000 pounds of supplies to be stored aboard the station, for use by future crews, including laptop computers, cameras, tools, spare parts, and clothing. The mission also includes such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-involved experiment. The mission will include a space walk to attach the cranes to the outside of the ISS for use in future construction. Space Shuttle Discovery is due to launch on May 27 at 6:49 a.m. EDT. Landing is expected at the SLF on June 6 about 1:58 a.m. EDT

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The final Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) arrive at Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, for mating with the Boeing Delta II Heavy rocket that will launch the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft. Scheduled to lift off Aug. 2, bound for Mercury, the spacecraft is expected to reach orbit around Mercury in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Space Shuttle Launch Tower at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A showing the Fixed Service Structure (FSS) and the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) with Space Shuttle Endeavour ready to launch on STS-130, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, USA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister containing the U.S. Lab Destiny rises up the Rotating Service Structure to the payload changeout room at Launch Pad 39A. Umbilical hoses are still attached. In the PCR Destiny will be removed and transferred to the payload bay of Atlantis for mission STS-98. Destiny, a key element in the construction of the International Space Station is designed for space science experiments. STS-98 is the seventh construction flight to the ISS. Launch of STS-98 is scheduled for Jan. 19 at 2:11 a.m. EST

Two solid rocket boosters are lifted up the tower on Launch Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), to be mated with a Boeing Delta II rocket. The rocket is targeted to launch NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) on June 23 at CCAS. Developed by The Johns Hopkins University under contract to Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., FUSE will 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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Launch Pad 39B at NASA Kennedy Space Center is clear after launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on Return to Flight mission STS-114. The Mobile Launcher Platform is still in place but will be moved to prepare for Space Shuttle Atlantis, the designated vehicle for mission STS-121 to the International Space Station. Launch of STS-121 is during a window extending from Sept. 9 to Sept. 25.

Protective doors have been closed on the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on June 8, 2018. The United Launch Alliance Delta II first stage is lifted up and secured inside the tower. NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will launch on the final Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry a single instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, is changing in a warming climate.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the mobile launcher platform that was turned over from the shuttle program to the Constellation Program last month is being moved from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B via the crawler-transporter underneath. The platform will be rolled into the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 in preparation for the Ares I-X flight test this summer. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ground Control System hardware was installed in MLP-1 in December 2008. The platform was moved to the launch pad to check out the installed hardware with the Launch Control Center Firing Room 1 equipment, using the actual circuits that will be used when the fully stacked Ares I-X vehicle is rolled out later this year for launch.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the STS-133 payload canister is lifted into the rotating service structure on Launch Pad 39A.The payload then will be moved into space shuttle Discovery's payload bay. Discovery and its STS-133 crew will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for 4:40 p.m. EDT, Nov. 1.

NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher as it rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of the agencys deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 29.

NASAs mobile launcher, carried atop the crawler-transporter 2, returns to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on Dec. 20, 2019, after spending months at Launch Pad 39B undergoing final validation and verification testing at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Standing 380 feet tall, the mobile launcher - which will be used to assemble, process and launch the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft - will remain inside the VAB until it is ready to return to the pad with the rocket and spacecraft on top for the “wet dress rehearsal” ahead of the Artemis I launch.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure moves away from space shuttle Atlantis during the T-11 hour hold in the launch countdown. The movable structure, which provides weather protection and access for technicians to work on the shuttle, began being retracted at 5:20 p.m. EST and was in the park position by 5:56 p.m. Liftoff on its STS-129 mission is set for 2:28 p.m. EST Nov. 16. STS-129 crew members are Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; and Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr. On the STS-129 mission to the International Space Station, the crew will deliver two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. Atlantis will return to Earth a station crew member, Nicole Stott, who has spent more than two months aboard the orbiting

The mobile launcher for Artemis missions is at Launch Pad 39B on Sept. 11, 2019, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after spending a week and a half inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) due to the approach of Hurricane Dorian. The nearly 400-foot-tall structure was moved from Launch Pad 39B to the VAB for safekeeping on Aug. 30. The storm passed about 70 miles east of the spaceport during the overnight hours Tuesday, Sept. 3, and Wednesday, Sept. 4. NASAs Exploration Ground Systems moved the mobile launcher back to the launch pad, where teams will complete testing and checkout on the launcher in the coming weeks for the Artemis I mission.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With umbilical lines still attached, the payload canister is lifted up to the payload changeout room on the rotating service structure (RSS) on Launch Pad 39A The canister contains the S3/S4 integrated truss for mission STS-117 to the International Space Station aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. Once inside the PCR, the S3/S4 arrays will be transferred into Space Shuttle Atlantis' payload bay after the vehicle has rolled out to the pad. The changeout room is the enclosed, environmentally controlled portion of the RSS that supports cargo delivery to the pad and subsequent vertical installation into the orbiter payload bay. The Atlantis crew will install the new truss segment, retract a set of solar arrays and unfold a new set on the starboard side of the station. Launch is targeted for March 15.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Protective doors are closed around NASA's MAVEN spacecraft at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 shortly after the spacecraft was hoisted to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V will lift MAVEN into space and on to Mars. MAVEN is short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution.

NASAs SpaceX Crew-7 Preflight. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Dragon spacecraft on top is seen at sunset on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-7 mission, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Crew-7 mission is the seventh crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov are scheduled to launch at 3:50 a.m. EDT on Friday, August 25, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payload canister(right) with the Hubble Space Telescope equipment arrives at the base of Launch Pad 39A. On the pad, the Hubble equipment will be transferred to space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis' 11-day STS-125 mission to service Hubble is targeted for launch May 12. The flight will include five spacewalks in which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, preparations are made to roll the Mobile Service Tower back from the MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft aboard a Delta II rocket, Model 7925-H with heavy lift capability. MESSENGER is ready for liftoff on Aug. 2 at 2:16 a.m. EDT and is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

The second stage of the Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle-2 (LMLV-2) is mated to its first stage at Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Station. The LMLV-2 will carry the Lunar Prospector spacecraft, scheduled to launch in October for an 18-month mission that will orbit the Earths moon to collect data from the lunar surface. Information gathered during the mission will allow construction of a detailed map of the surface composition of the moon and will improve our understanding of its origin, evolution, current state, and resources

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, modifications to Launch Pad 39B are complete, and the pad is ready to support the Ares I-X rocket. The transfer of the pad from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program took place May 31. Modifications made to the pad include the removal of shuttle unique subsystems, such as the orbiter access arm and a section of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, along with the installation of three 600-foot lightning towers, access platforms, environmental control systems and a vehicle stabilization system.Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is the essential core of a space transportation system designed to carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 27.

STS-132 ATLANTIS ROLLOUT FROM VAB TO PAD 39A

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket at Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida where it is being prepared for launch. The Delta II will carry NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft into lunar orbit. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. GRAIL is scheduled to launch September 8, 2011.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The faint sunrise sky over NASA's Kennedy Space Center casts the newly erected lightning towers on Launch Pad 39B in silhouette. The two towers at left contain the lightning mast on top; the one at right does not. At center are the fixed and rotating service structures that have served the Space Shuttle Program. The new lightning protection system is being built for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Each of the towers is 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A canister, carrying the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module (MPLM) for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 mission to the International Space Station, arrives at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The canister will be lifted to the payload changeout room (seen here center of image). The payload ground-handling mechanism then will be used to transfer Raffaello out of the canister into Atlantis' payload bay. Next, the rotating service structure that protects the shuttle from the elements and provides access will be rotated back into place.Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are targeted to lift off on Atlantis July 8, taking with them the MPLM packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NAS

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Discovery (foreground) and Space Shuttle Atlantis (background) both stand ready on their Launch Pads ( 39A and 39B respectively). Space Shuttle Discovery rolled out July 2 to be prepared for launch on mission STS-105 in August. Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch Thursday, July 12, on mission STS-104. Towering above each Shuttle on the left is the 80-foot lightning rod that helps protect each Shuttle from lightning strikes. At right are the 290-foot water tanks that provide 300,000 gallons of water during liftoff. They are part of the sound suppression water system at each pad

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --- On Pad 17-B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, three solid rocket boosters are in the mobile service tower. They will be mated with the Delta II rocket, at left, that will launch NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, spacecraft. A series of nine strap-on solid rocket motors will help power the first stage. Because the Delta rocket is configured as a Delta II 7920 Heavy, the boosters are larger than those used on the standard configuration. The GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the Universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our Universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. Launch is currently planned for May 16 from Pad

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft moves inside the gantry where it will be encapsulated and mated with the launch vehicle. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. Flying as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets, the spacecraft will take the sharpest pictures yet of a nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. Launch of CONTOUR aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for July 1, 2002

The second half of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket payload fairing is lifted up into the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on June 4, 2018. NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will launch later this year on the final Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry a single instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, is changing in a warming climate.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure (RSS) on Launch Pad 39B is being dismantled. Starting in 2009, the structure at the pad was no longer needed for NASA's Space Shuttle Program, so it is being restructured for future use. The new design will feature a "clean pad" for rockets to come with their own launcher, making it more versatile for a number of vehicles.

Powerful xenon floodlights illuminate the launch tower at Pad 39A after the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-130, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, USA

The sun sets on the Space Shuttle Discovery during post-flight processing in the Mate-Demate Device (MDD), following its landing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California.The gantry-like MDD structure is used for servicing the shuttle orbiters in preparation for their ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, including mounting the shuttle atop NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 5:11:22 a.m. PDT, August 9, 2005, following the very successful 14-day STS-114 return to flight mission.During their two weeks in space, Commander Eileen Collins and her six crewmates tested out new safety procedures and delivered supplies and equipment the International Space Station.Discovery spent two weeks in space, where the crew demonstrated new methods to inspect and repair the Shuttle in orbit. The crew also delivered supplies, outfi

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Space Launch Compmlex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a work platform has been placed around the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket so that technicians can complete the work to attach the solid rocket motors. The Delta II will carry NASAs National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite into space. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. NPP is targeted to launch Oct. 25.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Storm clouds begin to move in over Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, postponing the retraction of the pad's rotating service structure, which would reveal space shuttle Discovery. The structure provides weather protection and access to the shuttle while it awaits lift off on the pad. RSS "rollback," as it's called, will begin again after the lightning-producing clouds pass. Launch of Discovery on the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station is set for 3:29 p.m. on Nov. 4. During the 11-day mission, Discovery and its six crew members will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, to the orbiting laboratory. Discovery, which will fly its 39th mission, is scheduled to be retired following STS-133. This will be the 133rd Space Shuttle Program mission and the 35th shuttle voyage to the space station.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, arrives at the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.Launch is scheduled for July 1, 2014. The observatory will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the canister containing the payload for space shuttle Endeavours STS-127 mission is prepared for its lift into the Payload Changeout Room above. Endeavours rollaround from Pad 39B to Pad 39A is planned for May 30. The STS-127 payload includes the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section of the International Space Station. They will be installed on the Kibo laboratory already on the station. Launch of the STS-127 mission is targeted for June 13.

Artemis I Rollout. NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher as it rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B, Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs Artemis I mission is the first integrated test of the agencys deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for Nov. 14 at 12:07 a.m. EST.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- After a nearly 7-hour trip, Space Shuttle Endeavour, sitting atop the mobile launcher platform, arrives on Launch Pad 39A after rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion was at 8:10 p.m. July 10 and the shuttle was hard down on the pad at 3:02 a.m. July 11. Endeavour is scheduled to launch on mission STS-118 on Aug. 7. During the mission, Endeavour will carry into orbit the S5 truss, SPACEHAB module and external stowage platform 3. The mission is the 22nd flight to the International Space Station and will mark the first flight of Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan, the teacher-turned-astronaut whose association with NASA began more than 20 years ago. STS-118 will be the first flight since 2002 for Endeavour, which has undergone extensive modifications, including the addition of safety upgrades already added to orbiters Discovery and Atlantis.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- With the aid of an overhead crane, workers lift the first stage of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft into low Earth orbit, into the service tower at NASA's Space Launch Complex-2 (SLC-2) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to the Delta II in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, on its three-year mission, will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to fundamental climate processes.

NASA's mobile launcher, atop crawler-transporter 2, is at the entrance to High Bay 3 at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on Sept. 8, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mobile launcher departed Launch Pad 39B after several days of testing with the pad. This is the first time that the modified mobile launcher made the trip to the pad and the VAB. The mobile launcher will spend seven months in the VAB undergoing testing. The 380-foot-tall structure is equipped with the crew access arm and several umbilicals that will provide power, environmental control, pneumatics, communication and electrical connections to the agency's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. Exploration Ground Systems is preparing the ground systems necessary to launch SLS and Orion on Exploration Mission-1, missions to the Moon and on to Mars.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The mobile launcher, or ML, nears the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The ML's 4.2-mile trek started at Launch Pad 39B.Data on the ML collected from structural and functional engineering tests during its two-week stay on the pad will be used in the next phases of construction. The 355-foot-tall ML structure, which took about two years to construct, will be modified by NASAs 21st Century Ground Systems Program to support NASAs Space Launch System, the heavy-lift rocket that will launch astronauts into deep space on future exploration missions.

The first stage of the Delta II rocket which will to be used to launch the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft is erected at Launch Complex 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Station. Scheduled for launch on Aug. 25, ACE will study low-energy particles of solar origin and high-energy galactic particles. The ACE observatory will be placed into an orbit almost a million miles (1.5 million kilometers) away from the Earth, about 1/100 the distance from the Earth to the Sun

Mobile Launcher Rollback to VAB. NASAs mobile launcher, carried atop the crawler-transporter 2, left launch pad 39B at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 8, 2022, following the successful launch of the agencys Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I flight test on Nov. 16, 2022. The mobile launcher is scheduled to return to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on Dec. 9, 2022, and it will remain inside the VAB for several weeks as teams get it ready for the Artemis II crewed mission. Following its stay in the VAB, it will go to the mobile launcher park site location at Kennedy where it will undergo emergency egress modifications and testing to support future Artemis missions.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2, is lifted up the side of the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.The spacecraft will be mated with the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket inside the tower. Launch is scheduled for July 1. 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. -- At Launch Pad 17-B, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, NASA's Dawn spacecraft is hoisted up on the pad in preparation for stacking with the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch is scheduled for July 7. 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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations are underway to sandblast and paint the 290-foot-high water tower at Launch Pad 39B. Scaffolding surrounds the tower and a special covering has been placed around the tank.The water towers at Launch Complex 39, which includes pad A and B, were part of the sound suppression system used during space shuttle launches. Water stored in the 300,000-gallon tank would be released just prior to main engine ignition and flow by gravity to special mobile launcher platform (MLP) outlets. Nine seconds after shuttle liftoff, the peak flow rate was 900,000 gallons per minute and helped to protect the orbiter and payloads from being damaged by acoustical energy reflected from the MLP during liftoff.

A crane lifts the Crew Access Arm and White Room for Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to be attached to the Crew Access Tower at Cape Canaveral Air Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41. When attached to the 200-foot tall Crew Access Tower, the arm will serve as the connection that astronauts will walk through prior to boarding the Starliner spacecraft when stacked atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. This installation completes the major construction of the first new Crew Access Tower to be built at the Cape since the Apollo era. Under a Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract with NASA, Boeings Starliner system will be certified by NASA's Commercial Crew Program to fly crews to and from the International Space Station.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, or SMAP, is scheduled to launch in November 2014 from Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, seen here on a temperate, fog-free summer's day.A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket will be used to deliver SMAP into orbit. 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 also will be used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flood prediction and drought monitoring capabilities.

Artemis I Rollout. Crawler Transporter-2 (CT-2) is seen as it rolls NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard atop the mobile launcher out to Launch Pad 39B, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agencys deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for Nov. 14 at 12:07 a.m. EST.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With umbilical lines still attached, the payload canister is lifted up to the payload changeout room on the rotating service structure (RSS) on Launch Pad 39A The canister contains the S3/S4 integrated truss for mission STS-117 to the International Space Station aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. Once inside the PCR, the S3/S4 arrays will be transferred into Space Shuttle Atlantis' payload bay after the vehicle has rolled out to the pad. The changeout room is the enclosed, environmentally controlled portion of the RSS that supports cargo delivery to the pad and subsequent vertical installation into the orbiter payload bay. The Atlantis crew will install the new truss segment, retract a set of solar arrays and unfold a new set on the starboard side of the station. Launch is targeted for March 15.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The umbilical swing arm for Orion's Exploration Flight Test 1, or EFT-1, has been attached to the uppermost location on the fixed umbilical tower at Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. All three swing arms on the tower are undergoing tests to confirm that they are operating correctly. They are being swung out and closer to the Vertical Integration Facility at the pad.The uppermost swing arm will carry umbilicals that will be mated to Orion's launch abort system and environmental control system. During launch, all three umbilicals will pull away from Orion and the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at T-0. During the EFT-1 mission, Orion will travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. The data gathered during the flight will influence design decisions, validate existing computer models and innovative new approaches to space systems development, as well as reduce overall missi

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - As preparations get under way at Launch Complex 37, on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, to lift the core stage of a Delta IV rocket into the launcher, this view from the mobile service tower illustrates the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean, in the distance, to the pad.The rocket's core stage is the first stage mated to the second stage. This United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket is slated to launch GOES-P, the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Launch is targeted for no earlier than March 1.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the first stage of an Atlas II/Centaur rocket is nearing erection in the launch gantry on pad 36A. Atlas II is designed to launch payloads into low earth orbit, geosynchronous transfer orbit or geosynchronous orbit. The rocket is the launch vehicle for the NASA/Lockheed Martin GOES-L satellite, part of the NOAA National Weather Service system in weather imagery and atmospheric sounding information. The primary objective of the GOES-L is to provide a full capability satellite in an on-orbit storage condition, to assure NOAA continuity in services from a two-satellite constellation. Launch services are being provided by the 45th Space Wing

Interior view of Launch Pad 39A

The Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) reached a historic milestone July 16, 2004, when a successful flight acceptance test was conducted at NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC). The engine tested today is the first complete engine to be tested and shipped in its entirety to Kennedy Space Center for installation on Space Shuttle Discovery for STS-114, NASA's Return to Flight mission. The engine test, which began about 3 59 p.m. CDT, ran for 520 seconds (8 minutes), the length of time it takes for the Space Shuttle to reach orbit.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The transporter with the payload canister arrives at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Under lights at left are the rotating and fixed service structures on the pad. Inside the canister is space shuttle Endeavour's payload for the STS-127 mission, which includes the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section to the International Space Station. They will be installed on the Kibo laboratory on the station. Launch of Endeavour is targeted for June 13.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A hazy sun sets over Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Atlantis awaits delivery of the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module (MPLM) in its transportation canister. Once delivered, the canister will be lifted to the payload changeout room. The payload ground-handling mechanism then will be used to transfer Raffaello out of the canister into Atlantis' payload bay. Next, the rotating service structure that protects the shuttle from the elements and provides access will be rotated back into place.Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are targeted to lift off on Atlantis July 8, taking with them the MPLM packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the fai

In this view, Exploration Ground Systems mobile launchers crew access arm (CAA) can be seen. The CAA will interface with the agencys Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at the Orion crew hatch, providing entry and exit from the Orion crew module. The first crewed flight aboard Orion will be Artemis 2, after the uncrewed Artemis 1 launch verifies SLS and Orion as an integrated system.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Edwards Air Force Base in California, space shuttle Atlantis is moved inside the mate/demate device for attachment to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, a modified Boeing 747. Atlantis landed at Edwards on May 24, which concluded mission STS-125, after two landing opportunities at Kennedy were waved off due to weather concerns. Atlantis is being returned to Florida on a ferry flight on the SCA. Atlantis' next assignment is the STS-129 mission, targeted to launch in November 2009.

Artemis I Prelaunch. NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen at sunrise atop the mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as preparations for launch continue, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agencys deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for Nov. 14 at 12:07 a.m. EST.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A hazy sun sets over Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Atlantis awaits delivery of the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module (MPLM) in its transportation canister. Once delivered, the canister will be lifted to the payload changeout room. The payload ground-handling mechanism then will be used to transfer Raffaello out of the canister into Atlantis' payload bay. Next, the rotating service structure that protects the shuttle from the elements and provides access will be rotated back into place.Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are targeted to lift off on Atlantis July 8, taking with them the MPLM packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure m

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The first stage of an Atlas/Centaur booster (AC-144) is secured in an upright position at Launch Complex 36A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in preparation for the launch of TDRS-J. The third in a series of telemetry satellites, TDRS-J will help replenish the current constellation of geosynchronous TDRS satellites. The TDRS System is the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. It also provides communications with the International Space Station and scientific spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, such as the Hubble Space Telescope. This new advanced series of satellites will extend the availability of TDRS communications services until about 2017.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- On Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, has been erected atop Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket for a Feb. 24 launch. OCO will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists will analyze OCO data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important greenhouse gas.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Discovery rolls out of high bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building for the long, slow journey to Launch Pad 39B and launch of mission STS-116. The mission is No. 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. The launch window for mission STS-116 opens Dec. 7.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour is revealed after rollback of the Rotating Service Structure on Launch Pad 39B. Seen is one of the twin solid rocket boosters that flank the orange external tank. Above the external tank is the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm that vents gaseous oxygen vapors away from the Shuttle. The vent hood assembly at the end is often referred to as the 'beanie cap.' Stretching to the crew hatch on the side is the Orbiter Access Arm with its environmentally controlled White Room at the end. The Shuttle sits on the Mobile Launcher Platform with the two service tail masts on either side of the main engines. The tail masts support the fluid, gas and electrical requirements of the orbiter's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen aft T-0 umbilicals. Each tail mast is 31 feet (9.4 meters) high, 15 feet (4.6 meters) long and 9 feet (3.1 meters) wide. Endeavour is scheduled to launch on mission STS-108 Nov. 29 at 7 41 p.m. On this 12th flight to the International S

of 2