NASA Space Exploration Scenes

Images showcasing NASA's Kennedy Space Center, featuring preparations for spacecraft and modules related to the space shuttle and Orion missions.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the STS-115 crew look over the mission payload in Crew Equipment Interface Test activities in the Space Station Processing Facility. The mission will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 Truss, to attach to the first port truss segment, the P1 Truss, as well as deploy solar array set 2A and 4A. Launch on Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled for May 23, 2003.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians lift the forward reaction control system from a transporter during preparations to reinstall it on space shuttle Atlantis. The system helped the shuttle maneuver while it was in orbit. Atlantis FRCS was removed and sent to White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico to be cleaned of its toxic propellants. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing of the shuttle fleet. A groundbreaking was held Jan. 18 for Atlantis' future home, a 65,000-square-foot exhibit hall in Shuttle Plaza at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Atlantis is scheduled to roll over to the visitor complex in November in preparation for the exhibits grand opening in July 2013.

The European Service Module that will service as the powerhouse for Orion for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), is in view on a work stand inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay on March 21, 2019, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For EM-1, Orion will launch atop the Space Launch System rocket from Launch Pad 39B. The spacecraft will travel thousands of miles past the Moon on an approximately three-week test flight. Orion will return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, where it will be retrieved and returned to Kennedy.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo moves above the floor toward the payload canister, just visible at far right. The canister will transport the module to Launch Pad 39A for installation in space shuttle Discovery for the STS-128 mission. The module will carry science and storage racks to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for Aug. 18.

The Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) crew module inside the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 26, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A new Ku-Band communications system antenna is installed on space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The antenna is used to transmit and receive high data rate communications, such as video, and is being replaced for the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station. During its STS-131 mission to the station in April, Discovery's Ku-Band failed to operate in orbit. As a result, video of the thermal protection system inspection had to be recorded aboard Discovery and transmitted to the ground after the shuttle docked with the station. Typically, the inspection video is simultaneously transmitted live to the ground and recorded aboard the shuttle for later review. NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the forward reaction control system (FRCS) is installed on space shuttle Discovery.The FRCS was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery. Discovery is being prepared for display at Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the STS-115 crew look over the mission payload in Crew Equipment Interface Test activities in the Space Station Processing Facility. The mission will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 Truss, to attach to the first port truss segment, the P1 Truss, as well as deploy solar array set 2A and 4A. Launch on Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled for May 23, 2003.

STS-335 STS-135 ATLANTIS - SWINGS DRIVEN BACK INTO PLACE AROUND ORBITER

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, the P3_P4 Truss is being prepared to be rotated to the upper deck position in preparation for installation of the upper deck solar array wing. The truss is scheduled to launch on mission 12A, STS-115, to the International Space Station. The wing was removed to replace aging flight batteries. New batteries are being installed to ensure that the batteries do not exceed their lifetime expectancy prior to their planned logistics resupply on-orbit. The new batteries have a lifetime expectancy of approximately 7 years.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians have prepared the ground test article Launch Abort System, or LAS, ogive panel and an Orion crew module simulator for a GIZMO demonstration test. A technician moves the GIZMO, a pneumatically-balanced manipulator that will be used for installation of the crew module and LAS flight hatches for the uncrewed Exploration Flight Test-1 and Exploration Mission-1, toward the mockup. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is running the test to demonstrate that the GIZMO can meet the reach and handling requirements for the task. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is

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

Technicians work on the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion service module in the Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) at Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 24, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians attach a specially designed Hyster engine lift to one of three main engines on space shuttle Atlantis as they prepare to remove it.Inspection and maintenance of each main engine is standard procedure following a shuttle mission. Atlantis is next slated to deliver an Integrated Cargo Carrier and Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station on the STS-132 mission. The second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia, the module will be permanently attached to the Zarya module. Three spacewalks are planned to store spare components outside the station, including six spare batteries, a boom assembly for the Ku-band antenna and spares for the Canadian Dextre robotic arm extension. A radiator, airlock and European robotic arm for the Russian Multi-purpose Laboratory Module also are payloads on the flight. Launch is t

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in the Space Station Processing Facility prepare to release the overhead crane from the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello now secure on a new work stand. Raffaello is the second MPLM built by the Italian Space Agency, serving as a reusable logistics carrier and primary delivery system to resupply and return station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. It has been moved to allow the third MPLM, Donatello, to be brought in for routine testing. Donatello has been stored in the Operations and Checkout Building. This is the first time all three MPLMs are in the SSPF; the other one is the Leonardo. Raffaello is scheduled to fly on Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-114.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A special fixture stands in place around an Orion spacecraft inside the high bay of the Operations & Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fixture is designed to enable precise pre-launch processing of the Orion spacecraft. An Orion capsule is being prepared to make a flight test in 2014 on a mission that will not carry any astronauts. Photo by Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ku-band antenna is being stowed in space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay. The antenna, which resembles a mini-satellite dish, transmits audio, video and data between Earth and the shuttle. Next, the clamshell doors of the payload bay will close completely in preparation for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Atlantis is being prepared for the STS-135 mission, which will deliver the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. STS-135 is targeted to launch June 28, and will be the last spaceflight for the Space Shuttle Program.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist as a crane is lowered toward an orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod that will be installed on space shuttle Discovery.The OMS pod was returned from White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where it underwent a complete deservicing and cleaning. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing of space shuttle Discovery. The shuttle will go to the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in April 2012.

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations are underway to begin closing the payload bay doors on space shuttle Atlantis in preparation for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building.The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing of the space shuttle fleet. A groundbreaking was held Jan. 18 for Atlantis future home, a 65,000-square-foot exhibit hall in Shuttle Plaza at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Atlantis is scheduled to roll over to the visitor complex in November in preparation for the exhibits grand opening in July 2013.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians make a final check of the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module, or MPLM, before it is moved into a payload canister.Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are targeted to lift off on space shuttle Atlantis July 8, taking with them the MPLM packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program.

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as an overhead crane lowers shuttle Endeavours left-hand orbital maneuvering system, or OMS, pod onto a transporter. It will then be moved to the Hypergol Maintenance Facility. The work is part of Endeavours transition and retirement processing. The spacecraft is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Endeavour flew 25 missions, spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122, 883, 151 miles over the course of its 19-year career. Endeavours STS-134 and final mission was completed after landing on June 1, 2011.

The crew and service module for Artemis I continue preparations for mating inside the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building High Bay at Kennedy Space Center on March 21, 2019. Alongside, the pressure vessel for Artemis II is undergoing install of its secondary structure.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane lifts the crew airlock module off its stand. The airlock is being moved to install it in Endeavour's payload bay. 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.

Inside the high bay of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the European Service Module, below, is being mated to Orion's crew module adapter on Nov. 26, 2018. For the first time, NASA will use a European-built system as a critical element to power an American spacecraft, extending the international cooperation of the International Space Station into deep space. The European Service Module is a unique collaboration across space agencies and industry, including the European Space Agency's prime contractor, Airbus, and 10 European countries. The completion of service module work in Europe and shipment to Kennedy signifies a major milestone toward NASA's human deep space exploration missions to the Moon and beyond.

The Artemis I Orion spacecraft with its spacecraft adapter cone attached, is moved by crane along the high bay inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 20, 2020. This is one of the final major hardware operations the spacecraft will undergo during closeout processing prior to being integrated with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in preparation for the first Artemis mission. The spacecraft adapter cone connects the bottom portion of Orions service module to the top part of the rocket known as the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). Orion will fly on the agencys Artemis I mission - the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon that will ultimately lead to the exploration of Mars.

Inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Orion's crew module adapter is mated to the European Service Module on Nov. 16, 2018. For the first time, NASA will use a European-built system as a critical element to power an American spacecraft, extending the international cooperation of the International Space Station into deep space. The European Service Module is a unique collaboration across space agencies and industry including ESA's prime contractor, Airbus, and 10 European countries. The completion of service module work in Europe and shipment to Kennedy signifies a major milestone toward NASA's deep space exploration missions to the Moon and beyond.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lifted by the overhead crane, the container with the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) remote manipulator system inside is carried across the Space Station Processing Facility to another location. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency developed the laboratory known as "Kibo" (Hope) and includes an exposed facility (platform) for space environment experiments, the RMS and two logistics modules. Japan's primary contribution to the International Space Station, it will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments. The various JEM components will be assembled in space over the course of three Shuttle missions. The JEM and RMS are scheduled to launch on mission STS-124 no earlier than February 2008.

NG-20 PCM Lift. The Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecrafts pressurized cargo module (PCM) for the companys 20th commercial resupply mission is lifted and moved by crane inside the high bay in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. The next step is vehicle processing for the mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will be from Kennedys Launch Complex 39A.

The International Docking Adapter 3, a critical component for future crewed missions to the International Space Station, is carefully packed away in the unpressurized trunk” section of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at the SpaceX facility on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 19. It will launch to the orbiting laboratory in July on the company’s 18th commercial resupply mission. The adapter will support future U.S. crewed vehicles visiting the station.

The Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) crew module inside the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 26, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of space shuttle Endeavours payload bay doors is closed as a United Space Alliance technician monitors the progress of the second doors closure. Endeavours payload bay doors are being closed for the final time.The work is part of Transition and Retirement of the remaining space shuttles, Endeavour and Atlantis. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. Endeavour was the last space shuttle added to NASAs orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the right orbital maneuvering system OMS pod has been installed on space shuttle Endeavour. The OMS pod underwent complete deservicing and cleaning at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, part of the transition and retirement processing of each shuttle. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the payload changeout room at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians assist with the closure of space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay doors for flight. The payload arrived at the pad June 16 for installation into Atlantis and includes the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts for the International Space 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 mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. Atlantis and its crew are scheduled to lift off at 11:26 a.m. EDT July 8. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program.

The jettison motor for Orions Launch Abort System (LAS) is shown inside the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The motor, which arrived at Kennedy on Sept. 10, 2018, will be stored in the LASF until processing for a full-stress test of the LAS called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2), scheduled for April 2019. Designed and built by NASA and Lockheed Martin, the LAS will protect astronauts if a problem arises during launch by pulling the spacecraft away from a failing rocket. The jettison motor is one of three solid propellant rocket motors in the LAS (the abort motor and attitude control motor are the other two). The jettison motor will pull the LAS away from the crew module, allowing Orions parachutes to deploy and the spacecraft to safely land in the ocean.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a rare underside view of shuttle Endeavours left-hand orbital maneuvering system, or OMS, pod can be seen as an overhead crane lowers the component onto a transporter. It will then be moved to the Hypergol Maintenance Facility. The work is part of Endeavours transition and retirement processing. The spacecraft is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Endeavour flew 25 missions, spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122, 883, 151 miles over the course of its 19-year career. Endeavours STS-134 and final mission was completed after landing on June 1, 2011.

JSC2003-E-40244 (28 May 2003) --- The International Space Station Node 2 module is shown in a processing facility. Under contract of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Alenia Spazio in Turin, Italy led a consortium of European sub-contractors to build Node 2. The module was built for NASA under a barter agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) in exchange for the launch of the European Columbus Laboratory by the space shuttle to the International Space Station. Node 2 will provide a passageway between four International Space Station science experiment modules the U.S. Destiny Laboratory, the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module, the European Columbus Laboratory and the Centrifuge Accommodation Module. The addition of Node 2 to the station will signify the U.S. Core Complete stage of assembly, at which time the station can support the addition of international laboratories from Europe and Japan.

Teams with NASAs Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs lower the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage - the largest part of the rocket - onto the mobile launcher, in between the twin solid rocket boosters, inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 12, 2021. The 188,000-pound core stage, with its four RS-25 engines, will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust during launch and ascent, and coupled with the boosters, will provide more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send the Artemis I mission to space. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, as well as establish a sustainable presence on the lunar surface in preparation for human missions to Mars.

The Orion pressure vessel for NASAs Artemis ll mission is in view in a processing stand inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay on Sept. 17, 2019. Orion is being prepared for the first crewed test flight atop the agencys Space Launch System rocket. Artemis ll will lift off from Launch Complex 39B. The mission will confirm all of the spacecrafts systems operate as designed in the actual environment of deep space with astronauts aboard.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA Kennedy Space Center, the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo (center) is being fitted with supply racks. The module is being prepared for the second return-to-flight mission, STS-121, on space shuttle Discovery, carrying more than two tons of equipment and supplies to the International Space Station. This will be the fourth trip to the station for Leonardo, the first of three Italian-built logistics modules. Equipment and supplies no longer needed on the station will be moved to Leonardo before it is unberthed on Flight Day 10 and put back into Discovery's cargo bay for return to Earth. This second return-to-flight test mission is to carry on analysis of safety improvements that debuted on the first return-to-flight mission, STS-114, and build upon those tests. The launch is targeted for a date no earlier than May.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Technicians lift a special fixture inside the high bay of the Operations & Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fixture is designed to enable precise pre-launch processing of the Orion spacecraft. An Orion capsule is being prepared to make a flight test in 2014 on a mission that will not carry any astronauts. Photo by Tim Jacobs

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the Space Station Processing Facility, two Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules, Italian-built Raffaello and Leonardo, undergo testing. Italy's major contributions to the International Space Station program, Raffaello and Leonardo are reusable logistics carriers to resupply and return Space Station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. They are slated as payloads on missions STS-102 and STS-100, respectively. Dates have not yet been determined for the two missions

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers are preparing to move the spacecraft adapter cone for the Orion vehicle closer to the service module which is suspended above the floor by a movable crane.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket and in 2017 on NASAs Space Launch System rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Viewed from below in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle main engine No. 1 is installed in space shuttle Discovery. Each engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 6,700 pounds, and is 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. Discovery is being processed for its next mission, STS-119, targeted for launch on Feb. 12, 2009. Discovery and its crew will deliver integrated truss structure 6 (S6) and solar arrays to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, workers use a hoisting device to move the Remote Manipulator System, or robotic arm, toward the Japanese Experiment Module for installation and testing. The RMS is one of the payloads scheduled to be delivered to the station on a future mission tentatively scheduled for 2008.The RMS is similar to the robotic arm already installed on the station's mobile base system.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, the left-hand Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pod is lowered toward the orbiter Discovery for installation. The Orbital Maneuvering System provides the thrust for orbit insertion, orbit circularization, orbit transfer, rendezvous, deorbit, abort to orbit and abort once around. It can provide up to 1,000 pounds of propellant to the aft reaction control system. Each pod contains one OMS engine and the hardware needed to pressurize, store and distribute the propellants to perform the velocity maneuvers.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Payload Changeout Room at the pad, the payload is moved out of the payload canister for transfer to Space Shuttle Atlantis' payload bay for mission STS-112. The primary payload on the mission is the S1 Integrated Truss Structure. The first starboard truss segment, the S1 will be attached to the Central truss segment, the S0 Truss, on the International Space Station during the mission. Atlantis is scheduled to launch no earlier than Oct. 2.

Boeing technicians install back shells on the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) Starliner crew module inside the companys Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 2, 2020. During the OFT-2 mission, the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft will fly to the International Space Station for NASAs Commercial Crew Program.

STS-29 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, solid rocket booster (SRB) right aft segment is being prepared for stacking in the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Technicians examine and work with SRB seal from scaffolding platform. The twin sets of boosters provide 80 percent of the space shuttle launch thrust. Each SRB is made up of four loaded or fueled segments. The SRBs operate in parallel with the space shuttle main engines (SSMEs) for the first two minutes of flight providing additional thrust needed to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth. At an altitude of approximately 24 nautical miles, the SRBs separate, descend on parachutes, and land in the Atlantic Ocean where they are recovered and reused on future flights. View provided by KSC with alternate number KSC-88PC-1323.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle main engine No. 2, which was removed from shuttle Discovery, will undergo standard inspections in the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The removal was part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.

Artemis II European Service Module. Technicians at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida finish installing the orbital maneuvering system engine nozzle and heat shield for the Artemis II European Service Module inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Jan. 16, 2023. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The service module will provide the power necessary to propel Orion on a trip around the Moon, including the in-space maneuvering capability and other commodities necessary to sustain crew for the duration of the mission.

Elements for the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion pressure vessel are prepared for welding at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Sept. 7, 2011. Orions pressure vessel is underlying frame of the crew module that will provide an air-tight, habitable space for astronauts on future missions to the Moon. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

On Feb. 13, 2015, Lockheed Martin engineers remove the heat shield from the Orion vehicle that flew on Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in December 2014 in Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) at Kennedy Space Center. The heat shield will be transported to the Marshall Space Flight Center for testing. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations begin to install the newly arrived space shuttle main engine in shuttle Discovery for the shuttle's STS-131 mission to the International Space Station.The seven-member STS-131 crew will deliver a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with resupply stowage platforms and racks to be transferred to locations around the station. Three spacewalks will include work to attach a spare ammonia tank assembly to the station's exterior and return a European experiment from outside the station's Columbus module. Discovery's launch, targeted for March 18, 2010, will initiate the 33rd shuttle mission to the station.

Inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the protective covering was removed from the Orion crew module structural test article (STA). It remains secured on the bottom of its transport container. The STA arrived aboard NASA's Super Guppy aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility operated by Space Florida. The test article was moved inside the facility's high bay for further testing. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASAs Space Launch System rocket on EM-1, its first deep space mission, in late 2018.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, technicians attach a Dragon spacecraft to its Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The rocket is being prepared for the company's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. The capsule is scheduled to lift off on Oct. 7, 2012 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission will be the company's second demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program, or COTS.The SpaceX CRS contract with NASA provides for 12 cargo resupply missions to the station through 2015, the first of which is targeted to launch in October 2012.SpaceX became the first private company to berth a spacecraft with the space station in 2012 during its final demonstration flight under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, program managed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe stands inside the airlock at Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Friday, July 13, 2018. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the crew airlock module is suspended above Endeavour's payload bay. The module will be lowered into the payload bay and 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Columbus Laboratory module is moved across the facility to a weigh station before transfer to the payload canister. The European Space Agency 's largest single contribution to the International Space Station, Columbus will expand the research facilities of the station, providing crew members and scientists around the world the ability to conduct a variety of life, physical and materials science experiments. The module is approximately 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 large racks of experiments. The module is scheduled to be transferred to Launch Pad 39A in early November, in preparation for its journey to the station. Columbus will fly aboard space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-122 mission, targeted for launch Dec. 6.

T&R Endeavour, LH Oms Pod Lift and Move for Installation

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.

NASA Moves Core Stage 3 Intertank. Technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility move the intertank of NASAs Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III to Cell G on October 26, 2022 to await application of the thermal protection system. Thermal protection systems protect space vehicles from aerodynamic heating during entry to planet atmosphere and re-entry to earth atmosphere. The intertank lays between the liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank. Together with the engine section and the forward skirt, they comprise the SLS core stage. The liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank hold 733,000 gallons of propellant to power the stages four RS-25 engines needed for liftoff and Artemis missions to the Moon and future missions to Mars.

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Orbital Flight Test dual engine Centaur stage of the Atlas V rocket is in the final stage of production and checkout on May 22, 2018, at ULA's factory in Decatur, Alabama. Boeing's CST-100 Starliner will launch on its first uncrewed flight test on the ULA Atlas V rocket. The Starliner is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 (OPF-2) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the section behind space shuttle Atlantis nose cone is exposed after a special crane lifted the forward reaction control system away from the vehicle. The system provided some of the maneuvering capabilities to the spacecraft during its missions. Atlantis glided to a landing, July 21, 2011, at Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility, completing NASAs final space shuttle mission, STS-135. The shuttle is in OPF-2 being decommissioned and prepared for eventual display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

Technicians move the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion crew module pressure vessel in the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at Kennedy Space Center on March 20, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an overhead crane lifts the Tranquility module, or Node 3, from its shipping container. The crane will move it to a work stand. The module will be delivered to the International Space Station on the STS-130 mission. Tranquility will eventually house the life support equipment necessary for the space station's permanent crew of six. It will also accommodate the European Space Agency's Cupola observation module, a seven-window, dome-shaped structure. Tranquility is targeted for launch aboard space shuttle Endeavour in February 2010.

Engineers and technicians at NASA Glenn's Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, are preparing for the first major test in the campaign to verify the structural integrity of Orions service module for Artemis I, the spacecrafts first flight atop the agencys Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Orions service module, which will power and propel the vehicle and supply it with air and water, is being provided by ESA and built by Airbus Defence and Space. The solar array wing deployment test will verify that the qualification model wing unfurls as expected. On Saturday, Feb. 20, an international team of engineers and technicians lifted and tilted the service module test article -- which includes structural representations of the service module, crew module adapter, and spacecraft adapter -- to a 90 degree angle to position it for the deployment test of one of Orions four solar arrays. The next step in preparation for the test is attaching the solar array before the Feb. 29 deployment test. This

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --In Space Launch Complex 576-E, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Stages 1 and 2 of the Taurus XL launch vehicle are being integrated for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, called OCO. OCO is a new Earth-orbiting mission sponsored by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program. The observatory is targeted to launch Feb. 23 from Space Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, engineers install the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello in the Payload Transportation Canister. It rests behind the External Stowage Platform-2. The canister will transfer the payloads to Launch Pad 39-B. Raffaello will travel aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on Return to Flight Mission STS-114 to the International Space Station. Raffaello will carry 12 racks of cargo to the Station, including food, clothing, spare parts and research equipment. The Boeing Company, a KSC and NASA prime contractor for ISS element processing, prepared Raffaello for flight. The module was built by the Italian Space Agency for NASA under a cooperative space agreement.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A technician stands inside the aft compartment of the space shuttle Atlantis during preparations to install replica shuttle main engine RSME number 2 in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Three RSMEs were installed on Atlantis. The replicas were built in the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne engine shop at KSC to replace the space shuttle main engines SSMEs which will be placed in storage to support NASA's Space Launch System currently under development. The RSME installation is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing of the space shuttle fleet. A groundbreaking was held Jan. 18, 2012 for Atlantis future home, a 65,000-square-foot exhibit hall in Shuttle Plaza at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Atlantis is scheduled to roll over to the visitor complex during November in preparation for the exhibits grand opening in July 2013.

This image highlights the liquid oxygen tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASAs Artemis program, at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. The forward skirt houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics systems. The liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. The LOX hardware sits between the core stages forward skirt and the intertank. Along with the liquid hydrogen tank, it will provide fuel to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASAs Artemis missions to the Moon. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rockets massive 212-foot-tall core stage the largest stage NASA has ever built and its twin solid rocket boosters w

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay doors are being closed. The designated shuttle for the STS-129 mission, Atlantis will deliver to the International Space Station 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 is targeted to launch Nov. 12.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Express Logistics Carrier-3 is moved from its primary work stand to a payload canister. The canister will protect the space-bound payload on its journey to Launch Pad 39A, where it will later be installed into space shuttle Endeavours payload bay. ELC-3 is packed with a variety of spare parts for the International Space Station, including two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for Dextre and micrometeoroid debris shields. ELC-3 will fly to the station aboard Endeavour's STS-134 mission targeted to launch April 19 at 7:48 p.m. EDT.

The Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) crew module is prepared for mating with the heat shield in the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at Kennedy Space Center on May 14, 2014. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

Technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility move the engine section of NASAs Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III in preparation for its next step in production. This hardware is the first large piece manufactured for the Artemis III mission and makes up the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage. When complete, the engine section will house the four RS-25 engines and include vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel from the propellant tanks to the rockets engines. Together with its four RS-25 engines and its twin solid rocket boosters, it will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASAs Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earths orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability, and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASAs Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASAs backbone for deep space exploration and th

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, the starboard hatch is ajar on the Node 2 module after workers opened it. The second of three Station connecting modules, the Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab and provides attach locations for several other elements. Node 2 is scheduled to launch on mission STS-120, Station assembly flight 10A.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, workers begin removing the protective cover from the Orbital Boom Sensor System (OBSS) to be installed in the payload bay of Atlantis. The 50-foot-long OBSS attaches to the Remote Manipulator System, or Shuttle robotic arm, and is one of the new safety measures for Return to Flight, equipping the orbiter with cameras and laser systems to inspect the Shuttles Thermal Protection System while in space. The Return to Flight mission STS-121 has a launch window of July 12 - July 31, 2005.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Cupola module is being aligned with the Tranquility module for assembly. Cupola and Tranquility are the payload for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission to the International Space Station. The module was built for the European Space Agency by Alenia Spazio in Turin, Italy. When attached to the Tranquility Node 3 module, Cupola will resemble a circular bay window that will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. Just under 10 feet in diameter, the module will accommodate two crew members and portable workstations that can control station and robotic activities. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. Endeavour is targeted to launch Feb. 4, 2010.

The Artemis I Orion pressure vessel sits fully unwrapped, lifted and moved to the birdcage inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 2, 2016. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle main engine No. 2, which was removed from shuttle Discovery, will undergo standard inspections in the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The removal was part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.

Forward Skirt for Artemis IVs Core Stage Moves to Next Phase of Production. Crews at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans lift the forward skirt of a core stage that will power NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket out of the Vertical Weld Center Sept. 16, 2022.The forward skirt will be used for NASAs Artemis IV mission. The hardware houses flight computers, cameras, and avionics systems for the SLS rocket.The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. When fully stacked, the forward skirt is located at the top of the 212-foot-tall core stage and connects to the upper part of the rocket. The core stage and its four RS-25 engines provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help power NASAs next-generation lunar missions.Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Launch Abort System Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician works on the launch abort system, or LAS, for the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 mission. Horizontally stacked together are the components of the LAS, the launch abort motor, the attitude control motor, the jettison motor and the fairing.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry crews to space beyond low Earth orbit. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The LAS is designed to safely pull the Orion crew module away from the launch vehicle in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during the initial ascent of NASAs Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket. Orions first unpiloted test flight is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket. A second uncrewed flight test is scheduled for 2017 on the SLS rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, closure of the hatch on the International Space Station's Node 3, named Tranquility, is under way.Hatch closure follows the completion of preparations for the node's transport to the pad and is a significant milestone in launch processing activities. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission, Tranquility is a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the space station's life support systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. The module was built in Turin, Italy, by Thales Alenia Space for the European Space Agenc

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of six space shuttle main engines is prepared for the STS-134 and STS-335 missions. Postflight inspections and maintenance of each engine are conducted in the facility between shuttle missions by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne aerospace technicians. Three main engines are clustered at the aft end of the shuttle and have a combined thrust of more than 1.2 million pounds. Each engine utilizes liquid hydrogen for fuel and liquid oxygen as oxidizer and operates during the entire eight-and-a-half minute ride to orbit.Space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission is the final planned mission of the Space Shuttle Program and will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, as well as critical spare components, to the International Space Station next year. Shuttle Atlantis will be prepared for STS-335, which is the planned "launch on need," or potential rescue mission, for Endeavo

The 18th and final primary mirror segment is installed on what will be the biggest and most powerful space telescope ever launched. The final mirror installation Wednesday at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland marks an important milestone in the assembly of the agencys James Webb Space Telescope. “Scientists and engineers have been working tirelessly to install these incredible, nearly perfect mirrors that will focus light from previously hidden realms of planetary atmospheres, star forming regions and the very beginnings of the Universe,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “With the mirrors finally complete, we are one step closer to the audacious observations that will unravel the mysteries of the Universe.” Using a robotic arm reminiscent of a claw machine, the team meticulously installed all of Webb's primary mirror segments onto the telescope structure. Each of the hexagonal-shaped mirror segme

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis three fuel cells are being removed from the payload bay.The fuel cells will be drained of all fluids. The hydrogen and oxygen dewars which feed reactants to the fuel cells remain in Atlantis mid-body and will be purged with inert gases and vented down. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing of shuttle Atlantis. The orbiter is being prepared for display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. -- The Aqua-EOS satellite is attached to a platform in the Spaceport Systems International (SSI) payload processing facility on South Vandenberg AFB. Aqua will provide a six year chronology of the planet and its processes. Comprehensive measurements taken by its onboard instruments will allow scientists to assess long-term change, identify its human and natural causes and advance the development of models for long-term forecasting. The Focus for the Aqua Project is the multi-disciplinary study of the Earth's Interrelated Processes (atmosphere, oceans, and land surface) and their relationship to earth system changes. The global change research emphasized with the Aqua instrument data sets include atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles, clouds, precipitation and radiative balance; terrestrial snow and sea ice; sea surface temperature and ocean productivity; soil moisture; and the improvement of numerical weather prediction. Aqua-EOS is scheduled for launch a

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The avionics are mated to stage 2 of the Taurus XL launch vehicle for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The OCO is a new Earth-orbiting mission sponsored by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program. The launch of OCO is scheduled for Feb. 23.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers prepare the Orion crew module for its move from a processing stand to a dolly. Orion is being prepared for Exploration Flight Test 1, or EFT-1. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry crews to space beyond low Earth orbit. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orions first unpiloted test flight is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV heavy rocket. A second uncrewed flight test is scheduled for 2017 on the Space Launch System rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a large crane lowers space shuttle Atlantis left orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pod onto a carrier. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing of shuttle Atlantis. The OMS pods will be sent to White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico where they will undergo a complete deservicing and cleaning and then be returned to Kennedy for reinstallation on Atlantis. Atlantis is being prepared for display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, is undergoing performance testing. The high-gain antenna seen at center left will be moved, or gimbaled. All of the spacecraft science instruments are being tested in their last major evaluation before launch. SDO is the first space weather research network mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information about changes in the sun's magnetic field and insight into how they affect Earth. In preparation for launch, engineers will perform a battery of comprehensive tests to ensure SDO can withstand the stresses and vibrations of the launch itself, as well as what it will encounter in the space environment after launch. Liftoff on an Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Dec. 4.

(9 Dec. 2010) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft is shown before the its encapsulation into its payload fairing on Dec. 9, 2010. The vehicle is set to launch Dec. 16 (Kazakhstan time) to deliver NASA astronaut Catherine (Cady) Coleman, Expedition 26 flight engineer; Soyuz commander Dmitry Kondratyev of Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli, flight engineer, to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside NASA Kennedy Space Centers Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1, workers move the sling into place around the forward reaction control system that will be installed on Atlantis. When ready, the shuttle equipment will be lifted for installation. The forward reaction control system is located in the forward fuselage nose area. During ascent of the space shuttle, it provides the thrust for attitude (rotational) maneuvers (pitch, yaw and roll) and for small velocity changes along the orbiter axis (translation maneuvers).

Artemis I Orion Return and De-Servicing. NASAs Artemis I Orion capsule is secured on a platform inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 6, 2023. Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:40 p.m. EST on Dec. 11, 2022. The spacecraft was secured inside the well deck of the USS Portland for the voyage to U.S. Naval Base Sand Diego, arriving on Dec. 13, 2022. Orion was offloaded and transported back to Kennedy for deservicing inside the MPPF. Orion launched atop the Space Launch System rocket on Nov. 16, 2022 at 1:47 a.m. EST from Kennedys Launch Complex 39B for a 25-day trip beyond the Moon and back. During the flight, Orion flew farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever flown, paving the way for human deep space exploration and demonstrating NASAs commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond.

On March 11, Boeing mated the upper and lower domes of its CST-100 Starliner spacecraft slated to fly in the companys Orbital Flight Test (OFT). The mate was completed at Boeings Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Starliner uses an innovative weldless design where the main structure is made of two domes, each spin-formed and machined from a solid piece of aerospace-grade aluminum. The two domes then undergo outfitting with avionics, cooling systems, wire harnesses, fuel and life support lines, and other critical systems before being mated together. This is one of the last major milestones ahead of final processing and closeouts for flight. OFT is Boeings uncrewed flight test of Starliner and part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program, which will return human spaceflight launches into low-Earth orbit from U.S. soil.

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is ready to roll out of Orbiter Processing Facility 2 and head to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. First motion was 7:01 a.m. EDT. In the VAB, Endeavour will be attached to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters. After additional preparations are made, the shuttle will be rolled out to Launch Pad 39B. Endeavour is the backup shuttle, if needed for rescue, for space shuttle Atlantis STS-125 mission to NASAs Hubble Space Telescope targeted for October.

Boeings Starliner crew module, with back shells installed, is inside the companys Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on December 8, 2020, in preparation for the Orbital Flight Test. During the OFT-2 mission, the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft will fly to the International Space Station for NASAs Commercial Crew Program.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, workers are installing the Orbital Boom Sensor System (foreground) in Atlantis payload bay. The 50-foot-long OBSS attaches to the Remote Manipulator System (background), or Shuttle robotic arm, and is one of the new safety measures for Return to Flight. It equips the orbiter with cameras and laser systems to inspect the Shuttles Thermal Protection System while in space. Mission STS-121 is targeted for launch in July.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the STS-134 crew and technicians check space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay for sharp edges that could affect the astronauts' work in space. The six STS-134 astronauts are participating in the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT), which gives them an opportunity for hands-on training with the tools and equipment they'll use in space and familiarization of the payload they'll be delivering to the International Space Station. Endeavour is targeted to launch on the STS-134 mission Feb. 27, 2011.

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