NASA Space Transportation Operations

Images of NASA workers handling solid rocket booster segments and umbilicals at the Kennedy Space Center. The atmosphere is technical and industrial, with a focus on space launch preparations.

A crane lifts a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket will be positioned on its launcher to boost the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S. It will be the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites and will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A solid rocket booster, or SRB, segment from the STS-126 launch is lowered onto a rail car at the NASA Railroad yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The segment will be taken to Utah. After a mission, the spent boosters are recovered, cleaned, disassembled, refurbished and reused for another launch. After the segments are hydrolased inside, they are placed on flatbed trucks and transferred to the NASA Railroad yard. The NASA Railroad locomotive backs up the rail cars and the segments are lowered onto the car. After being covered for the trip, the segments will be moved to Titusville for interchange with Florida East Coast Railway to begin the trip back to Utah.

A crane is used to lift the Core State Inter-tank Umbilical (CSITU) for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) at the Launch Equipment Test Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The CSITU will be attached to the "C" tower of the Vehicle Motion Simulator 2 test fixture. The umbilical will undergo a series of tests to confirm it is functioning properly and ready to support the SLS rocket for launch. The CSITU is a swing arm umbilical that will connect to the SLS core stage inter-tank. The umbilical's main function is to vent gaseous hydrogen from the core stage. The arm also provides conditioned air, pressurized gases, and power and data connection to the core stage. The centers Engineering Directorate and the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program are overseeing processing and testing of the umbilicals.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the NASA Railroad yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers lower a transportation cover over a solid rocket booster segment from the STS-122 mission. Loaded on the railroad cars, the segments will be transported to Utah. After a mission, the spent boosters are recovered, cleaned, disassembled, refurbished and reused after each launch. After hydrolasing the interior of each segment, they are placed on flatbed trucks. The individual booster segments are transferred to a railhead located at the railroad yard. The covered segments will be moved to Titusville for interchange with Florida East Coast Railway to begin the trip back to the Thiokol plant in Wa¬satch, Utah.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers at the Railroad yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center prepare one of the segments of a solid rocket booster from the STS-122 mission to be moved onto a railroad car for transportation to Utah. After a mission, the spent boosters are recovered, cleaned, disassembled, refurbished and reused after each launch. After hydrolasing the interior of each segment, they are placed on flatbed trucks. The individual booster segments are transferred to a railhead located at the railroad yard. The covered segments will be moved to Titusville for interchange with Florida East Coast Railway to begin the trip back to the Thiokol plant in Wa¬satch, Utah.

A crane lifts a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket will be positioned on its launcher to boost the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S. It will be the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites and will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Preparations are under way to lift payload canister #2 from the transporter that delivered it to the Reutilization, Recycling and Marketing Facility on Ransom Road at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two payload canisters used to transport space shuttle payloads to the launch pad for installation in the shuttles' cargo bays are being decommissioned following the end of the Space Shuttle Program. Each canister weighs 110,000 pounds and is 65 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 18 feet, 7 inches high. The canisters were prescreened through NASA Headquarters as possible artifacts, but their size makes them difficult to transport to locations off the center. Federal and state agencies now will be given the opportunity to screen the canisters for potential use before a final decision is made on their disposition.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers release the movable launch platform for the Project Morpheus lander from the crane used to position it on its new site adjacent to a hazard field created to support the project at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF. Testing of the prototype lander has been ongoing at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for free flight. The lander is scheduled for delivery to Kennedy in October. The SLF will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus utilizes an autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, payload that will allow it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst obstacles during its descent. Project Morpheus is one of 20 small projects comprising the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, program in NASAs Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. AES projects p

Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.

Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a cover, called a spider, is attached to the top of the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder on Oct. 4, 2019. With the spider secured in place, a crane will be attached to it to lift the pathfinder into the vertical position. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived on NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedys Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 27, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived, ferrying the SLS core stage pathfinder, a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. It will be used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy for approximately one month before trekking

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An overhead crane lifts a solid rocket booster segment off a truck bed at the railroad yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for transfer to a railroad car. The yellow transportation end cover has already been inserted and is secure. The spent segment is part of the booster used to launch space shuttle Discovery in October. The segment will be placed on the car and covered for the long trip back to Utah. After a mission, the spent boosters are recovered, cleaned, disassembled, refurbished and reused after each launch. After hydrolasing the interior of each segment, they are placed on flatbed trucks. The individual booster segments are transferred to a railhead located at the railroad yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The long train of segments is part of the twin solid rocket boosters used to launch space shuttle Discovery in October. The NASA Railroad locomotive backs up the rail cars and the segment is lowered onto the car. The covered segments a

On Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers attach an overhead crane to the Delta II second stage in order to raise it to vertical. It will be lifted into the mobile service tower and mated with the first stage already in place. The Delta II is the launch vehicle for the THEMIS spacecraft. THEMIS consists 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. THEMIS is scheduled to launch Feb. 15 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The simulator crew module for NASA's Ares I-X rocket is moved into the Vehicle Assembly Building's high bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The precisely machined, full-scale simulator crew module is part of the hardware that will be used in the launch of the rocket. Also arriving is a launch abort system that, with the module, will form the tip of the rocket. Ares I-X is the test flight for the Ares I. The I-X flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with Ares I. The launch of the 321-foot-tall, full-scale Ares I-X, targeted for July 2009, will be the first in a series of unpiloted rocket launches from Kennedy. When fully developed, the 16-foot diameter crew module will furnish living space and reentry protection for the astronauts, while their launch abort system will provide safe evacuation if a launch vehicle failure occurs.

MSL - FAIRING INSTALLATION

New Mobile Launcher with Launch Mount

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the dock at Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the solid rocket booster is lifted out of the water by the straddle crane. The booster, used during space shuttle Discovery's launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida March 15 on mission STS-119, will be placed on a transporter. The space shuttles solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware are recovered at sea after a launch. The spent rockets were recovered by NASA's Solid Rocket Booster Retrieval Ships Freedom Star and Liberty Star. The boosters impact the Atlantic Ocean approximately seven minutes after liftoff. The splashdown area is a square of about six by nine nautical miles located about 140 nautical miles downrange from the launch pad. The retrieval ships are stationed approximately 8 to 10 nautical miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. As soon as the boosters enter the water, the ships accelerate to a speed of 15 knots and quickly close

NTS A88 965 09-08-88 SANDIA NATIONAL LABS U12P DISKO ELM FAC MOVE - EMAD TO 2201 CARRILLO (Project Engineer) Publication Date: 9/8/1988 CARRILLO, LAWRENCE; CRANES; CRANES, LIFTING (INDUSTRIAL); EMAD TO 2201; FAC MOVE; LIFTING; LOADING; MALE; MEN (ADD MALE MODIFIER); MIDDLE NOTE; NEVADA; NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; NUCLEAR TESTING; NUCLEAR TESTS; SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES; TEST SITES; TRAILERS; TRAILERS, MOTOR DRAWN; TUNNELS; U12P; U12P DISKO ELM; UGT; UNDERGROUND; UNDERGROUND TESTING; WEAPONS EFFECTS; WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY; YELLOW (COLOR) historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A spent shuttle solid rocket booster is moved into Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, where it will be cleaned. The booster was used during space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 launch from NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A on Feb. 24. The shuttles two solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware were recovered in the Atlantic Ocean by retrieval ships Liberty Star and Freedom Star.The boosters impact the Atlantic about seven minutes after liftoff and the retrieval ships are stationed about 10 miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. After the spent segments are processed, they will be transported to Utah, where they will be refurbished and stored, if needed.

ORION Project-(SPLASH) Structural Passive Landing Attenuation for Survivability of Human Crew (BTA) Boiler Plate Test Article Water Impact Test-Pot Phase"0" Test POT#2 Tested at the Hydro Impact Basin at the Landing and Impact Research Facility (Gantry)

T&R Endeavour OMS Pod Mate Test for Smithsonian Operations

NASA and Jacobs workers watch as the 212-foot-long Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage pathfinder is moved inside the Pegasus barge at the Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 28, 2019. The core stage pathfinder is a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. It was used by the Exploration Ground Systems Program and their contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder was at Kennedy for about a month. It will make the trek back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a crane lifts part of the lightning mast to be erected on towers being built for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rail car cover is removed from the first Ares I-X motor segment. It is one of four reusable motor segments and nozzle exit cone shipped by the Ares I first-stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc. for final processing and integration in the facility. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The motor is the final hardware needed for the rocket's upcoming flight test this summer. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a crane lifts the Taurus XL Stage 0 motor to move it to a flatbed truck. The motor will be transported to Orbital Sciences' Hangar 1555. The Taurus XL will launch NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, spacecraft targeted for Jan. 15. The OCO is a new Earth-orbiting mission sponsored by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane is used to load a twin set of space shuttle solid rocket boosters on to trucks for transport to California.The solid rocket boosters, or SRBs, will be displayed at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The 149-foot SRBs together provided six million pounds of thrust. The work is part of Transition and Retirement of the space shuttle.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Railroad yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a solid rocket booster segment from the STS-122 mission is lowered onto a railroad car for transportation to Utah. After a mission, the spent boosters are recovered, cleaned, disassembled, refurbished and reused after each launch. After hydrolasing the interior of each segment, they are placed on flatbed trucks. The individual booster segments are transferred to a railhead located at the railroad yard. The covered segments will be moved to Titusville for interchange with Florida East Coast Railway to begin the trip back to the Thiokol plant in Wa¬satch, Utah.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A forklift carrying the multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission backs away from the airlock of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MMRTG is enclosed in a mesh container, known as the "gorilla cage," which protects it during transport and allows any excess heat generated to dissipate into the air. The MMRTG is being moved to the RTG storage facility following a fit check on MSL's Curiosity rover in the PHSF.The MMRTG will generate the power needed for the mission from the natural decay of plutonium-238, a non-weapons-grade form of the radioisotope. Heat given off by this natural decay will provide constant power through the day and night during all seasons. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane, and help determine if the

Technicians assist as a crane is used to lift the first Tail Service Mast Umbilical (TSMU) up from the flatbed of the transport truck at the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Two TSMUs will provide liquid propellants and power to the Space Launch System (SLS) rockets core stage engine. Both TSMUs will connect to the zero-level deck on the mobile launcher, providing fuel and electricity to the SLS rocket before it launches on Exploration Mission 1. The TSMU will undergo testing and validation at the LETF to verify it is functioning properly. The centers Engineering Directorate and the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program are overseeing processing and testing of the umbilicals.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The first stage of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket for NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, or SMAP, is raised off its transporter into a vertical position for its transfer into the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.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. Launch is scheduled for November 2014.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Trucks head into the Vehicle Assembly Building's high bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They carry Ares I-X upper stage simulator segments that arrived Nov. 4 at Port Canaveral, Fla., aboard the Delta Mariner. The upper stage simulators will be used in the test flight identified as Ares I-X in 2009. The Ares I-X test flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I crew launch vehicle. It also will allow NASA to gather critical data during ascent of the integrated Orion crew exploration vehicle and the Ares I rocket. The data will ensure the entire vehicle system is safe and fully operational before astronauts begin traveling to orbit. The simulator segments will simulate the mass and the outer mold line and will be more than 100 feet of the total vehicle height of 327 feet. The simulator comprises 11 segments that are approximately 18 feet in diameter. Most

Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.

The second stage of the Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle-2 (LMLV-2) arrives aboard a truck at Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Station before it is mated to the first stage, seen in the center of the pad structure in the background. 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. Scientific experiments to be conducted by the Prospector include locating water ice that may exist near the lunar poles, gathering data to understand the evolution of the lunar highland crust and the lunar magnetic field, finding radon outgassing events, and describing the lunar gravity field by means of Doppler tracking

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction workers have removed a space shuttle-era work platform from high bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB. The platform has been moved to the VAB north parking area for temporary storage.The work is part of a centerwide refurbishment initiative under the Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program. High bay 3 is being refurbished to accommodate NASAs Space Launch System and a variety of other spacecraft.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Components for two of the F-1 engines that powered the first stage of the Saturn V rockets that lifted NASA's Apollo missions to the moon were recovered from the Atlantic Ocean March 21 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the aerospace company Blue Origin and Amazon.com and arrived at Port Canaveral March 22. The engines will be restored by Bezos' team for public display. The engines were found some 14,000 feet underwater where they came to rest more than 40 years ago after sending astronauts into space on missions to the moon. Restoration may reveal exactly which engines were recovered, but Bezos said in a statement that the serial numbers were not immediately visible.

The 212-foot-long Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage pathfinder is being offloaded from the barge at Kennedy Space Centers Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Oct. 1, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived Sept. 27, 2019, ferrying the SLS core stage pathfinder, a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. It is being used by Exploration Ground Systems and its, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy for approximately one month before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.

Preparations are underway to lift the bracket for the Orion Service Module Umbilical (OSMU) up for installation on the mobile launcher tower at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mobile launcher tower will be equipped with a number of lines, called umbilicals, that will connect to the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1). The OSMU will be located high on the mobile launcher tower and, prior to launch, will transfer liquid coolant for the electronics and air for the Environmental Control System to the Orion service module that houses these critical systems to support the spacecraft. EM-1 is scheduled to launch in 2018. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing installation of the umbilicals.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the dock at Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the frustum of a solid rocket booster is moved onto a transporter. The booster was used during space shuttle Discovery's launch on mission STS-119 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida March 15. The space shuttles solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware are recovered at sea after a launch. The spent rockets were recovered by NASA's Solid Rocket Booster Retrieval Ships Freedom Star and Liberty Star. The boosters impact the Atlantic Ocean approximately seven minutes after liftoff. The splashdown area is a square of about six by nine nautical miles located about 140 nautical miles downrange from the launch pad. The retrieval ships are stationed approximately 8 to 10 nautical miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. As soon as the boosters enter the water, the ships accelerate to a speed of 15 knots and quickly close on the boosters. The pilot chutes an

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With workers assisting, a crane places the Centaur stage of the Atlas V rocket on a flatbed truck on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's skid strip in Florida. The Centaur will be transported to the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla. The Atlas V will launch NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS. The two spacecraft will be integrated with the Atlas V and tested for final flight worthiness. Launch is scheduled for the spring. LCROSS and LRO are the first missions in NASA's plan to return humans to the moon and begin establishing a lunar outpost by 2020.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building's high bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers secure the crane that will lift one of the Ares I-X upper stage simulator segments from its transporter. The segments, which arrived Nov. 4 at Port Canaveral, Fla., aboard the Delta Mariner, will be placed on the floor. The upper simulator segments are moved inside where they will be offloaded. The upper stage simulators will be used in the test flight identified as Ares I-X in 2009. The Ares I-X test flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I crew launch vehicle. It also will allow NASA to gather critical data during ascent of the integrated Orion crew exploration vehicle and the Ares I rocket. The data will ensure the entire vehicle system is safe and fully operational before astronauts begin traveling to orbit. The simulator segments will simulate the mass and the

Workers assist with removal of the shipping container cover from the first Northrop Grumman aft exit cone to arrive for the Space Launch Systems solid rocket boosters inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 4, 2019. The aft exit cone was shipped from Promontory, Utah. It will be checked out and prepared for the Artemis I uncrewed test flight. The aft exit cones sit at the bottommost part of the twin boosters. They are attached to the aft skirts, which contain the booster separation motors. The exit cones help to protect the aft skirts during launch.

The shipping container carrying the Orion heat shield for Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) is lowered by crane onto the flatbed of a transporter at the Shuttle Landing Facility, managed and operated by Space Florida, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The heat shield arrived aboard the agencys Super Guppy aircraft from Lockheed Martins manufacturing facility near Denver. The heat shield will be transported to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay for processing. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASAs Space Launch System rocket on EM-1, an uncrewed test flight, in 2018.

SLS ENGINE SECTION PEDESTALS AND THE ENGINE SECTION SPIDER QUADRANTS ARRIVAL AND UNLOADING AT NASA DOCK ON THE TENNESSEE RIVER.

Ares I First Stage, NASA's Space Shuttle Replacement, Largest Rocket in the World, Ready for First Test Firing

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - In the NASA Building 836 high bay at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers lift a section of the fairing for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, from its shipping container. The fairing will protect OCO-2 during launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 in July. 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.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The Delta first-stage booster for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, is suspended above its transportation trailer in the Building 836 hangar at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. OCO-2 is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in July. The observatory will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the crane crawler puts a piling into place to be pounded into the ground to help construct lightning towers for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.

GRAIL - 1st Stage Booster Arrival & Erection

A heavy-lift crane has been attached to the Core Stage Inter-tank Umbilical (CSITU) to lift it up from a flatbed truck near the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The CSITU will be lifted up to about the 140-foot level of the mobile launcher (ML) tower for a fit check of the attachment hardware. It will be lowered down and installed permanently on the ML at a later date. The CSITU is a swing-arm umbilical that will connect to the Space Launch System core stage inter-tank. It will provide conditioned air, pressurized gases and power and data connection to the core stage. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing installation of the umbilicals.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers move the Stage 0 motor of the Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL into launch position on Space Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. As part of the four-stage Taurus XL rocket that will carry NASA's Glory spacecraft into low Earth orbit, stages 1, 2 and 3 will join Stage 0 at the launch pad about a week later.Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory.

First Stage Test of Ares I, Largest Rocket Motor In the World

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Workers at the hoisting slip at the Solid Rocket Booster Disassembly Facility at Hangar AF on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, monitor the lifting of the left spent booster, used during space shuttle Discovery's final launch.The shuttle's two solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware are recovered in the Atlantic Ocean after every launch by Freedom Star and Liberty Star. The boosters impact the Atlantic about seven minutes after liftoff and the retrieval ships are stationed about 10 miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. After the spent segments are processed, they will be transported to Utah, where they will be refurbished and stored, if needed.

U.S. Air Force Airmen from 133rd and 934th Maintenance Groups along with Twin Cities Towing prepare to lift a Convair F-102A in St. Paul, Minn., Aug. 10, 2022. The Airmen, along with Firefighters from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport participated in a Massive Accident Response Exercise (MARE), allowing the agencies to test their knowledge and capabilities in a controlled environment.

Crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) moves slowly up the ramp to the surface of Launch Pad 39B for a fit check on May 22, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The test drive to the pad confirms that all of the recent modifications to CT-2 and Pad 39B are operational to support the launch of the agency's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft on Exploration Mission-1. Exploration Ground Systems managed the modifications and upgrades to CT-2 and Pad 39B to prepare for EM-1 and deep space exploration missions.

TRACT 2 Frame Drop Test AT NASA Langley Research Center's Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) Facility

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Ground support equipment technicians assist as a crane moves a new jacking, equalizing and leveling, or JEL, hydraulic cylinder close for installation on crawler-transporter 1 at the crawler transporter maintenance facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New JEL hydraulic cylinders will be installed on CT-1 to test them for increased load carrying capacity and reliability. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy continues to upgrade CT-1 as part of its general maintenance. CT-1 could be available to carry a variety of launch vehicles to the launch pad. Two crawler-transporters were used to carry the mobile launcher platform and space shuttle to Launch Complex 39 for space shuttle launches for 30 years.

An Aerojet AJ26 rocket engine is hoisted for installation at Stennis Space Center's E-1 Test Stand on July 19. Stennis operators have been preparing the E-1 stand for testing AJ26 engines since April 2009. Modifications included construction of a 27-foot-deep flame deflection trench.

A new liquid hydrogen separator tank arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A crane will be used to lift and rotate the tank for delivery to Launch Pad 39B. The new separator/storage tank will be added to the pad's existing hydrogen vent system to assure gaseous hydrogen is delivered downstream to the flare stack. The 60,000 gallon tank was built by INOXCVA, in Baytown, Texas, a subcontractor of Precision Mechanical Inc. in Cocoa Florida. The new tank will support all future launches from the pad.

Construction workers assist as a crane is used to lower a vertical support post for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) onto a platform at the Mobile Launcher Yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Two ASEUs and the first of the vertical support posts underwent a series of tests at the Launch Equipment Test Facility to confirm they are functioning properly and ready to support the SLS for launch. The ASEUs will connect to the SLS rocket at the bottom outer edge of each booster and provide electrical power and data connections to the rocket until it lifts off from the launch pad. The eight VSPs will support the load of the solid rocket boosters, with four posts for each of the boosters. The centers Engineering Directorate and the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program are overseeing processing and testing of the umbilicals.

Natural gas platform construction, Izmit, Turkey

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - After removal from space shuttle Discovery, the third and final main engine, carried by the Hyster forklift, has left Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 6,700 pounds, and is 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. Discovery next will be used on the STS-128 mission to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. The launch is targeted for Aug. 6.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Cranes are attached to the first of the Ares I-X motor segments to raise and transfer it to a work stand in the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four segments were delivered to Kennedy for final processing and integration. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The motor is the final hardware needed for the rocket's upcoming test flight this summer. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The left spent booster used during space shuttle Discovery's final launch is guided into a hoisting slip at the Solid Rocket Booster Disassembly Facility at Hangar AF on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.The shuttle's two solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware are recovered in the Atlantic Ocean after every launch by Freedom Star and Liberty Star. The boosters impact the Atlantic about seven minutes after liftoff and the retrieval ships are stationed about 10 miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. After the spent segments are processed, they will be transported to Utah, where they will be refurbished and stored, if needed.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 is unloaded of supplies for both troops and migrants staying at Guantanamo Bay. Subject Operation/Series: SEA SIGNAL V Base: Guantanamo Bay Country: Cuba (CUB)

Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, operations are underway to attach a cover, called a spider, to the top of the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder on Oct. 4, 2019. With the spider secured in place, a crane will be attached to it to lift the pathfinder into the vertical position. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived on NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedys Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 27, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived, ferrying the SLS core stage pathfinder, a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. It will be used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy for approximately one

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - On Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, one-half of the fairing for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-N) spacecraft is prepared to be lifted up the launch service tower. The fairing will be placed around the spacecraft to protect it during launch. The NOAA-N satellite will be placed into a polar orbit aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket. The spacecraft will continue to provide a polar-orbiting platform to support (1) environmental monitoring instruments for imaging and measuring the Earth's atmosphere, its surface, and cloud cover, including Earth radiation, atmospheric ozone, aerosol distribution, sea surface temperature, and vertical temperature and water profiles in the troposphere and stratosphere; (2) measurement of proton and electron flux at orbit altitude; (3) data collection from remote platforms; and (4) the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system. Additionally, NOAA-N is t

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a crane lifts the last part of the lightning mast to be erected on towers being built for the Constellation Program and Ares/Orion launches. In the foreground is the base of one of the towers to be built. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is scheduled for April 2009.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A crane lifts and transfers Ares I-X upper stage simulator segments from the Delta Mariner at Port Canaveral, Fla., onto a flatbed truck. They will be transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building's high bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The upper stage simulator will be used in the test flight identified as Ares I-X in 2009. The Ares I-X test flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I crew launch vehicle. It also will allow NASA to gather critical data during ascent of the integrated Orion crew exploration vehicle and the Ares I rocket. The data will ensure the entire vehicle system is safe and fully operational before astronauts begin traveling to orbit. The simulator segments will simulate the mass and the outer mold line and will be more than 100 feet of the total vehicle height of 327 feet. The simulator comprises 11 segments that are approximately 1

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Payload canister #1 arrives outside the Reutilization, Recycling and Marketing Facility on Ransom Road at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two payload canisters used to transport space shuttle payloads to the launch pad for installation in the shuttles' cargo bays are being decommissioned following the end of the Space Shuttle Program. Each canister weighs 110,000 pounds and is 65 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 18 feet, 7 inches high. The canisters were prescreened through NASA Headquarters as possible artifacts, but their size makes them difficult to transport to locations off the center. Federal and state agencies now will be given the opportunity to screen the canisters for potential use before a final decision is made on their disposition.

A crane lifts the first Tail Service Mast Umbilical (TSMU) up for placement on a test stand at the Launch Equipment Test Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Two TSMUs will provide liquid propellants and power to the Space Launch System (SLS) rockets core stage engine. Both TSMUs will connect to the zero-level deck on the mobile launcher, providing fuel and electricity to the SLS rocket before it launches on Exploration Mission 1. The TSMU will undergo testing and validation at the LETF to verify it is functioning properly. The centers Engineering Directorate and the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program are overseeing processing and testing of the umbilicals.

The escape tower is seen as workers prepare to raise the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft into the vertical position on Monday, April 17, 2017 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for April 20 Baikonur time and will carry Expedition 51 Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA into orbit to begin their four and a half month mission on the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Cranes lift the first of the Ares I-X motor segments in order to raise it to vertical and transfer it to a work stand in the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four segments were delivered to Kennedy for final processing and integration. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. The motor is the final hardware needed for the rocket's upcoming test flight this summer. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April.

Wind Generator Blades on a cargo ship.

Windradaufbau Alverdissen Saalberg Windradaufbau Alverdissen Saalberg Copyright: xZoonar.com/MartinaxBergx 6761352

A heavy load transport truck from Tillett Heavy Hauling in Titusville, Florida, arrives at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the second section of the first half of the C-level work platforms, C South, for the agencys Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The platform will be offloaded in the VAB staging area in the west parking lot. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the dock at Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the spent solid rocket booster from space shuttle Endeavour's launch Nov. 14 on mission STS-126 is moved to an area beneath the straddle crane that will lift it out of the water. The space shuttles solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware are recovered at sea. The spent rocket was recovered by NASA's Solid Rocket Booster Retrieval Ship Freedom Star. The boosters impact the Atlantic Ocean approximately seven minutes after liftoff. The splashdown area is a square of about six by nine nautical miles located about 140 nautical miles downrange from the launch pad. The retrieval ships are stationed approximately 8 to 10 nautical miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. As soon as the boosters enter the water, the ships accelerate to a speed of 15 knots and quickly close on the boosters. The pilot chutes and main parachutes are the first items to be brought on b

This image highlights the liquid hydrogen tank that will be used on the core stage of NASAs Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASAs Artemis program. The tank is being built at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. 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 liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit and sits between the core stages intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the cores 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 will produ

A new liquid hydrogen separator tank arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A crane has been attached to the tank to lift and rotate it before it is delivered to Launch Pad 39B. The new separator/storage tank will be added to the pad's existing hydrogen vent system to assure gaseous hydrogen is delivered downstream to the flare stack. The 60,000 gallon tank was built by INOXCVA, in Baytown, Texas, a subcontractor of Precision Mechanical Inc. in Cocoa Florida. The new tank will support all future launches from the pad.

Installing Safe House. Missouri Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding. Photographs Relating to Disasters and Emergency Management Programs, Activities, and Officials

SHIIVER (Structural Heat Intercept Insulation Vibration Evaluation Rig) is a cryogenic test tank developed to evaluate heat intercept concepts. It arrived at Marshall Space Flight Center on August 10, 2017. The tank will receive heat sensors and spray-on foam insulation before making its way to Plum Brook station for further insulation and testing.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The last Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne space shuttle main engine, or SSME, is enclosed in a transportation canister in the Orbiter Processing Facility-3 engine shop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The engine was packed for shipment to NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.The first two groups of engines were shipped from Kennedy to Stennis in November 2011 and January 2012, and the remaining engines are scheduled to depart on April 9. Altogether, 15 shuttle-era engines will be stored at Stennis for reuse on NASAs Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, under development.

special crane equipment working for global road reconstruction

The SLS Stages Intertank Structural Test Assembly (STA) is rolling off the NASA Pegasus Barge at the MSFC Dock enroute to the MSFC 4619 Load Test Annex test facility for qualification testing. STA hardware completely free of barge and flanked by tug boats.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - External tank 134 emerges from the Pegasus barge docked in the turn basin near the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pegasus arrived in Florida after an ocean voyage towed by a solid rocket booster retrieval ship from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. The fuel tank next will be transported into the VAB where it will be stored until needed.ET-134 will be used to launch space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for Feb. 4, 2010.

The Liquid Oxygen Test Article was lifted onto the Kmag. Various electronic components will be installed then the article will be moved into test stand 4697.

RBSP - Radiation Belt Storm Probe Arrival and Offload

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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - As dawn breaks, the Boeing Delta IV second stage arrives at the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) for further processing. It was moved from the Delta Operations Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Delta IV is the launch vehicle for the GOES-N satellite. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) are sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). GOES-N is the first in the next series of GOES satellites, N-P. The multi-mission GOES series N-P will be a vital contributor to weather, solar and space operations and science. The GOES N-P series will aid activities ranging from severe storm warnings to resource management and advances in science. GOES-N is scheduled to launch May 4 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

SPLASH P1 Test 7 Swing Test: Documentation of preparation, set up and results of full scale BTA (Boilerplate Test Article) vertical drop test series performed in 2012 at the LaRC Hydro Impact Basin (HIB)

Technicians and engineers at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, lift a United Launch Alliance/Orbital ATK solid rocket motor for mating to a Delta II rocket in preparation for launch of the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) later this year. JPSS, a next-generation environmental satellite system, is a collaborative program between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Solid Rocket Booster for the Swift-Delta launch is lifted off its transporter on Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The SRB is one of three to be attached to the Boeing Delta rocket that is the launch vehicle for the Swift spacecraft and its Gamma-Ray Burst Mission. Swift is a medium-class Explorer mission managed by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Fire Station No. 2 near the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Fire Rescue Services personnel have deployed and extended the ladder on the aerial fire truck during training in order to be certified in the operation and use of the vehicle. The stabilizers have been deployed on either side of the fire truck.The centers Fire Rescue Services recently achieved Pro Board Certification in aerial fire truck operations. Pro Board Certification is a globally recognized certification that puts on multiple courses that all fire departments throughout the world recognize and use to train their personnel. The unique aerial truck contains a 100-foot extendable ladder with a bucket at the end of it that can be used for rescues from taller buildings or aircraft rescue firefighting.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In an area near S.R. 520 in Orange County, Florida, workers are constructing a steel tower for a Doppler weather radar facility for the 45th Weather Squadron. At left is the radome that will be on top of the tower. The new site replaces one at Patrick Air Force Base. It will be used by NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the 45th Space Wing and their customers. The site will be able to monitor weather conditions directly above and surrounding the launch pads at Kennedy. The weather radar is essential in issuing lightning and other severe weather warnings and vital in evaluating lightning launch commit criteria. The new radar, replacing what was installed 25 years ago at Patrick Air Force Base, includes Doppler capability to detect winds and identify the type, size and number of precipitation particles. The site is ideally distant from the launch pads and has unobstructed views of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy. The radar will be used by forecasters at

In the transfer aisle inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane operated by Jacobs technicians lowers the shipping container with the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) inside onto another transporter on July 20, 2018. The container will be moved to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and

On Feb. 21, 2017 engineers successfully install ESAs European Service Module Propulsion Qualification Module (PQM) at NASAs White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico that was delivered by Airbus - ESAs prime contractor for the Service Module. The module will be equipped with a total of 21 engines to support NASAs Orion spacecraft: one U.S. Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engine, eight auxiliary thrusters and 12 smaller thrusters produced by Airbus Safran Launchers in Germany. The all-steel PQM structure is used to test the propulsion systems on Orion, including hot firing of the OMS engine and thrusters.

After arriving at the Shuttle Landing Facility operated by Space Florida at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency's Super Guppy aircraft was opened and the container holding the Orion crew module structural test article (STA) was offloaded. A crane was used to lower the container onto a transporter. The test article will be moved to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building 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.

ORION Project-(SPLASH) Structural Passive Landing Attenuation for Survivability of Human Crew (BTA) Boiler Plate Test Article Water Impact Test-Pit Phase 4 Test or Pit 4 Tested at the Hydro Impact Basin at the Landing and Impact Research Facility (Gantry)

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The half sections of the 10-foot-diameter fairing for NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, or SMAP, are delivered to the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.The fairing will protect the SMAP spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during its ascent to orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. These measurements will be used to enhance understanding of processes that link the water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capabilities of weather and climate prediction models. SMAP data will also be used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flood prediction and drought monitoring capabilities. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than November 2014.

041103-F-2760K-026. Base: Port Of Djibouti Country: Djibouti (DJI)

TWO CRANES LIFT THE APPROXIMATELY 8,000-POUND INTERIM CRYOGENIC PROPULSION STAGE TEST ARTICLE OUT OF ITS CRATE AT MARSHALL. THE TEST ARTICLE ARRIVED AT MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER VIA BARGE ON THE TENNESSEE RIVER AND WAS TRANSPORTED TO BUILDING 4649 WHERE TESTING WILL BEGIN.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a transportation canister containing a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne space shuttle main engine (SSME) is lifted into position onto a flatbed trailer.This is the second of the 15 engines used during the Space Shuttle Program to be transported to NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The engines will be stored at Stennis for future use on NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), which will carry NASA's new Orion spacecraft, cargo, equipment and science experiments to space.

Teams peform Orion Parachute Test Vehicle (PTV) loading operations on July 22, 2013 in preparation for the July 24 parachute drop test at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

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