NASA Spacecraft Engineering

Images of technicians working on spacecraft in cleanroom environments, illustrating detailed preparations for various NASA missions to Mars and beyond.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) spacecraft is moved away from the Pegasus XL launch vehicle. Foreign object debris shields will be installed before its launch. The GALEX is an orbiting space telescope that will observe galaxies in ultraviolet light across 10 billion years of cosmic history. During its 29-month mission GALEX will produce the first comprehensive map of a Universe of galaxies under construction, bringing more understanding how galaxies like the Milky Way were formed. The GALEX launch date is under review.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians deploy the Solar Wind Electron Analyzer boom on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft. The analyzer will measure the solar wind and electrons in the ionosphere of the Red Planet.MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch in November from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail.

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians remove the protective wrapping from the rocket-powered descent stage for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). The descent stage will fly the MSL rover, Curiosity, during the final moments before landing on Mars.A United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 configuration will be used to loft MSL into space. Curiositys 10 science instruments are designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. MSL is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Nov. 25 with a window extending to Dec. 18 and arrival at Mars Aug. 2012.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Technicians attach a solar array with its associated science boom to the Radiation Belt Storm Probe B at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla. NASA's RBSP mission will help us understand the sun's influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earth's radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff is targeted for Aug. 23, 2012.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians use an overhead crane to lift the cover from NASA's Juno spacecraft before its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system.Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., technicians begin stowing NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's high-gain antenna. The antenna completed a range of motion test. The orbiter will carry seven instruments to provide scientists with detailed maps of the lunar surface and enhance our understanding of the moon's topography, lighting conditions, mineralogical composition and natural resources. Information gleaned from LRO will be used to select safe landing sites, determine locations for future lunar outposts and help mitigate radiation dangers to astronauts. Launch of LRO is targeted no earlier than June 2.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) spacecraft is moved away from the Pegasus XL launch vehicle. Foreign object debris shields will be installed before its launch. The GALEX is an orbiting space telescope that will observe galaxies in ultraviolet light across 10 billion years of cosmic history. During its 29-month mission GALEX will produce the first comprehensive map of a Universe of galaxies under construction, bringing more understanding how galaxies like the Milky Way were formed. The GALEX launch date is under review.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., a crane moves the SV1 spacecraft, toward the SV2 at right. The two spacecraft , which will be mated, are part of the Space Tracking and Surveillance System - Demonstrators, or STSS Demo, Program. The STSS Demo is a space-based sensor component of a layered Ballistic Missile Defense System designed for the overall mission of detecting, tracking and discriminating ballistic missiles. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency between 8 and 8:58 a.m. EDT Sept. 18. Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-04886 (10 SEPT 09)

TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. near NASAs Kennedy Space Center, technicians prepare the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A prior to vertical stacking atop RBSP B.NASAs RBSP mission will help us understand the suns influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earths radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earths Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff is targeted for Aug. 23, 2012.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., the GOES-O satellite is rotated on a stand for blanket inspection. The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O was developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Once in orbit, GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. The GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch April 28 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians help guide the cables lifting the GOES-O satellite away from its shipping container. The satellite will be placed on a stand for final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems. The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O was developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch April 28 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle. Once in orbit, GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. GOES-O will be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. GOES-O carries an advanced attitude control system using star trackers with spacecraft optical bench Imager and Sounder mountings that provide enhanced instrument pointi

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, or PHSF, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers position the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, onto a stand after it was returned back to the clean room from Launch Pad 39A. The payload for Hubble servicing mission 4 comprises four carriers holding various equipment for the mission. In the PHSF, the carriers will be stored until a new target launch date in 2009 can be set for Atlantis STS-125 mission. Atlantis October target launch date was delayed after a device on board Hubble, used in the storage and transmission of science data to Earth, shut down on Sept. 27. Replacing the broken device will be added to Atlantis servicing mission to the telescope.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Personnel from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL in California double-check instrument performance on NASA's International Space Station-RapidScat as testing of its rotating radar antenna is conducted in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are RapidScat project manager John Wirth and JPL flight technician Kieran McKay.Built at JPL, the radar scatterometer is the first scientific Earth-observing instrument designed to operate from the exterior of the space station. It will measure Earth's ocean surface wind speed and direction, providing data to be used in weather and marine forecasting. ISS-RapidScat will be delivered to the station on the SpaceX-4 commercial cargo resupply flight targeted for August 2014.

NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) is being secured in the high bay of the Astrotech processing facility on June 13, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. ICESat-2 was shipped from the Northrop Grumman facility in Gilbert, Arizona, where it was built and tested. The satellite is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg on the final United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, is changing in a warming climate.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Astrotech Space Operations facilities near KSC, workers remove protective covers from the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft now resting on the turnover fixture. Workers will perform the propulsion system phasing test - firing gas through the thrusters in order to verify that the right thrusters fire when expected - as part of prelaunch testing at the site. Launch is scheduled for May 11 from Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The spacecraft will fly past Venus three times and Mercury twice before starting a year-long orbital study of Mercury in July 2009.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility 2 move a solar panel toward the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft (in the background) for installation of the panel. The spacecraft will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. The spacecraft will fly as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets and will take the sharpest pictures yet of the nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. Launch of CONTOUR aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for July 1 from Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers at Astrotech Space Operations hazardous processing facility remove a protective cover around the MESSENGER spacecraft. It was moved the site in preparation for loading the spacecrafts complement of hypergolic propellants. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., bound for Mercury. The spacecraft is expected to reach orbit around Mercury in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Wednesday, July 11, 2018, technicians and engineers prepare to mate NASA's Parker Solar Probe to its third stage, built and tested by Northrup Grumman in Chandler Arizona. 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.

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians have removed the protective wrapping from the rocket-powered descent stage for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). The descent stage will fly the MSL rover, Curiosity, during the final moments before landing on Mars.A United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 configuration will be used to loft MSL into space. Curiositys 10 science instruments are designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. MSL is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Nov. 25 with a window extending to Dec. 18 and arrival at Mars Aug. 2012.

Technicians move NOAAs Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T) inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Jan. 28, 2022. The spacecraft is being prepared for encapsulation inside its protective payload fairings. GOES-T is scheduled to launch on March 1, 2022, atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. GOES-T is the third satellite in the GOES-R series that will continue to help meteorologists observe and predict local weather events that affect public safety. The launch is being managed by NASAs Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Americas multi-user spaceport.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., roll NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, twin spacecraft toward a test stand where they will be processed for launch. GRAIL was built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8.The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.

The GOES-R spacecraft is revealed following its uncrating inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida near NASAs Kennedy Space Center.GOES-R will be the first satellite in a series of next-generation NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. The spacecraft is to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in November.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane is moved toward the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC. The crane will move the SLIC to the payload canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39A. The SLIC is one of four carriers associated with the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. At the pad, all the carriers will be loaded into space shuttle Atlantis payload bay. Launch of Atlantis is targeted for Oct. 10.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. Inside the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers help secure the CALIPSO spacecraft to the upper Delta Payload Attach Fitting (UDPAF). Later the UDPAF will be mated with the lower Delta Payload Attach Fitting, which contains the CloudSat satellite. The PAF is the interface between the spacecraft and the second stage of the rocket. CALIPSO stands for Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation. CALIPSO and CloudSat are highly complementary satellites that will provide never-before-seen 3-D perspectives of how clouds and aerosols form, evolve, and affect weather and climate. CALIPSO and CloudSat will fly in formation with three other satellites in the A-train constellation to enhance understanding of our climate system. Launch of CALIPSO_CloudSat aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for 3 01 a.m. PDT Sept. 29.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In a clean room at Astrotech, workers stand near while the Dawn spacecraft is lifted and moved toward a work stand for solar panel installation. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn is scheduled to launch June 30 aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Multi-Purpose Processing Facility at KSC, workers unpack the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft. SORCE arrived at Kennedy Space Center Oct. 26 to begin final processing. SORCE is equipped with four instruments that will measure variations in solar radiation much more accurately than anything now in use and observe some of the spectral properties of solar radiation for the first time. With data from NASA's SORCE mission, researchers should be able to follow how the Sun affects our climate now and in the future. The SORCE project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The instruments on the SORCE spacecraft are built by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). Launch of SORCE aboard a Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled for mid-December 2002. Launch site is Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., the GOES-O satellite is lowered toward a test stand. The satellite will undergo final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems. The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O was developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch April 28 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle. Once in orbit, GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. GOES-O will be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. GOES-O carries an advanced attitude control system using star trackers with spacecraft optical bench Imager and Sounder mountings that provide enhanced instrument pointing performance for improved image navigation and registration

TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. near NASAs Kennedy Space Center, technicians use a crane to lift the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A for stacking atop RBSP B.NASAs RBSP mission will help us understand the suns influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earths radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earths Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff is targeted for Aug. 23, 2012.

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians have begun the process to stow the power-generating solar arrays for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft.MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A crane lifts shipping material from around NASAs Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution MAVEN spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on Aug. 3, 2013, at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida. MAVEN will be prepared inside the facility for its scheduled November launch to Mars. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A worker carries a base plate segment to the shrouded Space Infrared Telescope Facility. The base plate is being added for the canister. SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space. Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed from the ground. Consisting of an 0.85-meter telescope and three cryogenically cooled science instruments, SIRTF is one of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched. SIRTF is currently scheduled for launch aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., the GOES-O satellite is lowered toward a stand. The satellite will undergo final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems. The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O was developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch April 28 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle. Once in orbit, GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. GOES-O will be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. GOES-O carries an advanced attitude control system using star trackers with spacecraft optical bench Imager and Sounder mountings that provide enhanced instrument pointing performance for improved image navigation and registration to bet

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - One of NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft is exposed to the clean room environment at Astrotech, a payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as workers continue to remove its protective covering. The spacecraft arrived on May 3 and will now undergo final preparations and testing for launch. Liftoff will occur aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the summer. STEREO consists of two spacecraft whose mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-D. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., the GOES-O satellite is rotated on a stand for blanket inspection. The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O was developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Once in orbit, GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. The GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch April 28 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle.

NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System-1, or JPSS-1, remains wrapped in a protective covering after removal from its shipping container at the Astrotech Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Technicians assist as a crane lifts the spacecraft up for its move to a payload attach fitting. JPSS-1 will liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex-2. JPSS-1 is the first in a series of four next-generation environmental satellites in a collaborative program between NOAA and NASA.

At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers inspect NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S). The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers remove NOAA's Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) from its shipping container. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

GOES-P MOVE TO FUELING STAND & MEDIA DAY

In the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility 2, workers place a protective barrier around the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Odyssey will undergo final assembly and checkout in the SAEf-2, which includes installation of two of the three science instruments, integration of the three-panel solar array, and a spacecraft functional test. Odyssey, which arrived from Denver, Colo., Jan. 4, will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta II vehicle from Pad A, Complex 17, CCAFS. Launch is planned for April 7, 2001 the first day of a 21-day planetary window. The spacecraft will arrive at Mars on Oct. 20, 2001, for insertion into an initial elliptical capture orbit. Its final operational altitude will be a 250-mile-high, Sun-synchronous polar orbit. Mars Odyssey will spend two years mapping the planets surface and measuring its environment

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., Lockheed Martin technicians verify that NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory-A (GRAIL-A) lunar probe is positioned correctly on the spacecraft adapter ring. After the twin GRAIL spacecraft are attached to the adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration, they will be transported to the launch pad.GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8.

Inside the Astrotech Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians and engineers remove protective wrapping from the Joint Polar Satellite System-1, or JPSS-1. JPSS is the first in a series four next-generation environmental satellites in a collaborative program between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. The satellite is scheduled to liftoff Nov. 10, 2017 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to hoist the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft, or MAVEN, onto the rotation fixture for further testing and prelaunch preparations next week. MAVEN is being readied for its scheduled November launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to Mars. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail.

GOES-P UNBAGGING & ROTATION

Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, engineers and technicians remove a protective covering from NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, spacecraft. SMAP will launch on a Delta II 7320 configuration vehicle featuring a United Launch Alliance first stage booster powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, strap-on solid rocket motors. Once on station in Earth orbit, SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. These measurements will be used to enhance understanding of processes that link the water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capabilities of weather and climate prediction models. SMAP data also will be used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flood prediction and drought monitoring capabilities. Launch from Space Launch Complex 2 is targeted for Jan. 29, 2015.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility, technicians lower NASA's Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, spacecraft toward the payload attach fitting. The fitting will eventually be used to mate GLAST to the Delta II launch vehicle. The GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the Universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our Universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. A launch date still is to be determined.

The Orion crew module for Artemis 1 is lifted by crane on July 16, 2019, in the high bay inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew module is being moved to the final assembly and test cell and work will begin to secure it atop the service module. The Orion spacecraft is being prepared for its uncrewed test flight atop NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Artemis 1 is the first test flight of the SLS and Orion spacecraft as an integrated system. Orion will travel thousands of miles beyond the Moon during a mission that will test its systems in space. The spacecraft will return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean where it will be retrieved and transported back to Kennedy.

Completion of the thermal blanket patterns for the Aquarius bipod after routing the flight harness from the SAC-D service platform.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base's Astrotech processing facility in California, technicians help guide NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, spacecraft to the flight conical adapter and test stand. The satellite will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects, which will be catalogued, providing a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. Launch is scheduled no earlier than Dec. 7.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., spacecraft technicians start the process of stowing the high-gain communications antenna on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, following testing to verify the spacecraft's readiness for 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. Liftoff on an Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2010.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, the IMAX 3D camera is lowered toward the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, for installation. The carrier will be installed in space shuttle Atlantis payload bay. The camera will record the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Space shuttle Atlantis' 11-day flight is targeted for launch May 12 and will include five spacewalks in which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians guide an overhead crane as it lowers the pump module assembly plate toward the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier, or LMC. The module assembly will be used to secure the return of a failed ammonia pump module in shuttle Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis and its payload are 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STEREO observatories are the focus of attention at a media viewing held at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., on Aug. 11. The two observatories were mated for launch but will separate into different orbits for their mission. STEREO stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory. The STEREO mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-dimension. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. STEREO is expected to lift off on Aug. 31, from Launch Pad 17-B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., place a protective cover around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla. Bagging the Mercury-bound MESSENGER precedes its placement in a transportation canister for the journey to Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff of MESSENGER aboard a Boeing Delta II Heavy rocket is scheduled for Aug. 2. The spacecraft is expected to reach orbit around the planet in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., spacecraft technicians make final preparations to test the release mechanism sequence for the solar arrays on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, using signal commands.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. Liftoff on an Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2010.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility 2 complete the installation of a solar panel onto the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft. The spacecraft will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. The spacecraft will fly as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets and will take the sharpest pictures yet of the nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. Launch of CONTOUR aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for July 1 from Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians install a radome over the antenna for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft. The radome is a coated kapton cover providing thermal protection for the high gain antenna while not interfering with radio frequency transmissions from the spacecraft.MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch in November from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., Boeing technicians check the position of the GOES-N satellite after its rotation to a vertical position. The solar panel is now behind it on the right. Since its arrival on March 11, the satellite has been undergoing final testing by Boeing Satellite Systems of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) are sponsored by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GOES-N is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2) with a 3-burn second stage operation.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., the solar panels on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, have been stowed for 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. Liftoff on an Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2010.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- After illumination testing of the solar array panels, technicians complete stowing the panels on the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft. The Phoenix will be launched toward Mars to land in icy soils near the planet's north polar permanent ice cap. It will explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing on Mars is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil. Phoenix is scheduled to launch Aug. 3 from Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station .

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center prepare to lift the Flight Support System for the Hubble Space Telescope from its transportation canister. The Flight Support System, or FSS, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, and the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, have also arrived at Kennedy. The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in late July. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the Hubble servicing mission, targeted for launch Oct. 8.

In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, technicians and engineers deploy the magnetometer boom on NASA's Parker Solar Probe. 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 no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. 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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes A and B are secured to work stands in the Astrotech payload processing facility, where technicians work to clean and inspect the two spacecraft.The Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, mission will help us understand the suns influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earths radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane begins to lift the Hubble Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS. The FGS will be integrated onto the Orbital Replacement Unit carrier in the clean room of the facility. The sensor will extend the life of the pointing control system on the Hubble Space Telescope. On the mission, this FGS will replace one of the three sensors that is failing and thus outfit the telescope with two completely healthy units, which are needed. A third, older FGS aboard the telescope will provide additional target-pointing efficiency and redundancy. Space shuttle Atlantis is targeted to launch on the STS-125 mission Oct. 8.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., engineers move one of the two STEREO spacecraft to a workstand for installation of the solar arrays. Under black protective wrap on the left is the Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) package of four instruments that will study the 3-D evolution of coronal mass ejections, from birth at the Sun's surface through the corona and interplanetary medium to its eventual impact at Earth. STEREO consists of two spacecraft whose mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-D. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. Preparations are under way for a liftoff aboard a Delta rocket no earlier than July 22.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are ready to move the Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS, for integration onto the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC. An FGS consists of a large structure housing a collection of mirrors, lenses, servos, prisms, beam splitters and photomultiplier tubes. There are three fine guidance sensors on Hubble located at 90-degree intervals around the circumference of the telescope. Along with the gyroscopes, the optical sensors are a key component of Hubbles highly complex but extraordinarily effective “pointing control system.” Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane is moved above the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3, for attachment. The WFC3 will be lifted and transferred to a work stand. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. WFC3 is part of the payload on the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, STS-125, targeted for launch Oct. 8.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech, technicians move the first segment of the lower canister around the upper stage booster below the Dawn spacecraft. When enclosed in the canister, Dawn will be transported to Launch Pad 17-B and lifted into the mobile service tower for mating with the Delta II launch vehicle. The Delta II-Heavy, manufactured by the United Launch Alliance, is scheduled to launch the Dawn spacecraft on its 4-year flight to the asteroid belt. The Delta II-Heavy will use three stages and nine solid-fueled booster rockets to propel Dawn on its way. A 9.5-foot payload fairing will protect the spacecraft from the heat and stresses of launch. Dawn's goal is to characterize the conditions and processes of the solar system's earliest epoch by investigating in detail the largest protoplanets that have remained intact since their formations: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. They reside in the extensive zone between Mars and Jupiter together with many other

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base's Astrotech processing facility in California, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, spacecraft is lowered toward the flight conical adapter and test stand. The satellite will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects, which will be catalogued, providing a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. Launch is scheduled no earlier than Dec. 7.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers remove the protective covering from around the second of two of NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft in the clean room at Astrotech, a payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft arrived on May 3 and will now undergo final preparations and testing for launch. Liftoff will occur aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the summer. STEREO consists of two spacecraft whose mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-D. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida put NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, known as Curiosity, through a series of rotation tests.A United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 configuration will be used to loft MSL into space. Curiositys 10 science instruments are designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. MSL is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Nov. 25 with a window extending to Dec. 18 and arrival at Mars Aug. 2012.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., the Solar Dynamics Observatory is lowered onto the Ransome table. The table will be used to rotate the spacecraft in various directions for access to different areas of the spacecraft. 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 its anticipated November 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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center roll the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, or COS, into position in the clean room of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility for instrument testing. The COS will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission. COS will be the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever flown on Hubble and will probe the "cosmic web" - the large-scale structure of the universe whose form is determined by the gravity of dark matter and is traced by galaxies and intergalactic gas. COS's far-ultraviolet channel has a sensitivity 30 times greater than that of previous spectroscopic instruments for the detection of extremely low light levels. Launch of STS-125 is targeted for Oct. 8.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- -- In the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF), the Hitchhiker Bridge is lowered onto a workstand. The bridge is a carrier for the Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research (FREESTAR) that incorporates eight high priority secondary attached shuttle experiments on mission STS-107. A research mission, the primary payload is the first flight of the SHI Research Double Module (SHI/RDM), also known as SPACEHAB. The experiments range from material sciences to life sciences. STS-107 is scheduled to launch July 11, 2002

CAPE CANAVERAL, FIa. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, astronauts Robert Behnken (left) and Michael Foreman (right) inspect the flexible hose rotary coupler that will fly on the STS-126 mission Nov. 14. Although not associated with the mission, Foreman and Behnken are crew members of the EVA branch who are providing their expertise for hardware going on the International Space Station. On the STS-126 mission, space shuttle Endeavour will deliver a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the International Space Station.

Team members assist as a crane moves the Advanced Base Line Imager, the primary optical instruments, for installation on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida near NASAs Kennedy Space Center. GOES-R will be the first satellite in a series of next-generation NOAA GOES Satellites. The spacecraft is to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in November.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., the Solar Dynamics Observatory is fitted with a crane to lift it from the work stand. The spacecraft will be moved onto a Ransome table that will allow it to be rotated in various directions for access to different areas of the spacecraft. 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 its anticipated November 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.

Inside the high bay of the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians assist as a crane lowers NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) onto the payload adapter on Aug. 30, 2018. ICESat-2 is being prepared for its scheduled launch from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg on the final United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS). ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, are changing in a warming climate.

Members of the media were given the opportunity to view and photograph the Solar Orbiter spacecraft up close inside the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, on Dec. 16, 2019. Representatives from NASAs Launch Services Program (LSP), the European Space Agency (ESA), United Launch Alliance (ULA), Airbus Defence and Space, and NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center provided an overview of the mission, spacecraft and launch vehicle. Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and NASA, and the spacecraft has been developed by Airbus. The mission will study the Sun and how it can affect the space environment throughout the solar system, and it also will provide the first images of the Suns poles. Solar Orbiter is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Stations Space Launch Complex 41 aboard a ULA Atlas V rocket at 11:27 p.m. EST on Feb. 5, 2020. LSP will manage the launch.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers begin removing the protective cover from the Hubble Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS. The FGS will be integrated onto the Orbital Replacement Unit carrier in the clean room of the facility. The sensor will extend the life of the pointing control system on the Hubble Space Telescope. On the mission, this FGS will replace one of the three sensors that is failing and thus outfit the telescope with two completely healthy units, which are needed. A third, older FGS aboard the telescope will provide additional target-pointing efficiency and redundancy. Space shuttle Atlantis is targeted to launch on the STS-125 mission Oct. 8.

At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers inspect NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S). The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Technicians attach NASAs Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) to the Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on Sept. 10, 2019. The Pegasus XL rocket, attached beneath the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, will launch ICON from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Launch is scheduled for Oct. 9, 2019. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology and communications systems.

CAPE CANAVERAL, FIa. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an overhead crane is maneuvered above the flexible hose rotary coupler. After attachment, the crane will lift and move the coupler to the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier for installation. The carrier will be installed in space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. The 15-day flight will deliver equipment and supplies to the space station in preparation for expansion from a three- to six-person resident crew aboard the complex. The mission also will include four spacewalks to service the stations Solar Alpha Rotary Joints.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare for a control moment gyroscope to be lifted by crane from a work stand. The gyroscope will be installed on an EXPRESS Logistics Carrier for flight. The carrier is part of the STS-129 payload on space shuttle Atlantis, which 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. STS-129 is targeted to launch Nov. 12.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians at Astrotech's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. have positioned the solar arrays onto NASA's Juno spacecraft for installation. Later in processing, the magnetometer will be installed; a solar array illumination and magnetometer boom deployment test also are planned.Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians remove the protective cover from NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover known as Curiosity, before processing and testing.A United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 configuration will be used to loft MSL into space. Curiositys 10 science instruments are designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. MSL is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Nov. 25 with a window extending to Dec. 18 and arrival at Mars Aug. 2012.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., technicians conduct deployment tests on solar array panel #1 with its magnetometer boom for NASA's Juno spacecraft prior to illumination testing.Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Wednesday, July 11, 2018, technicians and engineers use a crane to move NASA's Parker Solar Probe into position for mating to its third stage, built and tested by Northrup Grumman in Chandler Arizona. 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 the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the Mars Exploration Rover-2 (MER-2) is tested for mobility and maneuverability over a setup of ramps. Set to launch in Spring 2003, the MER Mission will consist of two identical rovers designed to cover roughly 110 yards each Martian day over various terrain. Each rover will carry five scientific instruments that will allow it to search for evidence of liquid water that may have been present in the planet's past. The rovers will be identical to each other, but will land at different regions of Mars. The first rover has a launch window opening May 30, and the second rover a window opening June 25.

Workers at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, hoist a telescopic camera for installation onto NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on Dec. 11, 2004.

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians use an overhead crane to lower the aeroshell, a component of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), onto a spin stand for testing. The aeroshell consists of the backshell which carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent and landing, and the spacecraft's heat shield.MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., preparations are under way to determine the weight of one of NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar spacecraft before the spacecraft are stacked in their launch configuration in readiness for transport to the launch pad.GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., spacecraft technicians monitor one of the solar panels on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, as it is lowered toward the spacecraft following testing to verify the spacecraft's readiness for 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. Liftoff on an Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2010.

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Part of NASA's International Space Station-RapidScat scatterometer instrument is revealed after removal of its shipping container inside Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility.ISS-RapidScat is the first scientific Earth-observing instrument designed to operate from the exterior of the space station. It will measure Earth's ocean surface wind speed and direction, providing data to be used in weather and marine forecasting. Built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ISS-RapidScat is slated to fly on the SpaceX-4 commercial cargo resupply flight in 2014.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Astrotech payload processing facility at Port Canaveral, Fla., workers dressed in clean room attire, known as bunny suits, prepare to close the hatch of the Russian-built Mini-Research Module-1, or MRM-1, for flight. The six-member crew of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-132 mission will deliver an Integrated Cargo Carrier and the MRM-1, known as Rassvet, to the International Space Station. The second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia, MRM-1 will be permanently attached to the Earth-facing port of the Zarya control module. Rassvet, which translates to 'dawn,' will be used for cargo storage and will provide an additional docking port to the station. STS-132 is the 34th mission to the station and the 132nd space shuttle mission. Launch is targeted for May 14.

JPSS-2 Spacecraft Mate to Spacecraft Adapter. Technicians prepare the spacecraft adapter to be attached to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-2) inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Oct. 4, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series. It is scheduled to lift off from VSFB on Nov. 1 from Space Launch Complex-3. JPSS-2, which will be renamed NOAA-21 after reaching orbit, will join a constellation of JPSS satellites that orbit from the North to the South pole, circling Earth 14 times a day and providing a full view of the entire globe twice daily.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center move the Hubble vertical platform toward the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier for the Hubble Space Telescope, to which it will be mated. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. SLIC is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, and the Flight Support System, or FSS, have also arrived at Kennedy.The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in early August. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope sci

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians garbed in protective wear, commonly known as 'bunny suits,' install cargo inside the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module for shuttle Atlantis' flight to the International Space Station.Atlantis and its payload is being prepared for the STS-135 mission, which will deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the station. Atlantis is targeted to launch June 28, and will be the last shuttle flight for the Space Shuttle Program.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Inside the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers prepare the CALIPSO spacecraft for weighing. CALIPSO stands for Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation. It will fly in combination with the CloudSat satellite to provide never-before-seen 3-D perspectives of how clouds and aerosols form, evolve, and affect weather and climate. CALIPSO and CloudSat will join three other satellites in orbit to enhance understanding of climate systems. The two satellites will launch aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket no earlier than Oct. 1 from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg.

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