NASA's Space Operations and Testing

Photos of crew members and spacecraft inside NASA facilities, focusing on equipment testing and training for upcoming space missions.

With workers looking on, STS-100 crew members check out equipment inside the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, located in the Space Station Processing Facility. Standing at center is Mission Specialist Umberto Guidoni, with the European Space Agency. Kneeling at right is Commander Kent Rominger. Mission STS-100, scheduled to launch April 19, 2001, will include Raffaello as well as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) as its payload. MPLMs are pressurized modules that will serve as the International Space Station's moving vans,” carrying laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies to and from the station aboard the Space Shuttle. The SSRMS is the primary means of transferring payloads between the orbiter payload bay and the International Space Station for assembly

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, members of the STS-124 crew get a close look at equipment on the Japanese Experiment Module, called Kibo, including the Remote Manipulator System, or RMS, two robotic arms that support operations on the outside of the Kibo. Crew members are at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test that includes familiarization with tools and equipment that will be used on the mission. The STS-124 mission is the second of three flights that will launch components to complete the Japanese pressurized module, the Kibo laboratory. The mission will include two spacewalks to install the new lab and its remote manipulator system. The lab's logistics module, which will have been installed in a temporary location during STS-123, will be attached to the new lab.

In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, members of the STS-106 crew familiarize themselves with equipment in the payload bay of Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis with the help of KSC employees as part of Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) activities for their mission. The STS-106 crew members are Commander Terrence W. Wilcutt, Pilot Scott D. Altman, and Mission Specialists Edward T. Lu, Daniel C. Burbank, Yuri I. Malenchenko, Boris V. Morukov and Richard A. Mastracchio. Malenchenko and Morukov represent the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. On the 11-day mission, the seven-member crew will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the living quarters in the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module for the first long-duration crew, dubbed "Expedition One," which is due to arrive at the Station in late fall. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:31 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B

With workers looking on, STS-100 crew members check out equipment inside the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, located in the Space Station Processing Facility. Standing at center is Mission Specialist Umberto Guidoni, with the European Space Agency. Kneeling at right is Commander Kent Rominger. Mission STS-100, scheduled to launch April 19, 2001, will include Raffaello as well as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) as its payload. MPLMs are pressurized modules that will serve as the International Space Station's moving vans,” carrying laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies to and from the station aboard the Space Shuttle. The SSRMS is the primary means of transferring payloads between the orbiter payload bay and the International Space Station for assembly

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lowered on a movable work platform or bucket inside the payload bay of orbiter Endeavour, STS-88 Mission Specialists Jerry L. Ross (far right) and James H. Newman (second from right) get a close look at the Orbiter Docking System. At left is the bucket operator and Wayne Wedlake, with United Space Alliance at Johnson Space Center. The STS-88 crew members are in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1 to participate in a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) to familiarize themselves with the orbiter's midbody and crew compartments. Targeted for liftoff on Dec. 3, 1998, STS-88 will be the first Space Shuttle launch for assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). The primary payload is the Unity connecting module which will be mated to the Russian-built Zarya control module, expected to be already on orbit after a November launch from Russia. While on orbit during STS-88, Unity will be latched atop the Orbiter Docking System in the forward section of Endeavo

A Daimler-Benz Aerospace staff member installs thermal blanket insulation on the back cover of the Huygens probe in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC in July. Instruments mounted on the probe, which is owned by the European Space Agency (ESA), will receive atmospheric and surface data on Saturns main moon, Titan, to send back to Earth as part of the Cassini mission. The back cover, yet to be attached to the Cassini orbiter, will protect the probe during descent onto Titan. A four-year, close-up study of the Saturnian system, the mission is scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Station in October 1997. It will take seven years for the spacecraft to reach Saturn. Aerospatiale is the prime contractor for ESA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers check the equipment in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, which is the payload for the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. The 15-day flight will deliver equipment and supplies to the International 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 station Solar Alpha Rotary Joints. Leonardo holds supplies and equipment, including equipment for the regenerative life support system, additional crew quarters and exercise equipment and spare hardware.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-104 Mission Specialist James F. Reilly II checks out a piece of equipment. The crew is at KSC to take part in Crew Equipment Interface Test activities. Reilly will perform three spacewalks during the mission, which will carry the Joint Airlock Module to the International Space Station. The U.S.-made module will allow astronauts and cosmonauts in residence on the Station to perform future spacewalks without the presence of a Space Shuttle. The module, which comprises a crew lock and an equipment lock, will be connected to the starboard (right) side of Node 1 Unity. Atlantis will also carry oxygen and nitrogen storage tanks, vital to operation of the Joint Airlock, on a Spacelab Logistics Double Pallet in the payload bay. The tanks, to be installed on the perimeter of the Joint Module during the missions spacewalks, will support future spacewalk operations and experiments plus agument the resupply system for the

Astronaut Stephen Oswald, at left, explains Shuttle operations to Ohio Senator John Glenn on the orbiter Columbia's middeck at the Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at Kennedy Space Center. Senator Glenn arrived at KSC on Jan. 20 to tour KSC operational areas and to view the launch of STS-89 later this week. Glenn, who made history in 1962 as the first American to orbit the Earth, completing three orbits in a five-hour flight aboard Friendship 7, will fly his second space mission aboard Space Shuttle Discovery this October. Glenn is retiring from the Senate at the end of this year and will be a payload specialist aboard STS-95

STS-91 crew members participate in the Crew Equipment Interface Test, or CEIT, in KSC's Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2. From left to right are STS-91 Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz, Ph.D., and Janet Kavandi, Ph.D., along with Kieth Johnson, an EVA trainer/flight controller from Johnson Space Center. During CEIT, the crew have an opportunity to get a hands-on look at the payloads with which they'll be working on-orbit. The STS-91 crew are scheduled to launch aboard the Shuttle Discovery for the ninth and final docking with the Russian Space Station Mir from KSC's Launch Pad 39A on May 28 at 8:05 EDT

In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1, STS-102 Pilot James W. Kelly (left) looks on while Mission Specialist Paul W. Richards checks out equipment in Discoverys payload bay. The crew is at KSC for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities. STS-102 is the 8th construction flight to the International Space Station and will carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. STS-102 is scheduled for launch March 1, 2001. On that flight, Leonardo will be filled with equipment and supplies to outfit the U.S. laboratory module Destiny. The mission will also be carrying the Expedition Two crew to the Space Station, replacing the Expedition One crew who will return on Shuttle Discovery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-114 Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson (right) learns about the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) from Louise Kleba (left), with United Space Alliance at KSC, and Jennifer Goldsmith (center), with USA at Johnson Space Center. Crew members are at KSC becoming familiar with Shuttle and mission equipment. The mission is Logistics Flight 1, which is scheduled to deliver supplies and equipment plus the external stowage platform to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, members of the STS-123 crew get hands-on experience with the mission payload, the Kibo Experiment Logistics Module Pressurized Section. They are at the center for a crew equipment interface test, which allows familiarization with equipment they will use during the mission. Crew members are Commander Dominic Gorie, Pilot Gregory Johnson and Mission Specialists Richard Linnehan, Takao Doi, Robert Behnken, Gerrett Reisman and Michael Foreman. Doi represents the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Reisman will remain on the space station after the mission as a flight engineer for Expedition 16. STS-123 will carry and install one of the components of the Japanese Experiment Module, or JEM. Known as Kibo, the JEM comprises six components: two research facilities -- the Pressurized Module and Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Space Station Processing Facility work in the doorway of the Unity connecting module preparing it for closure before its launch aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-88 in December. Unity will now undergo a series of leak checks before a final purge of clean, dry air inside the module to ready it for initial operations in space. Other testing includes the common berthing mechanism to which other space station elements will dock and the Pad Demonstration Test to verify the compatibility of the module with the Space Shuttle as well as the ability of the astronauts to send and receive commands to Unity from the flight deck of the orbiter. The next time the hatch will be opened it will be by astronauts on orbit. Unity is expected to be ready for installation into the payload canister on Oct. 25, and transported to Launch Pad 39-A on Oct. 27. The Unity will be mated to the Russian-built Zarya control module which should already be in orbit at tha

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Boeing workers secure the first half of the fairing installed around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the upper stage booster and forms an aerodynamically smooth joint, protecting the spacecraft during launch. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket and is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, members of the STS-111 and Expedition 5 crews look over the payload. installed in Endeavour's payload bay. From left are Mission Specialists Philippe Perrin (kneeling) and Franklin Chang-Diaz, and Expedition 5 Commander Valeri Korzun, Sergei Treschev and Peggy Whitson. Perrin with the French Space Agency; Korzun and Treschev are with the Russian Space Agency. The crews are at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include payload familiarization and a simulated launch countdown. The mission crew also includes Commander Kenneth Cockrell and Pilot Paul Lockhart. The payload on the mission to the International Space Station includes the Mobile Base System, an Orbital Replacement Unit and Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The Expedition 5 crew is traveling on Endeavour to replace the Expedition 4 crew on the Station. Launch of Endeavour is scheduled for May 30, 2002.

STS-132 MINI RESEARCH MODULE-1 CARGO STORAGE

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-127 Mission Specialists Tom Marshburn (left) and Julie Payette get a close look at the payload in space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay. The payload includes the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility, or JEM-EF and the Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, or ELM-ES. The astronauts are at Kennedy to prepare for launch through Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities. The TCDT includes equipment familiarization and a simulated launch countdown. Endeavour's STS-127 mission is the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japanese Kibo laboratory complex on the International Space Station. Endeavour's launch is targeted for June 13.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialists Joseph Tanner (left) and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (right) look over the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Pressurized Module located in the Space Station Processing Facility. Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities -- the Pressurized Module and Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. The STS-115 mission will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 Truss, to attach to the first port truss segment, the P1 Truss, as well as deploy solar array sets 2A and 4A.. The crew is scheduled to activate and check out the Solar

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 crew participate in a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Here, from left, Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, and Pilot Eric Boe are dressed in clean room attire for a walkthrough of the multi-purpose logistics module. The CEIT provides hands-on experience with hardware and equipment slated to fly on their mission. Endeavour will deliver a multi-purpose logistics module to the International Space Station on the STS-126 mission. Launch is targeted for Nov. 10.

In a clean room inside the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Ball Aerospace technicians conduct a final cleaning and inspection of the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) on NASAs National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. NPP is targeted to launch Oct. 28 from Space Launch Complex-2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-97 Mission Specialists Carlos Noriega (left) and Joe Tanner check out the mission payload, the P6 integrated truss segment. Mission STS-97 is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. The P6 comprises Solar Array Wing-3 and the Integrated Electronic Assembly, to be installed on the International Space Station. The Stations electrical power system will use eight photovoltaic solar arrays, each 112 feet long by 39 feet wide, to convert sunlight to electricity. The solar arrays are mounted on a “blanket” that can be folded like an accordion for delivery. Once in orbit, astronauts will deploy the blankets to their full size. Gimbals will be used to rotate the arrays so that they will face the Sun to provide maximum power to the Space Station. The mission includes two spacewalks by Noriega and Tanner to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:0

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Mission specialist Kathryn "Kay" Hire, at left, assigned to the crew of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission, takes a tour of the Tranquility Node 3 module in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Assisting her, at right, is Chris Hardcastle, an STS-130 flight crew representative with United Space Alliance.Tranquility is a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the International Space Station's life support systems. Attached to the node is a cupola, a unique work station with six windows on its sides and one on top. Tranquility is the payload for the STS-130 mission. The module was built for the European Space Agency by Alenia Spazio in Turin, Italy. Cupola resembles a circular bay window that will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. Just under 10 feet in diameter, the module will accommodate two crew members and portable workstations that can control station and robotic activi

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, which is in the Space Station Processing Facility, workers begin removing the containers returned from the International Space Station on mission STS-102. The MPLM brought back to KSC nearly a ton of trash and excess equipment from the Space Station. Leonardo is one of three MPLMs built by the Italian Space Agency to serve as cargo vans” to the Station, carrying supplies and equipment. In the SSPF, Leonardo will be prepared for a future mission

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 39B, STS-103 Mission Specialist C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.) looks over the Hubble servicing cargo in the payload bay of Space Shuttle Discovery. The activity is part of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT), which also provides the crew with emergency egress training and a simulated countdown exercise. Other crew members taking part in the TCDT are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly, and Mission Specialists Steven L. Smith, John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), Jean-François Clervoy of France, and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland. Clervoy and Nicollier are with the European Space Agency. STS-103 is a "call-up" mission due to the need to replace and repair portions of the Hubble Space Telescope, including the gyroscopes that allow the telescope to point at stars, galaxies and planets. The STS-103 crew will be replacing a Fine Guidance Sensor, an older computer with a new enhanced model, an older data tape recorder with a solid-sta

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, STS-115 Mission Specialist Joe Tanner is removing the P3 truss multiplexer-demultiplexer launch to activation multilayer installation blanket. He and other crew members are at the center for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities. Equipment familiarization is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations. The mission will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 Truss, to attach to the first port truss segment, the P1 Truss, as well as deploy solar array set 2A and 4A. Launch on Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for late August.

The propulsion system is mated to the Lower Equipment Module of the Cassini spacecraft in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF). Cassini will explore the Saturnian system, including the planets rings and its moon, Titan. Launch of the Cassini mission to Saturn is scheduled for Oct. 6 from Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Air Station, aboard a Titan IVB unmanned vehicle

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-97 Mission Specialist Carlos Noriega checks out the mission payload, the P6 integrated truss segment, while Mission Specialist Joe Tanner looks on. Mission STS-97 is the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. The P6 comprises Solar Array Wing-3 and the Integrated Electronic Assembly, to be installed on the International Space Station. The Stations electrical power system will use eight photovoltaic solar arrays, each 112 feet long by 39 feet wide, to convert sunlight to electricity. The solar arrays are mounted on a “blanket” that can be folded like an accordion for delivery. Once in orbit, astronauts will deploy the blankets to their full size. Gimbals will be used to rotate the arrays so that they will face the Sun to provide maximum power to the Space Station. The mission includes two spacewalks by Noriega and Tanner to complete the solar array connections. STS-97 is scheduled to laun

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers take inventory of the contents of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, which is in the Space Station Processing Facility. The MPLM has just returned from its maiden voyage to the International Space Station aboard Discovery on mission STS-102. It has brought back to KSC nearly a ton of trash and excess equipment from the Space Station. Leonardo is one of three MPLMs built by the Italian Space Agency to serve as cargo vans to the Station, carrying supplies and equipment. In the SSPF, Leonardo will be prepared for a future mission

In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-106 Mission Specialists Edward T. Lu (center) and Yuri I. Malenchenko (right) familiarize themselves with equipment in the payload bay of Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis with the help of KSC employees as part of Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) activities for their mission. The other crew members are Commander Terrence W. Wilcutt, Pilot Scott D. Altman, and Mission Specialists Daniel C. Burbank, Boris V. Morukov and Richard A. Mastracchio. Malenchenko and Morukov represent the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. On the 11-day mission, the seven-member crew will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the living quarters in the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module for the first long-duration crew, dubbed "Expedition One," which is due to arrive at the Station in late fall. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:31 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility begin installing blanket insulation on Deep Space 1. The first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program, Deep Space 1 is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. Onboard experiments include an ion propulsion engine and software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but may also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999. Deep Space 1 will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7326 rocket from Launch Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, in October. Delta II rockets are medium capacity expendable launch vehicles derived from the Delta family of rockets built and launched since 1960. Since then there have been more than 245 Delta launches

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-119 crew members get a close look at the cargo installed in space shuttle Discovery's payload bay. The cargo consists of the integrated truss structure S6 and solar arrays. The astronauts are at Kennedy to prepare for launch through Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities. The TCDT includes equipment familiarization and a simulated launch countdown. Discovery is targeted to launch on the STS-119 mission Feb. 12. During Discovery's 14-day mission, the crew will install the S6 truss segment and solar arrays to the starboard side of the International Space Station, completing the station's truss, or backbone.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- KSC payloads processing employees work to reservice the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module in the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbias payload bay for the STS-94 mission in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. That mission is now scheduled to lift off in early July. This was the first time that this type of payload was reserviced without removing it from the payload bay. This new procedure pioneers processing efforts for quick relaunch turnaround times for future payloads. The Spacelab module was scheduled to fly again with the full complement of STS-83 experiments after that mission was cut short due to a faulty fuel cell. During the scheduled 16-day STS-94 mission, the experiments will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments

In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, the STS-106 crew familiarizes themselves with equipment in the payload bay of Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis with the help of KSC employees as part of Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) activities for their mission. The STS-106 crew members are Commander Terrence W. Wilcutt, Pilot Scott D. Altman, and Mission Specialists Edward T. Lu, Daniel C. Burbank, Yuri I. Malenchenko, Boris V. Morukov and Richard A. Mastracchio. Malenchenko and Morukov represent the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. On the 11-day mission, the seven-member crew will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the living quarters in the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module for the first long-duration crew, dubbed "Expedition One," which is due to arrive at the Station in late fall. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:31 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B

A KSC payloads processing employee removes a protective sheath part of the Node 1 in its work stand in the Space Station Processing Facility. The module is the first element of the International Space Station to be manufactured in the United States and the first scheduled to be launched on the Space Shuttle. The Node 1 is currently scheduled to lift off aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in July 1998, along with Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMAs) 1 and 2. The 18-foot-in-diameter, 22-foot-long aluminum module was manufactured by the Boeing Co. at Marshall Space Flight Center. Once in space, the Node 1 will function as a connecting passageway to the living and working areas of the International Space Station. It has six hatches that will serve as docking ports to the U.S. laboratory module, U.S. habitation module, an airlock and other space station elements

In the Space Station Processing Facility, Marsha Ivins (center), a mission specialist on the STS-98 crew, talks with Suzanne Fase, (left) and Melissa Orozco (right), members of the U.S. Laboratory's processing team. The laboratory module, considered the centerpiece of the International Space Station (ISS), has been named "Destiny" in honor of its prominent role in the worlds largest science and technology effort. It is planned for launch aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on the sixth ISS construction flight, currently targeted for March 2000.

Members of the STS-102 crew check out Discoverys payload bay in the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1. Dressed in green, they are Mission Specialist Paul W. Richards (left) and Pilot James W. Kelly. The crew is at KSC for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities. Above their heads on the left side are two of the experiments being carried on the flight. STS-102 is the 8th construction flight to the International Space Station and will carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. STS-102 is scheduled for launch March 1, 2001. On that flight, Leonardo will be filled with equipment and supplies to outfit the U.S. laboratory module Destiny. The mission will also be carrying the Expedition Two crew to the Space Station, replacing the Expedition One crew who will return on Shuttle Discovery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-99 Mission Specialists Janet Lynn Kavandi (Ph.D.) and Gerhard P.J. Thiele look over part of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), primary payload for their mission, as part of a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT). Also taking part in the CEIT are Commander Kevin R. Kregel, Pilot Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie, and Mission Specialists Janice Voss (Ph.D.) and Mamoru Mohri. Mohri is with the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan, and Thiele is with the European Space Agency. The CEIT provides an opportunity for crew members to check equipment and facilities that will be aboard the orbiter during their mission. The SRTM is a specially modified radar system that will gather data for the most accurate and complete topographic map of the Earth's surface that has ever been assembled. SRTM will make use of radar interferometry, wherein two radar images are taken from slightly different locations. Differences b

The protective canister is removed from around the Stardust spacecraft at Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Station. Preparations continue for liftoff of the Boeing Delta II rocket carrying Stardust on Feb. 6. Stardust is destined for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a silicon-based substance called aerogel, Stardust will capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of the comet. The spacecraft also will bring back samples of interstellar dust. These materials consist of ancient pre-solar interstellar grains and other remnants left over from the formation of the solar system. Scientists expect their analysis to provide important insights into the evolution of the sun and planets and possibly into the origin of life itself. The collected samples will return to Earth in a sample return capsule to be jettisoned as Stardust swings by Earth in January 2006

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-98 Mission Specialist Marsha Ivins (center, pointing) checks out the U.S. Lab Destiny in the payload bay of the orbiter Atlantis. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which also include a simulated launch countdown. Destiny, a key element in the construction of the International Space Station, is a pressurized module designed to accommodate pressurized payloads. It has a capacity of 24 rack locations. Payload racks will occupy 13 locations especially designed to support experiments. The module already has five system racks installed inside. Launch of STS-98 on its 11-day mission is scheduled for Jan. 19 at 2 11 a.m. EST

Workers in the Space Station Processing Facility perform a fit check on a Power Data Grapple Fixture before installing it on hardware for mission STS-98. During the mission, the crew will install the U.S. Lab in the International Space Station during a series of three space walks. The STS-98 mission will provide the station with science research facilities and expand its power, life support and control capabilities

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-111 Mission Specialists Franklin Chang-Diaz (center) and Phillippe Perrin (right) check equipment with a trainer (left) in orbiter Endeavour. Perrin is with the French Space Agency (CNES). Perrin and Chang-Diaz, with other crew members, are taking part in a Crew Equipment Interface Test in preparation for launch. Mission STS-111 will carry to the International Space Station the Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM), filled with experiment racks and three stowage and resupply racks, and the Mobile Base System (MBS), which will attach to the Mobile Transporter and complete the Canadian Mobile Servicing System, or MSS. The Station's mechanical arm will then have the capability to "inchworm" from the U.S. Lab to the MSS and travel along the truss to work sites on the Station. Launch of Endeavour on mission STS-111 is scheduled for May 30, 2002

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-114 Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson (left) looks at an area overhead in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). In the center is Jennifer Goldsmith, with United Space Alliance at Johnson Space Center, and at right is Louise Kleba, with USA at KSC. Crew members are at KSC becoming familiar with Shuttle and mission equipment. The mission is Logistics Flight 1, which is scheduled to deliver supplies and equipment plus the external stowage platform to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the payload bay of Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour, workers and STS-88 crew members on a movable work platform or bucket move closer to the rear of the orbiter's crew compartment. While Endeavour is being prepared for flight inside Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1, the STS-88 crew members are participating in a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) to familiarize themselves with the orbiter's midbody and crew compartments. A KSC worker (left) maneuvers the platform to give Mission Specialists Jerry L. Ross and James H. Newman (right) a closer look. Looking on is Wayne Wedlake of United Space Alliance at Johnson Space Center. Targeted for liftoff on Dec. 3, 1998, STS-88 will be the first Space Shuttle launch for assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). The primary payload is the Unity connecting module which will be mated to the Russian-built Zarya control module, expected to be already on orbit after a November launch from Russia. After th

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the first half of the fairing for the Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER-2) closes in on the spacecraft. MER-2 is one of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers designed to study the history of water on Mars. These robotic geologists are equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow them to have a human-like, 3D view of the terrain. Each rover could travel as far as 100 meters in one day to act as Mars scientists' eyes and hands, exploring an environment where humans can't yet go. MER-2 is scheduled to launch no earlier than June 8 as MER-A, with two launch opportunities each day during the launch period that closes on June 19.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-102's Expedition II discuss the Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA-3) (top of photo) with workers from Johnson Space Center. From left are Yuriy Vladimirovich Usachev, Dave Moore (JSC), Susan J. Helms, James S. Voss, Arne Aamodt and Matt Myers (both of JSC). The PMA-3 is a component of the International Space Station (ISS). Voss, Helms and Usachev will be staying on the ISS, replacing the Expedition I crew, Bill Shepherd, Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko. Along with the crew, Mission STS-102 also will be carrying the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) to the ISS. The Leonardo will be filled with equipment and supplies to outfit the U.S. laboratory module, which will have been carried to the ISS on a preceding Shuttle flight. In order to function as an attached station module as well as a cargo transport, logistics modules (there are three) also include components that provide some life support, fire d

During the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) in the payload bay of Discovery, STS-95 Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson (right) checks a cable that can be used to close a hatch on the orbiter. Looking over his shoulder are Mission Specialist Pedro Duque (center), of the European Space Agency, and Keith Johnson (left), United Space Alliance-Houston. The CEIT gives astronauts an opportunity for a hands-on look at the payloads and equipment they will be using on orbit. The launch of the STS-95 mission, aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, is scheduled for Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Astronaut Soichi Noguchi (right), with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), is inside the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), undergoing a Multi-Element Integrated Test (MEIT) in the Space Station Processing Facility. Noguchi is assigned to mission STS-114 as a mission specialist. Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab on the ISS and provides attach locations for the Japanese laboratory, European laboratory, the Centrifuge Accommodation Module and, eventually, Multipurpose Logistics Modules. It will provide the primary docking location for the Shuttle when a pressurized mating adapter is attached to Node 2. Installation of the module will complete the U.S. Core of the ISS. The JEM, developed by NASDA, is Japan's primary contribution to the Station. It will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments.

At Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Station, workers are installing three Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) on the Cassini spacecraft. RTGs are lightweight, compact spacecraft electrical power systems that have flown successfully on 23 previous U.S. missions over the past 37 years. These generators produce power by converting heat into electrical energy; the heat is provided by the natural radioactive decay of plutonium-238 dioxide, a non-weapons-grade material. RTGs enable spacecraft to operate at significant distances from the Sun where solar power systems would not be feasible. Cassini will travel two billion miles to reach Saturn and another 1.1 billion miles while in orbit around Saturn. Cassini is undergoing final preparations for liftoff on a Titan IVB/Centaur launch vehicle, with the launch window opening at 4:55 a.m. EDT, Oct. 13

Members of the STS-100 crew, dressed in protective clothing, take a closer look at part of the mission payload, the Canadian robotic arm, SSRMS, which is on a workstand in the Space Station Processing Facility. From left are Mission Specialists John L. Phillips, Yuri V. Lonchakov, Umberto Guidoni, and Chris A. Hadfield. Lonchakov is with the Russian Space and Aviation Agency, Guidoni the European Space Agency, and Hadfield the Canadian Space Agency. The arm is 57.7 feet (17.6 meters) long when fully extended and has seven motorized joints. It is capable of handling large payloads and assisting with docking the Space Shuttle. The SSRMS is self-relocatable with a Latching End Effector, so it can be attached to complementary ports spread throughout the Stations exterior surfaces. Mission STS-100 is scheduled to launch on Space Shuttle Endeavour April 19 at 2 41 p.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39A, KSC, with a crew of seven. Other crew members are Commander Kent V. Rominger, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashb

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers help guide the upper segement of the transportation canister away from the STEREO spacecraft. STEREO is being prepared for launch, scheduled for Oct. 25. STEREO stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and comprises two spacecraft that will launch in a piggyback mode, separating after reaching the appropriate orbit. 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. The STEREO mission is managed by Goddard. The Applied Physics Laboratory designed and built the spacecraft. The laboratory will maintain command and control of the observatories throughout the mission, while NASA tracks and receives the data, determines the orbit of the satellites, and coordinates the science results.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- During crew equipment interface test activities at KSC, STS-118 Mission Specialist Dr. Dafydd Williams (right) maneuvers the latch on the crew airlock module. The airlock is located in the middeck. The airlock and airlock hatches permit flight crew members to transfer from the middeck crew compartment into the payload bay for extravehicular activities in their space suits without depressurizing the orbiter crew cabin. The airlock is sized to accommodate two fully suited flight crew members simultaneously. The STS-118 mission will be delivering the third starboard truss segment, the ITS S5, to the International Space Station, as well as the SPACEHAB single cargo module filled with supplies and equipment. Launch aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour is targeted for Aug. 9.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At SPACEHAB, Cape Canaveral, Fla., members of the STS-107 crew look over experiments in a flight configured module for their research mission. From left are Mission Specialist David Brown, Payload Commander Michael Anderson and a trainer. They are looking at a combustion experiment module. STS-107 has two payload elements, the Double Module in its first flight into space and a Hitchhiker payload. The experiments range from material sciences to life sciences (many rats). The Hitchhiker carrier system is modular and expandable in accordance with payload requirements. Hitchhiker experiments are housed in canisters or attached to mounting plates. The Hitchhiker canister comes in two varieties--the Hitchhiker Motorized Door Canister and the Sealed Canisters. STS-107 is scheduled to launch in June 2002

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - During processing, workers in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility work on part of the aeroshell for Mars Exploration Rover 2. Set to launch in 2003, the MER Mission will consist of two identical rovers designed to cover roughly 110 yards each Martian day. 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, 2003.

At Launch Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), workers remove another section of the canister surrounding NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite. FUSE is designed to scour the cosmos for the fossil record of the origins of the universe hydrogen and deuterium. Scientists will use FUSE to study hydrogen and deuterium to unlock the secrets of how the primordial chemical elements of which all stars, planets and life evolved, were created and distributed since the birth of the universe. FUSE is scheduled to be launched from CCAS June 23 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket

Members of the STS-100 crew look over the mission payload recently installed in the Space Shuttle Endeavours payload bay. The crew is at KSC to complete Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that were postponed earlier. The TCDT includes emergency escape training, payload bay walkdown, and a simulated launch countdown. The primary payload comprises the Canadian robotic arm, SSRMS, and Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, Raffaello. Launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-100 is targeted for April 19 at 2 41 p.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39A

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 17B, Cape Canaveral Air Station, workers get ready to remove the protective wrapping on the Mars Polar Lander to be launched aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket on Jan. 3, 1999. The lander is a solar-powered spacecraft designed to touch down on the Martian surface near the northern-most boundary of the south pole in order to study the water cycle there. The lander also will help scientists learn more about climate change and current resources on Mars, studying such things as frost, dust, water vapor and condensates in the Martian atmosphere. It is the second spacecraft to be launched in a pair of Mars Surveyor'98 missions. The first is the Mars Climate Orbiter, which was launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17A on Dec. 11, 1998

Workers at Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, connect the third stage of a Boeing Delta II rocket (above), which is already attached to the Stardust spacecraft, with the second stage (below). Stardust, targeted for liftoff on Feb. 6, is destined for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a silicon-based substance called aerogel, Stardust will capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of the comet. The spacecraft also will bring back samples of interstellar dust. These materials consist of ancient pre-solar interstellar grains and other remnants left over from the formation of the solar system. Scientists expect their analysis to provide important insights into the evolution of the sun and planets and possibly into the origin of life itself. The collected samples will return to Earth in a sample return capsule to be jettisoned as Stardust swings by Earth in January 2006

(Left to right) STS-95 Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan, and John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr. take part in middeck orientation during a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) in the Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2. The CEIT gives astronauts an opportunity for a hands-on look at the payloads on which they will be working on orbit. The launch of the STS-95 mission, aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, is scheduled for Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- During Crew Equipment Interface Test activities, STS-107 Payload Commander Michael Anderson looks over equipment from a lift in the payload bay of Columbia while technicians (right and rear) look on. Behind Anderson is Mission Specialist David Brown. STS-107 is a research mission, with the SHI Research Double Module (SHI/RDM), also known as SPACEHAB, as the primary payload, plus the Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research (FREESTAR) that incorporates eight high priority secondary attached shuttle experiments. STS-107 is scheduled to launch July 19, 2002

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Operations and Checkout Building, the STS-112 crew stands under the S0 Integrated Truss Structure, waiting to be transported to the launch pad for mission STS-110. From left are Mission Specialist David Wolf, Pilot Pamela Melroy; Commander Jeffrey Ashby; and Mission Specialist Piers Sellers. Mission STS-112 will be ferrying the S1 ITS to the International Space Station on its scheduled Aug. 15 flight. The S1 truss will be attached to the S0 truss

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the Space Shuttle Discoverys Return to Flight STS-114 crew are conducting a payload Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Seen here in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello is Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence. The launch window for STS-114 is May 15 to June 3, 2005. During CEIT, the crew is inspecting the resupply stowage racks installed in the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello and performing tool and equipment interface checks with the Thermal Protection System (TPS) repair sample box, the Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) and the External Stowage Platform-2 in preparation for the missions three scheduled spacewalks. The seven-member crew will fly to the International Space Station primarily to evaluate procedures for flight safety, including Shuttle inspection and repair techniques. The TPS repair sample box contains tile samples for the Detail

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Astrotech payload processing facility near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, General Dynamics technicians, sitting under the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, install a high-gain antenna on the spacecraft. The GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. Launch is currently planned in a window between 11:45 a.m. and 1:40 p.m. EDT May 16.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Steve Thomas, host of the television series "This Old House," gets a look inside one of the Space Station modules in the Space Station Processing Facility. He and the show's master carpenter Norm Abram are at KSC to film an episode of the series

In the mobile service tower on Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the two fairing segments come together around the THEMIS spacecraft. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the Delta II upper stage booster and forms an aerodynamically smooth nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. THEMIS is an acronym for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms. THEMIS consists of five identical probes that will track violent, colorful eruptions near the North Pole. This will be the largest number of scientific satellites NASA ever launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. The THEMIS mission aims to unravel the tantalizing mystery behind auroral substorms, an avalanche of magnetic energy powered by the solar wind that intensifies the northern and southern lights. The mission will investigate what causes auroras in the Earths atmosphere to dramatically change from slowly shimmering waves of light to

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-122 crew members take a ride inside space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay to examine components installed there. Seen here are Mission Specialists Leland Melvin (center) and Rex Walheim (right). The crew is at Kennedy Space Center to take part in a crew equipment interface test, which includes equipment familiarization. The mission will carry and install the Columbus Lab, a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to Node 2 of the space station to carry out experiments in materials science, fluid physics and biosciences, as well as to perform a number of technological applications. It is Europes largest contribution to the construction of the International Space Station and will support scientific and technological research in a microgravity environment. STS-122 is targeted for launch in December.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-95 crew members get a briefing on the SPACEHAB module from Chris Jaskoika of Boeing, in foreground at far right. From left, are Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., who also is a senator from Ohio; Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA); Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson; Pilot Steven W. Lindsey; Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr. (seated); Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). STS-95 will feature a variety of research payloads, including the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and experiments on space flight and the aging process. STS-95 is targeted for an Oct. 29 launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-111 Mission Specialist Philippe Perrin, with the French Space Agency, looks over the payload installed in Endeavour's payload bay. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, which include payload familiarization and a simulated launch countdown. The crew also comprises Commander Kenneth Cockrell, Pilot Paul Lockhart and Mission Specialist Franklin Chang-Diaz. The payload on mission STS-111 to the International Space Station includes the Mobile Base System, an Orbital Replacement Unit and Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Traveling on Endeavour is also the Expedition 5 crew - Commander Valeri Korzun, Peggy Whitson and Sergei Treschev -- who will replace the Expedition 4 crew on the Station. Korzun and Treschev are with the Russian Space Agency. Launch of Endeavour is scheduled for May 30, 2002

Expedition 10 backup Soyuz Commander Valery Tokarev, left, watches backup Expedition 10 Commander Bill McArthur exit the Soyuz capsule after their final check of the spacecraft Saturday, October 9, 2004 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 10 is scheduled to launch October 14 on the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Inside the Double Module, located at SPACEHAB in Cape Canaveral, Fla., members of the STS-107 crew get training on some of the experiments that will be on their research mission. Kneeling in front are Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (left) and Pilot William "Willie" McCool; standing behind them are Mission Specialist David Brown and Commander Rick Husband, who is working with a trainer. The mission will be the first flight of the Double Module and will also carry a Hitchhiker payload. The experiments range from material sciences to life sciences (many rats). The Hitchhiker carrier system is modular and expandable in accordance with payload requirements. Hitchhiker experiments are housed in canisters or attached to mounting plates. The Hitchhiker canister comes in two varieties--the Hitchhiker Motorized Door Canister and the Sealed Canisters

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility install blanket insulation on Deep Space 1. The first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program, Deep Space 1 is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. Onboard experiments include an ion propulsion engine and software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but may also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999. Deep Space 1 will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7326 rocket from Launch Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, in October. Delta II rockets are medium capacity expendable launch vehicles derived from the Delta family of rockets built and launched since 1960. Since then there have been more than 245 Delta launches

Members of the STS-92 crew look over the payload (left) in Space Shuttle Discoverys payload bay. Left to right, in masks, are Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff and William S. McArthur Jr. They and the other crew members Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Pamela Ann Melroy and Mission Specialists Koichi Wakata of Japan, and Michael E. Lopez-Alegria are preparing for launch on Oct. 5, 2000. The mission is the fifth flight for the construction of the International Space Station. The payload includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1 and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter. During the 11-day mission, four extravehicular activities (EVAs), or space walks, are planned

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, workers place aside a piece of the canister surrounding the Mars Climate Orbiter. Targeted for liftoff on Dec. 10, 1998, aboard a Boeing Delta II (7425) rocket, the orbiter will be the first spacecraft to be launched in the pair of Mars '98 missions. After its arrival at the red planet, the Mars Climate Orbiter will be used primarily to support its companion Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, scheduled for launch on Jan. 3, 1999. The orbiter will then monitor the Martian atmosphere and image the planet's surface on a daily basis for one Martian year, the equivalent of about two Earth years. The spacecraft will observe the appearance and movement of atmospheric dust and water vapor, and characterize seasonal changes on the planet's surface

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Complex 39B, a technician in Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay studies a photo of the retract link assembly on the orbiter's main landing gear door prior to conducting a borescope inspection. The inspection is a precautionary measure after a small crack was found in a retract link assembly on the right-hand main landing gear on orbiter Atlantis. An initial review of the closeout photos of the link assembly on Discovery did not reveal any cracks. Discovery is scheduled to return the Space Shuttle fleet to operational status on mission STS-114. This additional work does not impact the launch planning window of July 13-31.

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, under the protective clean tent, technicians maneuver the second half of the fairing into place around the AIM spacecraft. The fairing is a molded structure that fits around the spacecraft and forms an aerodynamically smooth nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch. Launch will be from a Pegasus XL rocket, carried and released by Orbital Sciences L-1011 jet aircraft. AIM, which stands for Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, is being prepared for integrated testing and a flight simulation. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the SPACEHAB module, (left to right) STS-96 Commander Kent V. Rominger and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa and Julie Payette (far right) review equipment use with Chris Jaskoika (second from right), of Boeing SPACEHAB. Members of the STS-96 crew are taking part in a bench review at SPACEHAB as part of familiarization activities for their upcoming mission. The crew also includes Pilot Rick Husband and Mission Specialists Tamara E. Jernigan, Daniel Barry, and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev. Payette is with the Canadian Space Agency and Tokarev with the Russian Space Agency. Mission STS-96 is the second flight in construction of the International Space Station and will include the SPACEHAB. The 10-day mission is targeted for launch on May 24, 1999, at Launch Pad 39B

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- During Crew Equipment Interface Test activities in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2, members of the STS-105 crew take a close look at equipment and some of the payload. From left are Mission Specialists Patrick Forrester and Daniel Barry. Behind them is a Boeing technician. STS-105 is the 11th mission to the International Space Station. The payload includes the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, which was built by the Italian Space Agency. Leonardo will be outfitted with 12 racks of experiments and equipment. Discovery is scheduled to launch July 12 from Launch Pad 39A

STS-84 mission specialists and SPACEHAB workers participate in the Crew Equipment Integration Test (CEIT) inside the SPACEHAB Double Module, which will carry more than 6,000 pounds of scientific experiments and logistics to the Russian Space Station Mir. Standing at left is JeanFrancois Clervoy of the European Space Agency. Sitting on the floor, from left, are Edward Tsang Lu of NASA and Elena V. Kondakova of the Russian Space Agency. The test is being conducted at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility in Cape Canaveral. STS-84 will be the sixth docking of the Space Shuttle with Mir. It also will be the third consecutive crew member exchange of U.S. astronauts aboard Mir. STS-84 Mission Specialist C. Michael Foale will replace astronaut Jerry M. Linenger on Mir. Linenger has been on Mir since the STS-81 mission in January. Foale is scheduled to remain on Mir about four months. STS-84 is targeted for a May 15 liftoff

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Multi-Payload Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, fire and rescue personnel, as well as a closeout crew, participate in an exercise known as crew egress evaluation from an Orion mock-up. The spacecraft is replicated in all areas that could affect a crew's escape, including the area that seals to a launch pad's White Room. The exercise focuses on whether astronauts and their rescue crews can exit the vehicle quickly in the event of a pad emergency.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In the Operations and Checkout Bldg., STS-112 Pilot Pamela A. Melroy gets a close look at the Integrated Truss Structure (ITS) S1 that will be part of the payload on the mission. Other members of the crew are Commander Jeffrey S. Ashby and Mission Specialists David A. Wolf, Piers J. Sellers, Sandra H. Magnus and Fyodor Nikolayevich Yurchikhin, a cosmonaut with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Mission STS-112 is scheduled for launch in July 2002

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers help guide the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft as it is lowered toward the upper stage of a Boeing Delta II rocket for mating. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. Flying as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets, the spacecraft will take the sharpest pictures yet of a nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. Launch of CONTOUR aboard the Delta II is scheduled for July 1, 2002, from Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

At Launch Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), workers begin removing the lower sections of the canister surrounding NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite. FUSE is designed to scour the cosmos for the fossil record of the origins of the universe hydrogen and deuterium. Scientists will use FUSE to study hydrogen and deuterium to unlock the secrets of how the primordial chemical elements of which all stars, planets and life evolved, were created and distributed since the birth of the universe. FUSE is scheduled to be launched from CCAS June 23 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A technician in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) places a paper signed by workers in the PHSF inside a compartment in Deep Space 1. The payload is scheduled to fly on the Boeing Delta 7326 rocket to be launched in October. The first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program, Deep Space 1 is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. Onboard experiments include an ion propulsion engine and software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but will also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999

STS-95 crew members (from left) Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai and John H. Glenn Jr., Mission Specialist Pedro Duque (kneeling in front center), Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson and Pilot Steven W. Lindsey (kneeling at right) look at the inside of the SPACEHAB module at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The crew is on a familiarization tour of the module and equipment that will fly with them on the Space Shuttle Discovery scheduled to launch Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers prepare to open the Stardust Sample Return Capsule (SRC) residing in a Class 100 glove box. Stardust will use a unique medium called aerogel to capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of comet Wild 2 in January 2004, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in the SRC to be jettisoned as it swings by Earth in January 2006. Stardust is scheduled to be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket from Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station, on Feb. 6, 1999

In the Space Station Processing Facility, members of the STS-92 crew check out equipment they will be using on the mission to the International Space Station. Here, (left to right) Mission Specialists Jeff Wisoff and Leroy Chiao watch while Michael Lopez-Alegria practices putting on and taking off fittings on the Z1 Integrated Truss Structure. In the background are Boeing technicians. The Z-1 truss, a component of the Station, is an early exterior framework to allow the first U.S. solar arrays on a future flight to be temporarily installed on Unity for early power. STS-92 is scheduled to launch Oct. 5 from launch Pad 39A

Steve Thomas, host of the television series "This Old House," gets a close look at one of the modules in the Space Station Processing Facility. He and the series master carpenter Norm Abram are at KSC to film an episode of the series

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Inside the Orbital Sciences processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, teamwork by Orbitals technicians ensures that the Pegasus payload fairing is properly installed around NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. On Feb. 17, NuSTAR was mated to its Pegasus XL rocket, which is positioned behind the spacecraft outside the environmental enclosure. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during ascent to orbit. Encapsulation of NuSTAR in its fairing is a significant prelaunch milestone. After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Oceans Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and stu

Workers in the Payload Changeout Room check the Payload Ground Handling Mechanism that will move the U.S. Lab Destiny out of Atlantis payload bay and into the PCR. After the move, Atlantis will roll back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to allow workers to conduct inspections, continuity checks and X-ray analysis on the 36 solid rocket booster cables located inside each boosters system tunnel. An extensive evaluation of NASAs SRB cable inventory revealed conductor damage in four (of about 200) cables on the shelf. Shuttle managers decided to prove the integrity of the system tunnel cables already on Atlantis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- STS-134 Mission Specialist Michael Fincke, right, performs a walkdown of space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay with a shuttle technician. The Express Logistics Carrier-3 packed with spare parts and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) are inside the bay for the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station. Fincke and fellow Mission Specialists Greg Chamitoff and Andrew Feustel are the designated spacewalkers for the mission.Endeavour's six crew members are at Kennedy for the launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training. Endeavour is targeted to launch April 19 at 7:48 p.m. EDT on its final spaceflight mission.

S67-23078 (27 Jan. 1967) --- Three astronauts (later to be named the Apollo 9 prime crew) in Apollo spacecraft 101 Command module during Apollo crew compartment fit and function test. Left to right are astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers prepare a crane that will be attached to the heat shield for the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft. The crane will lift and move the heat shield for installation over the lander within the cruise stage. Targeted for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 3, Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing on Mars is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil.

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

With workers at left looking on, STS-100 crew members check out equipment inside the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, located in the Space Station Processing Facility. At right is Commander Kent Rominger; to his left in the photo is Mission Specialist Umberto Guidoni, with the European Space Agency. Mission STS-100, scheduled to launch April 19, 2001, will include Raffaello as well as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) as its payload. MPLMs are pressurized modules that will serve as the International Space Station's moving vans,” carrying laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies to and from the station aboard the Space Shuttle. The SSRMS is the primary means of transferring payloads between the orbiter payload bay and the International Space Station for assembly

In the spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, workers prepare to remove the soft shipping cover from the Gravity Probe B experiment. Immediate processing includes setting up mechanical and electrical ground support equipment, making necessary connections and conditioning the spacecraft battery. The Gravity Probe B will launch a payload of four gyroscopes into low-Earth polar orbit to test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Once in orbit, for 18 months each gyroscopes spin axis will be monitored as it travels through local spacetime, observing and measuring these effects. The experiment was developed by Stanford University, Lockheed Martin and NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - - In the Payload Changeout Room on NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, STS-128 crew members take a close look at the payloads to be installed in space shuttle Discovery. Seen here are Mission Specialist Danny Olivas and Pilot Kevin Ford (behind him). The crew is at Kennedy to take part in the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT, which includes equipment familiarization, emergency exit training and a simulated countdown. On the STS-128 mission, Discovery will deliver 33,000 pounds of equipment to the station, including science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. Launch is targeted for late August.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Genesis spacecraft is lowered into place on the Boeing Delta II rocket. Genesis will be on a robotic NASA space mission to catch a wisp of the raw material of the Sun and return it to Earth with a spectacular mid-air helicopter capture. The sample return capsule is 4.9 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter and 52 inches (1.31 meters) tall. The missions goal is to collect and return to Earth just 10 to 20 micrograms -- or the weight of a few grains of salt -- of solar wind, invisible charged particles that flow outward from the Sun. This treasured smidgen of the Sun will be preserved in a special laboratory for study by scientists over the next century in search of answers to fundamental questions about the exact composition of our star and the birth of our solar system. The Genesis launch is scheduled for 12:36 p.m. EDT on July 30 from CCAFS

S93-34001 (26 May 1993) --- Astronaut F. Story Musgrave, wearing a training version of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), participates in a dry run for tests in a thermal vacuum chamber. The payload commander will be among four suited crew members participating in task rehearsals and testing the tools that will be used on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) repair mission. The test, conducted in Chamber B of the Space Environment and Simulation Laboratory (SESL) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), verified that the tools being designed for the mission will work in the cold vacuum of space. Others pictured, from the left, are Andrea Tullar and Donna Fender, test directors; Leonard S. Nicholson, acting director of engineering; and astronauts Thomas D. Akers and Kathryn C. Thornton, mission specialists, along with Musgrave.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers get ready to remove the plastic covering from the Mars Exploration Rover -2. Set to launch in 2003, the Mars Exploration Rover Mission will consist of two identical rovers designed to cover roughly 110 yards (100 meters) each Martian day. 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, 2003, and the second rover a window opening June 25, 2003.

S69-31075 (18 April 1969) --- Suited astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), participates in lunar surface simulation training on April 18, 1969 in building 9, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). Armstrong is prime crew commander of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. Here, he is opening a sample return container. On the right is the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) and the Lunar Module (LM) mockup.

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