NASA's Spacecraft and Rockets

Images showcasing spacecraft, rockets, and assembly facilities at NASA, depicting the processes behind space exploration.

Orion Media Day takes place at Lockheed Martins Waterton facility in Littleton, Colorado on Oct. 21, 2011. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

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

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) is seen atop a Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) just prior to beginning its journey from High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39a for its final flight, Tuesday evening, May 31, 2011, at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The 3.4-mile trek, known as "rollout," will take about seven hours to complete. Atlantis will carry the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. The launch of STS-135 is targeted for July 8.

Orion Media Day takes place at Lockheed Martins Waterton facility in Littleton, Colorado on Oct. 21, 2011. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In High Bay 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is lowered onto the mobile launcher platform, or MLP. It is in front of the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters on either side that are already secured there. The shuttle will be attached to the external tank on the MLP. Discovery is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A the first week of August to prepare for the STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle will carry the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module containing life support racks and science racks and the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier in its payload bay. Launch of Discovery is targeted for late August.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Vertical Integration Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers on either side of the payload canister check its condition after being rotated from a horizontal position. The canister contains the Japanese Experiment Module -Pressurized Module, which will be transported to Launch Pad 39A for space shuttle Discoverys STS-124 mission. At the pad, the payload will be transferred from the canister into the payload changeout room on the rotating service structure. The changeout room is the enclosed, environmentally controlled portion of the service structure that supports cargo delivery to the pad and subsequent vertical installation into an orbiter's payload bay. On the mission, the STS-124 crew will transport the JEM as well as the Japanese Remote Manipulator System to the International Space Station. The launch of Discovery is targeted for May 31.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Atlantis is suspended upright in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building after being lifted over the high bay transom. The orbiter will be lowered onto its wheels and towed to the Orbiter Processing Facility for temporary storage while the Shuttle launch schedule is under review. Photo courtesy of AP photographer Pete Cosgrove

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, space shuttle Discovery is ready to be lifted into high bay 1. In the bay, Discovery will be mated with the external tank and solid rocket boosters waiting on the mobile launcher platform. Discovery is targeted for launch to the International Space Station for mission STS-120 on Oct. 23. The crew will be delivering and installing the Italian-built U.S. Node 2, named Harmony. The pressurized module will act as an internal connecting port and passageway to additional international science labs and cargo spacecraft. In addition to increasing the living and working space inside the station, it also will serve as a work platform outside for the station's robotic arm.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 37, United Launch Alliance engineers and technicians prepare to lift the agency's Orion spacecraft for mounting atop its Delta IV Heavy rocket. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted flight test of Orion is scheduled to launch Dec. 4, 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket, and in 2018 on NASAs Space Launch System rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A mockup of the Launch Abort System, or LAS, is positioned atop a boilerplate Orion capsule and replica service module during test stacking operations inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Orion spacecraft is being designed to carry astronauts on missions beyond Earth orbit. It will have the LAS during the first part of launch in case an emergency develops that requires the spacecraft to be pulled away from the rocket to save the crew. NASA's Ground Services Development and Operations Program, or GSDO, performed the test operations.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Processing of the Ares I-X vehicle nears completion in the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Rollout to Launch Pad 39B is targeted for Oct. 19.Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is the essential core of a space transportation system designed to carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 27.

In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers use a crane to lift the right-hand forward assembly up for transfer into High Bay 3 for the Space Launch System (SLS) on March 2, 2021. The forward assembly will be attached to the center forward segment on the mobile launcher (ML). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams are stacking the twin five-segment boosters on the ML over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the SLS. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the O

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lifts Super Stack 2, part of the Ares I-X upper stage. The stack is being moved across the transfer aisle for attachment to Super Stack 1 in High Bay 3. Beneath can be seen Super Stack 3 and at left is the crew module-launch abort system, or CM-LAS, and simulator service module-service adapter stack. The upper stage comprises five super stacks, which are integrated with the four-segment solid rocket booster first stage on the mobile launch platform. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31, pending formal NASA Headquarters approval.

STS-132 ATLANTIS LIFT & MATE TO ET/SRB STACK

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the GOES-N spacecraft is lifted into the launch service tower where it will be mated with the waiting Boeing Delta IV. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) are sponsored by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Launch of GOES-N is scheduled for June 23.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a large yellow, metal sling lowers shuttle Discovery to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. The lift and mate operation began Sept. 9 and wrapped up early Sept. 10. Discovery is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A later this month in preparation for its launch to the International Space Station on the STS-133 mission.Targeted to lift off Nov. 1, Discovery will take the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2 (R2) to the station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- United Space Alliance workers move away from space shuttle Discovery after checking the sling before the vehicle's lift into high bay 1. In the bay, Discovery will be mated with the external tank and solid rocket boosters waiting on the mobile launcher platform. Discovery is targeted for launch to the International Space Station for mission STS-120 on Oct. 23. The crew will be delivering and installing the Italian-built U.S. Node 2, named Harmony. The pressurized module will act as an internal connecting port and passageway to additional international science labs and cargo spacecraft. In addition to increasing the living and working space inside the station, it also will serve as a work platform outside for the station's robotic arm.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- After leaving Launch Pad 39A, Space Shuttle Atlantis, atop the mobile launcher platform, comes to rest in high bay 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. A severe thunderstorm with golf ball-sized hail caused divots in the giant tank's foam insulation and minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. Further evaluation of the tank is necessary to get an accurate accounting of foam damage and determine the type of repair required and the time needed for that work. A new target launch date has not been determined, but teams will focus on preparing Atlantis for liftoff in late April.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the GOES-O and Delta IV upper stage are waiting to be raised to vertical. They will be moved into the mobile service tower for prelaunch preparations. GOES-O is one of a series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. The multi-mission GOES series N-P will be a vital contributor to weather, solar and space operations and science. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, are actively engaged in a cooperative program to expand the existing GOES system with the launch of the GOES N-P satellites. Launch of the GOES-O is targeted for no earlier than April 2009.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3, assembly of the Ares I-X rocket nears completion. The yellow framework, nicknamed the "birdcage," lifts Super Stack 5 to the top of the segments already in place on the mobile launcher platform. Once in position, assembly of the rocket will be complete. The 327-foot-tall rocket is one of the largest processed in the bay, rivaling the height of the Apollo Program's 364-foot-tall Saturn V. Five super stacks make up the rocket's upper stage that is integrated with the four-segment solid rocket booster first stage. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31, pending formal NASA Headquarters approval.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In high bay 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Endeavour is lowered alongside its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters for mating. After additional preparations are made, the shuttle will be rolled out to Launch Pad 39B. Endeavour is designated the rescue spacecraft for space shuttle Atlantis STS-125 mission to NASAs Hubble Space Telescope, targeted for October. After Atlantis has safely returned from its flight, Endeavour will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for its STS-126 mission to the International Space Station, targeted for November.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the United Launch Alliance Centaur second stage is prepared for stacking atop the Atlas V first stage at Launch Pad 41 in preparation for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, mission.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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the upper levels of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Space shuttle Atlantis is moved laterally into high bay 3. The external tank and solid rocket boosters can be seen below where they are already secured atop the mobile launcher platform. On this mission, Atlantis will deliver the Columbus module to the International Space Station. The European Space Agency's largest contribution to the station, Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony. The module is approximately 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 large racks of experiments. The laboratory will expand the research facilities aboard the station, providing crew members and scientists from around the world the ability to conduct a variety of experiments in the physical, materials and life sciences. Mission STS-122 is targeted for launch on Dec. 6.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. near NASAs Kennedy Space Center, technicians move the two halves if the payload faring into position for encapsulation with the two Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft. The fairing will house and protect the RBSP during liftoff and flight through the atmosphere aboard an Atlas V rocket.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. - The external fuel tank for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission is lowered between the solid rocket boosters stacked on the mobile launch platform in high bay 2 of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-129 mission is targeted to launch Nov. 12 on an 11-day supply mission to the International Space Station.

The payload fairing containing the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module is lowered onto the Centaur upper stage, or second stage, of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) rocket in the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch atop the Atlas V from pad 41. Cygnus will deliver 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In this close-up, the 122-foot-long orbiter Discovery is being lowered in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Discovery was demated from its External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters in high bay 1 and lifted over the cross-beam into the transfer aisle. The orbiter will be placed on a transporter and moved to high bay 3 for remating with another tank, ET-121. Discovery is expected to be rolled back to the launch pad in mid-June for Return to Flight mission STS-114. The launch window extends from July 13 to July 31.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the second half of the fairing (in the foreground) moves closer to the Phoenix Mars Lander for installation toward the first half. Phoenix is targeted for launch on Aug. 3 aboard a Delta II rocket. 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. 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. NASA/George Shelton

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Framed in lights both inside and from outside, Space Shuttle Discovery waits on top of the Mobile Launcher Platform in the Vehicle Assembly Building for rollout to Launch Pad 39B. Rollout is expected to begin about 12 01 a.m. June 15 for the 4-mile, 6-hour trip to the pad. On either side of Discoverys tail and orbital maneuvering system pods are the Tail Masts that support the fluid, gas and electrical requirements of the orbiters liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen aft T-0 umbilicals. Space Shuttle Discovery's Return to Flight mission STS-114 is scheduled for liftoff in a window extending from July 13 to July 31.

The Orion spacecraft sits inside the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Ogive panels have been installed around the launch abort system. The panels will smooth the airflow over the conical spacecraft to limit sound and vibration, which will make for a much smoother ride for the astronauts who will ride inside Orion in the future. The spacecraft is being readied for its move to Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for its flight test. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted flight test of Orion is scheduled to launch in December 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket, and in 2018 on NASAs Space Launch System rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crawler-transporter moves a mobile launcher platform with two solid rocket boosters perched on top from the Vehicle Assembly Building's (VAB) High Bay 1 to High Bay 3.Inside the VAB, the boosters will be joined to an external fuel tank next month in preparation for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission to the International Space Station targeted to launch in February, 2011.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASAs Kennedy Space Center, a technician (lower left) monitors the progress of space shuttle Endeavour as it is lowered into high bay 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building for mating with its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, waiting below. After additional preparations are made, the shuttle will be rolled out to Launch Pad 39B. Endeavour is designated the rescue spacecraft for space shuttle Atlantis STS-125 mission to NASAs Hubble Space Telescope, targeted for October. After Atlantis has safely returned from its flight, Endeavour will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for its STS-126 mission to the International Space Station, targeted for November.

The Orion spacecraft was lifted on top of the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle at ULA's Launch Complex 37 on Nov. 12, 2014. Over the next few days the Lockheed Martin/ULA team will work to complete the connections between Orion and the launch vehicle in preparation for Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1). Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The orbiter Atlantis is suspended vertically above the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building. It will be lifted up into high bay 1 and lowered onto the mobile launcher platform where the external tank and solid rocket boosters are already stacked. Space Shuttle Atlantis is targeted to roll out to Launch Pad 39A on February 14 for mission STS-117. The mission is No. 21 to the International Space Station and construction flight 13A.

A close-up view of the aft segment of one of the boosters for the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 10, 2022. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASAs deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy.. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Seen from overhead, mockup components of an Orion spacecraft are laid out in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the foreground is the Launch Abort System and the aerodynamic shell that will cover the capsule during launch. To the right is the Orion capsule model on top of a service module simulator.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry crews to space beyond low Earth orbit. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first uncrewed test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket and in 2017 on a Space Launch System rocket. The Orion mockup is exact in details on the outside, but mostly empty on the inside except for four mockup astronaut seats and hatch. The work in the VAB is crucial to making sure the designs are accurate.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building's transfer aisle at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an overhead crane is attached to the Ares I-X aft center booster segment. The segment will be lifted and then lowered into High Bay 3 for attachment to the aft booster segment with the aft skirt. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is the essential core of a space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system . The flight test of the Ares I-X is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 30.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Preparations are under way to lift space shuttle Endeavour into the mate-demate device at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle will be positioned and connected to the top of NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with the aid of the device.The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. -- The payload fairing containing the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM, spacecraft is lifted to the top of Space Launch Complex-3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. where it will be mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission LDCM is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government. The Landsat Program provides repetitive acquisition of high resolution multispectral data of the Earth's surface on a global basis. The data from the Landsat spacecraft constitute the longest record of the Earth's continental surfaces as seen from space. It is a record unmatched in quality, detail, coverage, and value. Liftoff is planned for Feb. 11, 2013 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

The space shuttle Atlantis is revealed as the rotating service structure (RSS) is rolled back at launch pad 39a on Thursday, July 7, 2011 at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Atlantis is set to liftoff Friday, July 8, on the final flight of the shuttle program, STS-135, a 12-day mission to the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery perched on a crawler-transporter in the doorway of the massive Vehicle Assembly Building, is ready for its 3.4-mile journey to Launch Pad 39A. It will take the shuttle, attached to its external fuel tank, twin solid rocket boosters and mobile launcher platform, about seven hours to complete the move.This is the second time Discovery has rolled out to the pad for the STS-133 mission, and comes after a thorough check and modifications to the shuttle's external tank. Targeted to liftoff Feb. 24, Discovery will take the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2 (R2) to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Vertical Integration Facility on Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers maneuver the fifth and final solid rocket booster into place for mating to the Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket. Two of the other four rockets are seen at left. The Atlas V is the launch vehicle for the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft that will make the first reconnaissance of Pluto and its moon, Charon - a "double planet" and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. As it approaches Pluto, the spacecraft will look for ultraviolet emission from Pluto's atmosphere and make the best global maps of Pluto and Charon in green, blue, red and a special wavelength that is sensitive to methane frost on the surface. It will also take spectral maps in the near infrared, telling the science team about Pluto's and Charons surface compositions and locations and temperatures of these materials. When the spacecraft is closest to P

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 4, a crane lowers the Ares I-X Super Stack 3 onto Super Stack 2 for integration. The upper stage comprises five super stacks, which are integrated with the four-segment solid rocket booster first stage on the mobile launch platform. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31, pending formal NASA Headquarters approval.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the orbiter Atlantis is slowly lowered alongside the external tank and solid rocket boosters below. Also visible are the three main engine nozzles, each measuring 7.8 feet across and 9.4 feet high. The 122-foot-long orbiter is easily accommodated inside the 525-foot-tall, 518-foot-wide VAB. After being mated with the tank and solid rocket boosters stack, Atlantis will be transported to Launch Pad 39A. Atlantis will fly on mission STS-101 to the International Space Station, where its crew of seven will prepare the Station for the arrival of the next pressurized module, the Russian-built Zvezda. Atlantis is expected to launch no earlier than April 17, 2000

STS-130 Endeavour Rollout - Includes 1st Motion

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis is lowered by a sling toward the transfer aisle floor. Atlantis has been taken off its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters stack after of the delay of its STS-125 mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis will be returned to the Orbiter Processing Facility. Atlantis' targeted launch on Oct. 14 was delayed when a system that transfers science data from the orbiting observatory to Earth malfunctioned on Sept. 27. The new target launch date is under review.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the second of two solid rocket boosters is being installed on the right side of the Delta IV launch vehicle for the GOES-O spacecraft. GOES-O is one of a series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. The multi-mission GOES series N-P will be a vital contributor to weather, solar and space operations and science. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, are actively engaged in a cooperative program to expand the existing GOES system with the launch of the GOES N-P satellites. Launch of the GOES-O is targeted for no earlier than April 2009.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the core stage of a Delta IV rocket is lifted into a vertical position for placement in the mobile service tower.The rocket's first stage mated to its second stage comprise the core stage. The rocket is slated to launch GOES-P, the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The Delta IV rocket will be launched by United Launch Alliance for Boeing Launch Services under an FAA commercial license. Launch is targeted for no earlier than March 1.

Encapsulated in its payload fairing, Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-M) is mated to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V Centaur upper stage in the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. TDRS-M will be the latest spacecraft destined for the agency's constellation of communications satellites that allows nearly continuous contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. Liftoff atop the ULA Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Aug. 18, 2017.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a crane lifts a solid rocket booster segment toward high bay 3 where it will be placed on mobile launcher platform No. 2 for use on mission STS-115. The mission will deliver a truss and other key components to the International Space Station. Launch is currently scheduled for late August.

SDO MOVE FROM ASTROTECH TO PAD 41 - LIFT & MATE

The first of two Artemis I aft booster segments for the Space Launch System is lowered onto the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 23, 2020. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to t

Orion Media Day takes place at Lockheed Martins Waterton facility in Littleton, Colorado on Oct. 21, 2011. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building, a fisheye lens captures Space Shuttle Atlantis as it is lifted from its External Tank_Solid Rocket Booster stack. The orbiter will be lowered into the transfer aisle and rolled back to Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) bay 1. Once in the OPF, processing will begin for mission STS-115, the 19th flight to the International Space Station. The tank, ET-120, is the first redesigned ET to arrive at KSC and will undergo further testing before Return to Flight mission STS-121 next year.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician monitors the progress as a crane operator lowers a full-size mock-up of the Orion spacecraft in High Bay 4. Crane operators and technicians practice stacking and de-stacking operations in order to keep processing procedures and skills current for the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry crews to space beyond low Earth orbit. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orions first unpiloted test flight is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket. A second uncrewed flight test is scheduled for 2017 on NASAs Space Launch System rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lifts Super Stack 2, part of the Ares I-X upper stage. The stack is being moved across the transfer aisle for attachment to Super Stack 1 in High Bay 3. Beneath is seen Super Stack 3 and at left is the crew module-launch abort system, or CM-LAS, and simulator service module-service adapter stack. The upper stage comprises five super stacks, which are integrated with the four-segment solid rocket booster first stage on the mobile launch platform. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31, pending formal NASA Headquarters approval.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- With the early morning light behind it, Space Shuttle Endeavour appears to fill the opening in the Vehicle Assembly Building as it begins rollout to Launch Pad 39B on the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP). At the bottom can be seen the crawler-transporter that moves the combined Shuttle and MLP. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The morning light spills through the open door of the Vehicle Assembly Building as Space Shuttle Atlantis begins rolling out to Launch Pad 39A. First motion was at 8:19 a.m. The 3.4-mile trip along the crawlerway will take about 6 hours. The mission payload aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis is the S3/S4 integrated truss structure, along with a third set of solar arrays and batteries. The crew of six astronauts will install the truss to continue assembly of the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for March 15.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery begins its nighttime trek, known as "rollout," from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A. It will take the shuttle, attached to its external fuel tank, twin solid rocket boosters and mobile launcher platform, about six hours to complete the move atop a crawler-transporter. Rollout sets the stage for Discovery's STS-133 crew to practice countdown and launch procedures during the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test in mid-October. Targeted to liftoff Nov. 1, Discovery will take the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2 (R2) to the International Space Station.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, United Launch Alliance engineers and technicians encapsulate the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft in its payload fairing. TDRS-L will then be transported to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories.

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Floridas Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 4, 2022. Starliner will be secured atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for Boeings second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) to the International Space Station for NASAs Commercial Crew Program. The spacecraft rolled out from Boeings Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center earlier in the day.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis is rotated into a vertical position by crane over the transfer aisle in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Next, Atlantis will be lifted over a transom and lowered onto a mobile launch platform in high bay 1.It then will be attached to an external fuel tank and pair of solid rocket boosters already secured to the platform. Rollout of the completed shuttle stack to Kennedys Launch Pad 39A, a significant milestone in launch processing activities, is planned for Oct. 13. Liftoff of Atlantis on its STS-129 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for 4:04 p.m. EST Nov. 12 during a 10-minute launch window.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician checks data before space shuttle Atlantis is lifted into High Bay 3. In the bay, the shuttle will be lowered and mated with its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher platform. After additional preparations are made, the shuttle will be rolled out to Launch Pad 39A for a targeted launch on May 12 on the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space shuttle Atlantis is lifted into the upper levels of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Atlantis will be lifted into high bay 3 and mated with the external tank and solid rocket boosters designated for mission STS-122, already secured atop a mobile launcher platform. On this mission, Atlantis will deliver the Columbus module to the International Space Station. The European Space Agency's largest contribution to the station, Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony. The module is approximately 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 large racks of experiments. The laboratory will expand the research facilities aboard the station, providing crew members and scientists from around the world the ability to conduct a variety of experiments in the physical, materials and life sciences. Mission STS-122 is targeted for launch on Dec. 6.

The first stage of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket arrives at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket is being prepared for Orbital ATK's seventh commercial resupply mission, CRS-7, to the International Space Station. Orbital ATK's CYGNUS pressurized cargo module is scheduled to launch atop ULA's Atlas V rocket from Pad 41 on March 19, 2017. CYGNUS will deliver thousands of pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, segments of the Ares I-X first stage move past other stacks toward the fifth simulator segment stack at right. The two stacks will be mated, completing Super Stack 1. The super stack comprises the forward skirt, forward skirt extension, interstages 1 and 2 and the fifth segment simulator. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted no earlier than Aug. 30 from Launch Pad 39B.

Encapsulated inside its payload fairing, the Cygnus spacecraft for the upcoming Orbital ATK Commercial Resupply Services-6 mission arrives at the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where it will be mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Cygnus is scheduled to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on March 22 to deliver hardware and supplies to the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - As it hangs suspended in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis is being fitted with an apparatus that will help lower it to a horizontal position. Atlantis has been taken off its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters stack after of the delay of its STS-125 mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis will be returned to the Orbiter Processing Facility. Atlantis' targeted launch on Oct. 14 was delayed when a system that transfers science data from the orbiting observatory to Earth malfunctioned on Sept. 27. The new target launch date is under review.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Atlantis is moved across the I-beam toward the waiting external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters in high bay 3. Atlantis will be lowered and mated to the tank-booster stack on the mobile launcher platform. After additional preparations are made, the shuttle will be rolled out to Launch Pad 39A to prepare for launch on the STS-125 mission targeted for 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Resilience for NASA SpaceXs Crew-1 mission are seen inside the SpaceX Hangar at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 9, 2020, before rollout to Launch Pad 39A. Crew-1 is the first regular crew mission of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program. The Crew Dragon capsule will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A carrying NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the space station for a six-month science mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a crane lifts space shuttle Discovery into the upper levels. Discovery will be lowered into high bay 3 and mated to the external tank and solid rocket boosters waiting there in preparation for launch on the upcoming STS-124 mission to the International Space Station. On the mission, the STS-124 crew will transport the Japanese Experiment Module - Pressurized Module and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System to the space station. Launch of Discovery is targeted for May 31

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Suspended from an overhead crane, the orbiter Discovery is being lifted in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. Discovery will be lifted up and then lowered to the Solid Rocket Booster and External Tank already stacked on the top of the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP). After Discovery has been mated to the External Tank_Solid Rocket Booster assembly on the MLP and all umbilicals have been connected, workers will perform an electrical and mechanical verification of the mated interfaces to verify all critical vehicle connections. A Shuttle interface test is performed using the launch processing system to verify Space Shuttle vehicle interfaces and Space Shuttle vehicle-to-ground interfaces. In approximately one week, Space Shuttle Discovery will be ready for rollout to Launch Pad 39B for Return to Flight mission STS-114. The launch window for STS-114 is May 15 to June 3.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In high bay No. 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building, Space Shuttle Atlantis awaits its return to Launch Pad 39A. In late February, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area. The hail caused visible divots in the giant tank's foam insulation, as well as minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-117 is now targeted for June 8. A flight readiness review will be held on May 30 and 31.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis is moved toward High Bay 3 where the top of its external fuel tank can be seen. In the bay, the shuttle will be lowered and mated with the external tank and solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher platform. After additional preparations are made, the shuttle will be rolled out to Launch Pad 39A for a targeted launch on May 12 on the STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder into High Bay 3 on Oct. 16, 2019. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived on NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedys Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 27, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The pathfinder is being used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy through at least the month of October before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.

SpaceXs Crew Dragon, named Endeavour, is lifted and mated to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Launch Complex 39A beginning April 13, 2021. Endeavour was transported to the Launch Complex 39A integration hangar on April 12, after making the trek from its processing facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and  Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will fly to the International Space Station on NASAs SpaceX Crew-2 mission. Liftoff is set for Thursday, April 22, at 6:11 a.m. EDT.

NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building as members of the media setup remote cameras to capture the first rollout to Launch Complex 39B, Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Ahead of NASAs Artemis I flight test, the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft will undergo a wet dress rehearsal at Launch Complex 39B to verify systems and practice countdown procedures for the first launch.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews guide NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, inside a payload fairing, into place atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41. The Atlas V will lift MAVEN into space and on to Mars. MAVEN is short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo is lifted out of the payload canister that transported it from the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2. Leonardo will be placed on a workstand and prepared for a future launch to the International Space Station. Leonardo is one of three MPLMs that are being used as cargo vans to carry supplies, equipment and research racks to the Space Station and back to KSC. Leonardo recently returned from its maiden voyage to the Station on mission STS-102

The Soyuz fairing is seen laying horizontal in front the of the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft as Expedition 43 Russian Cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko, and, Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), and, NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly perform their fit checks, Sunday, March 15, 2015 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The trio are preparing for launch to the International Space Station in their Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan March 28, Kazakh time. As the one-year crew, Kelly and Kornienko will return to Earth on Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a Lockheed Martin Atlas Centaur IIA (AC-144) rocket is lifted up the launch tower. The rocket will be used in the launch of TDRS-J, scheduled for Nov. 20. The third in a series of telemetry satellites, TDRS-J will help replenish the current constellation of geosynchronous TDRS satellites. The TDRS System is the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. It also provides communications with the International Space Station and scientific spacecraft in low-Earth orbit such as the Hubble Space Telescope. This new advanced series of satellites will extend the availability of TDRS communications services until about 2017.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lifts the Ares I-X Super Stack 4. The stack will be moved to High Bay 3 for integration with Super Stack 3. Five super stacks make up the upper stage that will be integrated with the four-segment solid rocket booster first stage on the mobile launch platform. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31, pending formal NASA Headquarters approval.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, shuttle Atlantis is lowered by an overhead crane into a high bay where it will be attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters already on the mobile launcher platform.Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are expected to launch in mid-July, taking with them the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 41, the Juno spacecraft, enclosed in an Atlas payload fairing, is transferred into the Vertical Integration Facility where it will be positioned on top of the Atlas rocket stacked inside. The spacecraft was prepared for launch in the Astrotech Space Operations' payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla.The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the impact of aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent and will be jettisoned once the spacecraft is outside the Earth's atmosphere. Juno is scheduled to launch Aug. 5 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 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.

STS-130 LAUNCH L-1 RSS ROLLBACK

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery finds shelter in the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, after rolling from Orbiter Processing Facility-2, or OPF-2.Discovery will be stored inside the VAB for approximately one month while shuttle Atlantis undergoes processing in OPF-2 following its final mission, STS-135. Discovery flew its 39th and final mission, STS-133, in February and March 2011, and currently is being prepared for public display at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.

Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System are being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The first and second stages of the Boeing Delta IV rocket arrive at Launch Pad 37-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station after leaving the Horizontal Integration Facility, where the two stages were mated. The Delta IV is scheduled to launch the GOES-N satellite May 4. The satellite is the first of three for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. GOES-N will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric triggers of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements. NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center is responsible for development of the satellite and testing of the spacecraft and its instruments.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The second half of the fairing (right) is prepared for mating with the first half and encapsulating the TDRS-J satellite for launch. The satellite is scheduled to be launched aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIA-Centaur rocket from Launch Complex 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on Dec. 4. The third in a series of telemetry satellites, TDRS-J will help replenish the current constellation of geosynchronous TDRS satellites. The TDRS System is the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. It also provides communications with the International Space Station and scientific spacecraft in low-Earth orbit such as the Hubble Space Telescope. This new advanced series of satellites will extend the availability of TDRS communications services until about 2017.

NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building before rolling out to Launch Complex 39B for the first time, Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Ahead of NASAs Artemis I flight test, the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft will undergo a wet dress rehearsal at Launch Complex 39B to verify systems and practice countdown procedures for the first launch.

JPSS-2 Spacecraft Transport to Pad and Lift/Mate. A close-up view of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing containing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) as it is hoisted up by crane at the vertical integration facility at Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Oct. 18, 2022. Inside the fairing, JPSS-2 is stacked atop NASAs Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) secondary payload. 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 SLC-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. The NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, and NOAA-20, previo

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the vertical external fuel tank 130 is suspended by a crane over the transfer aisle. The tank will be lifted into high bay 2 for checkout before stacking with the solid rocket boosters and space shuttle Atlantis for the STS-125 mission. The fuel tank was previously designated for the STS-127 mission. The STS-125 Hubble servicing mission is targeted to launch May 12.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, shuttle Atlantis is lifted by an overhead crane and moved into a high bay where it will be attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters already on the mobile launcher platform.Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are expected to launch in mid-July, taking with them the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled out of the horizontal integration facility at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Feb. 28, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission will be the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 2:49am launch on March 2, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities.

STS-133 ET-137 LIFT FOR MATE TO SRB'S

STS-131 ET-135 MOVE TO TEST CELL

The Orion for Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) is complete and ready for flight inside the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 4, 2014. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft are moved inside their payload fairing on the payload transporter from the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The fairing, which holds the twin RBSP spacecraft, will be lifted to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for launch later in August. The two spacecraft are designed to study the Van Allen radiation belts in unprecedented detail.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Technicians prepare to hoist the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft inside their payload fairing to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The two spacecraft are designed to study the Van Allen radiation belts in unprecedented detail.

Inside the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers are completing the integration of a test version of the Orion crew module with the Launch Abort System (LAS) on May 18, 2019. The test vehicle and the LAS will be used for the Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) Flight Test. AA-2 is a full-stress test of the LAS, planned for July 2. AA-2 will launch from Space Launch Complex 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety if an emergency occurs during ascent on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs, contractors Jacob's, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch and the 45th Space Wing are performing flight operations for AA-2.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An Orion mockup spacecraft atop its service module simulator is lifted in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Orion mockup is exact in details on the outside, but mostly empty on the inside. The work in the VAB is crucial to making sure the designs are accurate. Visible in the background on the left is the space shuttle Atlantis being readied for its move to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry crews to space beyond low Earth orbit. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket and in 2017 on a Space Launch System rocket.

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