Rocket Launch Preparation

Images depicting rockets and spacecraft in vertical integration facilities, highlighting preparations for space missions.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket is scheduled to launch the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M. It 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 to take place from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 on Aug. 3, 2017 at 9:02 a.m. EDT.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket is scheduled to launch the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M. It 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 to take place from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 on Aug. 3, 2017 at 9:02 a.m. EDT.

The payload fairing containing the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module is lifted by crane at the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The payload will be hoisted up and mated to the ULA Atlas V rocket. 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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41, the Atlas V first stage is being moved into the Vertical Integration Facility. The Atlas V/Centaur is the launch vehicle for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO. The orbiter will carry seven instruments to provide scientists with detailed maps of the lunar surface and enhance our understanding of the moon's topography, lighting conditions, mineralogical composition and natural resources. Information gleaned from LRO will be used to select safe landing sites, determine locations for future lunar outposts and help mitigate radiation dangers to astronauts. Launch of LRO is targeted no earlier than June 2.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage has been positioned inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket is scheduled to launch the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M. It 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 to take place from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 on Aug. 3, 2017 at 9:02 a.m. EDT.

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Floridas Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Nov. 21, 2019. Starliner will be secured atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for Boeings Orbital Flight Test 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.

A Centaur upper stage is mated to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage inside the Space Launch Complex 41 Vertical Integration Facility at Floridas Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Nov. 8, 2019, in preparation for Boeings Orbital Flight Test (OFT). The uncrewed OFT mission will rendezvous and dock Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft with the International Space Station as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program. Starliner will launch atop the Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a solid rocket motor now is in position to be attached to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster stage already in the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch complex 41.NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

A solid rocket booster is lifted up the mobile launch tower at Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station. It will be mated with a Boeing Delta II rocket that will carry the Stardust spacecraft into space for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a medium called aerogel, Stardust will capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of the comet, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in a sample return capsule to be jettisoned as Stardust swings by Earth in January 2006. Stardust is scheduled to be launched on Feb. 6, 1999

Workers hoist the first stage of a Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle-2 (LMLV-2) for placement at Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), Fla. The Lunar Prospector spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard the LMLV-2 from CCAS in October for an 18-month mission that will orbit the Earths Moon to collect data from the lunar surface. Information gathered during the mission will allow construction of a detailed map of the surface composition of the Moon and will improve our understanding of its origin, evolution, current state, and resources

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, with its Centaur second stage atop, stands in the Vertical Integration Facility as preparations continue for lift off of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L.TDRS-L is the second of three next-generation satellites 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 an Atlas V rocket in January 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay service to missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the first stage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket positioned in the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41. The vehicle will be used to boost the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft to orbit.TDRS-L is the second of three next-generation satellites 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 an Atlas V rocket in January 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay service to missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41, the Centaur upper stage is moved into place in the Vertical Integration Facility for installation onto the Atlas V first stage, seen below it. The Atlas V/Centaur is the launch vehicle for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS. LCROSS and LRO are the first missions in NASA's plan to return humans to the moon and begin establishing a lunar outpost by 2020.

A crane is used to lift the payload fairing containing NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GOES-R will be mated to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V Centaur upper stage in preparation for launch in November. GOES-R is the first satellite in a series of next-generation NOAA GOES Satellites.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The first stage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, or MMS, is positioned on the launch platform in the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. MMS will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known a magnetic reconnection. MMS consists of four identical spacecraft that work together to provide the first three-dimensional view of this fundamental process, which occurs throughout the universe. Launch is set for March 12.

At the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a solid rocket booster (SRB) is lifted by a crane for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage. The SRB will help boost NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S, to orbit. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites that will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage has been lifted to the vertical position in the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) will launch aboard the Atlas V rocket in November. GOES-R will be the first satellite in a series of next-generation NOAA GOES Satellites.

The first stage of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket was lifted to the vertical position inside 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.

MSL - Atlas 2nd Stage Move Lift & Stacking

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the Centaur stage has just been mated with the Atlas V rocket, which will launch the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft.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 Cape Canaveral. Liftoff is targeted for Aug. 23, 2012.

A crane lifts a United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster at Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket will launch NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, mission to land on Mars. InSight is the first mission to explore the Red Planet's deep interior. It will investigate processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system including Earth. Liftoff is scheduled for May 5, 2018.

The doors of the gantry support structure are opened to reveal the Minotaur V rocket on Pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Friday, Sept. 6, 2013 in Virginia. The Minotaur V will launch NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE). LADEE is a robotic mission that will orbit the moon where it will provide unprecedented information about the environment around the moon and give scientists a better understanding of other planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond. LADEE is scheduled to launch at 11:27 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, technicians use a lifting device to elevate a solid rocket motor (SRM) into an upright position for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket which will carry NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. MSL is scheduled to launch Nov. 25 with a window extending to Dec. 18 and arrival at Mars Aug. 2012.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payload canister with space shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission payload inside is in place to be lifted into the Payload Changeout Room, or PCR, above. Inside the canister are the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo and the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier. The payload canister will release its cargo into the PCR. Later, the payload will be installed in Endeavour's payload bay. Endeavour is targeted for launch on Nov. 14.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister with the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) inside is lifted up the tower on Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. SIRTF will be mated with the Delta II launch vehicle in the tower. SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space. Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed from the ground. Consisting of an 0.85-meter telescope and three cryogenically cooled science instruments, SIRTF is one of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers at the base of the launch tower on NASA's Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC-2), Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., watch as the interstage of the Delta II rocket is lifted up the tower. The interstage will eventually house the second stage and will be mated with the first stage. The rocket will carry the ICESat and CHIPSat satellites into Earth orbits. ICESat is a 661-pound satellite known as Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) that will revolutionize our understanding of ice and its role in global climate change and how we protect and understand our home planet. It will help scientists determine if the global sea level is rising or falling. It will look at the ice sheets that blanket the Earth's poles to see if they are growing or shrinking. It will assist in developing an understanding of how changes in the Earth's atmosphere and climate effect polar ice masses and global sea level. CHIPSat, a suitcase-size 131-pound satellite, will provide in

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the second stage of the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle for the STEREO spacecraft is lifted into the mobile service tower. The stage has been returned to the pad after being tested for leaks in the High-Pressure Test Facility; no leak was observed. The stage will be remated with the Delta first stage. STEREO stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and comprises two spacecraft. The STEREO mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-dimension. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. STEREO is expected to lift off on Aug. 31.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a large crane lifts the first stage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket into the vertical position. The Atlas V is being prepared for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, mission.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 launch aboard an Atlas V rocket. Launch is targeted for Aug. 23.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers use an overhead crane to lift the first stage of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket into the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41. NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

United Launch Alliance team members monitor the progress as the operation begins to lift the Centaur upper stage for mating to its Atlas V booster in the vertical position at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket is scheduled to launch the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M. It 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 to take place from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 in early August.

At Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a boattail fairing is lifted by a crane for mating atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Centaur upper stage. The boattail is an adaptor providing an interface between the Centaur and the payload fairing encapsulating NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft. A ULA Atlas V rocket is scheduled to liftoff on May 5, 2018, launching InSight the first mission to explore the deep interior of Mars. It will investigate processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system including Earth.

A Centaur upper stage is lifted at the Space Launch Complex 41 Vertical Integration Facility at Floridas Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Nov. 8, 2019, for mating to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage in preparation for Boeings Orbital Flight Test (OFT). The uncrewed OFT mission will rendezvous and dock Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft with the International Space Station as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program. Starliner will launch atop the Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41.

A crane is attached to the third of four solid rocket boosters (SRB) for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket to lift it into the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida on June 8, 2020. The SRB will be lifted up and mated to the Atlas V booster in the VIF. NASAs Mars 2020 mission with the Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch on July 20, 2020, atop the Atlas V rocket from Pad 41. The rover is part of NASAs Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rovers seven instruments will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

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

A solid rocket booster is maneuvered into place for installation on the Boeing Delta 7326 rocket that will launch Deep Space 1 at Launch Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station. 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. Delta's origins go back to the Thor intermediate-range ballistic missile, which was developed in the mid-1950s for the U.S. Air Force. The Thor a single-stage, liquid-fueled rocket later was modified to become the Delta launch vehicle. The Delta 7236 has three solid rocket boosters and a Star 37 upper stage. Delta IIs are manufactured in Huntington Beach, Calif. Rocketdyne, a division of The Boeing Company, builds Delta II's main engine in Canoga Park, Calif. Final assembly takes place at the Boeing facility in Pueblo, Colo. Deep Space 1, the first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program, is designed to validate 12 new techno

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Pad 17-A, the Boeing Delta II rocket is lifted up the gantry. The rocket is the launch vehicle for the CONTOUR spacecraft, scheduled to launch July 1. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. The spacecraft will fly close to at least two comets, Encke and Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, taking pictures of the nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X fifth segment simulator assembly is lowered through a work platform in High Bay 4. Ares I-X is the flight test vehicle for the Ares I, the essential core of a safe, reliable, cost-effective space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. Ares I-X is targeted for launch in August 2009.

At the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a solid rocket booster (SRB) is lifted by a crane for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage. The SRB will help boost NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S, to orbit. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites that will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, with the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module, has exited the Vertical Integration Facility for the trip to the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Orbital ATK's seventh commercial resupply services mission, CRS-7, is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station on April 18, 2017. Cygnus will deliver 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:11 a.m. EDT.

At the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a United Launch Alliance Centaur upper stage has been mated to an Atlas V booster. The rocket is scheduled to launch the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M. It 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 to take place from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 in early August.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, part of the fairing for the Genesis spacecraft is lifted up the gantry. The fairing will encapsulate the spacecraft to protect it during launch aboard a Delta II rocket. Genesis will be on a journey to capture samples of the ions and elements in the solar wind and return them to Earth for scientists to use to determine the exact composition of the Sun and the solar systems origin. NASAs Genesis project in managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Lockheed Martin Astronautics built the Genesis spacecraft for NASA in Denver, Colo. The launch is scheduled for July 30 at 12:36 p.m. EDT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida, the Centaur stage has been mated to the Atlas V rocket that will carry the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, into orbit.Launch of the TDRS-K on the Atlas V rocket is planned for January 29, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers complete raising a solid rocket booster to a vertical position. It will be lifted up the launch tower and mated to the Delta rocket to launch Mars Exploration Rover 2. NASAs twin Mars Exploration Rovers are 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 cant yet go. MER-2 is scheduled to launch June 5 as MER-A. MER-1 (MER-B) will launch June 25.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers deliver the fifth and final solid rocket booster to the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41. It then will be lifted into position and attached to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster stage, already at the pad.NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

The USSF-12 payload is hoisted to the top of the Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. June 15, 2022. The Payload consists of two satellites the Wide Field of View (WFOV) and the USSF-12 Ring.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Vertical Integration Facility on Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a solid rocket booster is being lowered into position on the Atlas V rocket at left. The Atlas V is the launch vehicle for NASAs New Horizons spacecraft, scheduled to launch in January 2006 on a journey to Pluto and its moon, Charon.

A crane lifts the nosecone part of a solid rocket booster replica into place at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit and attraction is under construction.

At the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a solid rocket booster (SRB) is lifted by a crane for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage. The SRB will help boost NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S, to orbit. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites that will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure (RSS) moves away from space shuttle Endeavour on Launch Pad 39A. The structure provides weather protection and access to the shuttle while it awaits lift off on the pad. RSS "rollback," as it's called, began at 11:44 a.m. EDT on May 15 and was completed at 12:24 p.m. STS-134 will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), Express Logistics Carrier-3, a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the International Space Station. May 16 at 8:56 a.m. will be the second launch attempt for Endeavour. The first attempt on April 29 was scrubbed because of an issue associated with a faulty power distribution box called the aft load control assembly-2 (ALCA-2). STS-134 will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payload canister containing the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo is nestled in the payload changeout room at Launch Pad 39A. Located on the pad's rotating service structure, the room is an enclosed, environmentally controlled area that supports payload delivery and servicing at the pad and attaches to the shuttle's cargo bay for vertical payload installation. The contents of the canister, including Leonardo, is set to be transferred into space shuttle Discovery's cargo bay on March 24. The seven-member STS-131 crew will deliver Leonardo, filled with resupply stowage platforms and racks, to the International Space Station. STS-131 will be the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall. Launch is targeted for April 5.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payload canister is lifted up to the Payload Changeout Room in the rotating service structure. Umbilical lines that keep the payload in an environmentally controlled environment are still attached. Inside is the payload for space shuttle Discovery and the STS-128 mission, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo and the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier. Discovery's 13-day flight will deliver a new crew member and 33,000 pounds of equipment to the station. The equipment includes science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. Launch of Discovery on its STS-128 mission is targeted for August 25.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Another solid rocket booster is raised to vertical on Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It is the second of nine SRBs that will be mated to the Delta II rocket for the Mars Exploration Rover 1 (MER-1) launch June 25. NASAs twin Mars Exploration Rovers are 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 cant yet go. MER-2 (MER-A) will launch June 5.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers use an overhead crane to lift the first stage of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket into the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41. NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM, satellite is mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in the gantry at Space Launch Complex 3E.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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Complex 37-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the transporter grid is carefully moved from the Boeing Delta IV rocket in the gantry. The Delta IV is the launch vehicle for the GOES-N satellite, 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. GOES-N is scheduled for launch on May 4.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers using an overhead crane lift the fifth and final solid rocket booster into the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41. It then will be attached to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster stage, already at the pad.NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The first stage of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket for NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, or SMAP, is hoisted into a vertical position for its move into the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. These measurements will be used to enhance understanding of processes that link the water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capabilities of weather and climate prediction models. SMAP data also will be used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flood prediction and drought monitoring capabilities. Launch is scheduled for November 2014.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - At NASA Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, another Solid Rocket Booster is ready to be attached to the Boeing Delta II rocket seen behind it. The Delta is the launch vehicle for the CALIPSO_CloudSat spacecraft. CALIPSO stands for Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation. CALIPSO and CloudSat are highly complementary satellites and together will provide never-before-seen 3-D perspectives of how clouds and aerosols form, evolve, and affect weather and climate. CALIPSO and CloudSat will fly in formation with three other satellites in the A-train constellation to enhance understanding of our climate system. Launch of CALIPSO_CloudSat aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for 3 01 a.m. Sept. 29.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 39A, the payload canister is prepared for lifting. Inside the canister are the S5 truss, SPACEHAB module and external stowage platform 3, the payload for mission STS-118. The canister will be lifted up to the payload changeout room above and the payloads transferred inside to wait for Space Shuttle Endeavour to arrive at the pad. The changeout room is the enclosed, environmentally controlled portion of the rotating service structure that supports cargo delivery to the pad and subsequent vertical installation into the orbiter payload bay. The mission will be Endeavour's first flight in more than four years. The shuttle has undergone extensive modifications, including the addition of safety upgrades already added to shuttles Discovery and Atlantis. Endeavour also features new hardware, such as the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System that will allow the docked shuttle to draw electrical power from the station and extend its visits to

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the payload canister waits to be lifted up into the payload changeout room above, part of the rotating service structure. The canister holds the payloads for mission STS-121: the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station; the lightweight multi-purpose experiment support structure carrier; and the integrated cargo carrier, with the mobile transporter reel assembly and a spare pump module. The payloads will be transferred to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 from Launch Pad 39B in a window that opens July 1 and extends to July 19.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the payload canister approaches the waiting payload changeout room in the rotating service structure. The canister will be lifted up to the changeout room and the payload transferred inside. 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. From the payload changeout room, the pressurized module and RMS then will be transferred into space shuttle Discoverys payload bay. Launch is targeted for May 31.

Workers at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex-2 prepare to hoist NASAs National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft, which is tucked inside a protective payload transportation canister. 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.

GOES-P DELTA IV SRB #2 LIFT & MATE TO BOOSTER

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The enclosed Space Tracking and Surveillance System - Demonstrators, or STSS-Demo, spacecraft is being lifted into the mobile service tower on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Pad 17-B. The STSS Demo is a space-based sensor component of a layered Ballistic Missile Defense System designed for the overall mission of detecting, tracking and discriminating ballistic missiles. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency between 8 and 8:58 a.m. EDT Sept. 18. Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-04886 (10 SEPT 09)

Packaged in a protective container, the Joint Polar Satellite System-1, or JPSS-1, spacecraft is about to be lifted and mated atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Built by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado, JPSS is the first in a series four next-generation environmental satellites in a collaborative program between the NOAA and NASA. Liftoff is scheduled to take place from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 2.

STS-134 Payload Canister Move from Press Site to Pad 39A

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians in the rotating service structures control booth roll the structure from space shuttle Discovery. First motion was at 5:06 a.m. EDT. The rollback is preparation for Discoverys scheduled 1:36 a.m. EDT liftoff Aug. 25 with a crew of seven. The service structure provides weather protection and access to the space shuttle at the launch pad. The 13-day mission will deliver a new crew member and 33,000 pounds of equipment to the International Space Station. The equipment includes science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. STS-128 will be Discovery's 37th mission and the 30th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and maintenance.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, is lifted into the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.Launch is scheduled for July 1, 2014. The observatory will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Centaur stage which will help boost the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, into orbit arrives by transport truck at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida for mating to an Atlas V rocket.Launch of the TDRS-K on the Atlas V rocket is planned for January 29, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, technicians use a lifting device to elevate a solid rocket motor (SRM) into an upright position for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket which will carry NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. MSL is scheduled to launch Nov. 25 with a window extending to Dec. 18 and arrival at Mars Aug. 2012.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers take a moment to observe the Atlas V expendable launch vehicle with the New Horizons spacecraft poised for launch. The liftoff is scheduled for 1:24 p.m. EST Jan. 17. After its launch aboard the Atlas V, the compact, 1,050-pound piano-sized probe will get a boost from a kick-stage solid propellant motor for its journey to Pluto. New Horizons will be the fastest spacecraft ever launched, reaching lunar orbit distance in just nine hours and passing Jupiter 13 months later. The New Horizons science payload, developed under direction of Southwest Research Institute, includes imaging infrared and ultraviolet spectrometers, a multi-color camera, a long-range telescopic camera, two particle spectrometers, a space-dust detector and a radio science experiment. The dust counter was designed and built by students at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A launch before Feb. 3 allows New Horizons

STS-134 Payload Canister Move from Press Site to Pad 39A

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the first stage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is lifted for stacking in the Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41. The vehicle will be used to boost the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft to orbit.TDRS-L is the second of three next-generation satellites 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 an Atlas V rocket in January 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay service to missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station.

NASA Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for Artemis I are in view inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agencys NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 3, 2022. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a third solid rocket booster is raised to a vertical position. It will be lifted into the mobile service tower for attachment around the Delta II first stage. The SRB is one of nine to be attached for the launch of the Dawn spacecraft. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres.

At the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a solid rocket booster (SRB) is mated to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage. The SRB will help boost NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S, to orbit. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites that will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A solid-fueled booster is lifted into Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida where a United Launch Alliance Delta II is being prepared for launch. The Delta II will carry NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft into lunar orbit. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. GRAIL is scheduled to launch September 8, 2011.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After being raised to a vertical position, the first stage of an Atlas V rocket has been moved into the Vertical Integration Facility to begin preparations for launch on Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Lockheed Martin Atlas V is the launch vehicle for the New Horizons spacecraft, which is designed to make the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon - a "double planet" and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. The mission will then visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune. New Horizons is scheduled to launch in January 2006, swing past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February or March 2007, and reach Pluto and its moon, Charon, in July 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the payload canister holding Space Shuttle Discovery's payloads nears the payload changeout room on the rotating service structure. The red umbilical lines are still attached. The payload changeout room provides an environmentally clean or "white room" condition in which to receive a payload transferred from a protective payload canister. After the shuttle arrives at the pad, the rotating service structure will close around it and the payloads, which include the multi-purpose logistics module and integrated cargo carrier, will then be transferred from the changeout room into Discovery's payload bay. Discovery's launch to the International Space Station on mission STS-121 is targeted for July 1 in a launch window that extends to July 19. During the 12-day mission, crew members will test new hardware and techniques to improve shuttle safety.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister is lifted off its transporter up to the payload changeout room. Inside the canister are the S5 truss, SPACEHAB module and external stowage platform 3, the payload for mission STS-118. The red umbilical lines are still attached. The payloads will be transferred inside the changeout room to wait for Space Shuttle Endeavour to arrive at the pad. The changeout room is the enclosed, environmentally controlled portion of the rotating service structure that supports cargo delivery to the pad and subsequent vertical installation into the orbiter payload bay. The mission will be Endeavour's first flight in more than four years. The shuttle has undergone extensive modifications, including the addition of safety upgrades already added to shuttles Discovery and Atlantis. Endeavour also features new hardware, such as the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System that will allow the docked shuttle to draw electrical power from the station and extend

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A full moon helps brighten the view of the payload canister containing the Italian-built U.S. Node 2 module, called Harmony, as it is s lifted up toward the payload changeout room on Launch Pad 39A. Once in place, the canister will be opened and the module transferred inside the payload changeout room. The payload will be installed in space shuttle Discovery's payload bay after the vehicle rolls out to the pad. Discovery is targeted for launch to the International Space Station for mission STS-120 on Oct. 23. The pressurized module will act as an internal connecting port and passageway to additional international science labs and cargo spacecraft.

A crane is used to lift the United Launch Alliances (ULA) first stage of the Atlas V 541 rocket at the Space Launch Complex-41 Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Jan. 31, 2022. The Atlas V will launch the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite T (GOES-T). GOES-T is the third satellite in the GOES-R series that will continue to help meteorologists observe and predict local weather events that affect public safety. GOES-T is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex-41 on March 1, 2022. The launch is being managed by NASAs Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center, Americas multi-user spaceport.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers observe the progress of the GLAST spacecraft as it is lifted toward the upper level of the mobile service tower. In the tower, GLAST will be mated with the Delta II second stage. 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. The launch date is targeted no earlier than June 3.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers prepare the first stage of the Boeing Delta II rocket, slated to launch NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), for installation into the mobile service tower at Pad 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Preparations are under way for a liftoff no earlier than July 22. STEREO consists of two spacecraft whose mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-D. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth.

The Soyuz rocket is seen on the launch pad as the service structure arms are closed around it, Monday, March 19, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 55 crewmembers Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel of NASA and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch at 1:44 p.m. Eastern time (11:44 p.m. Baikonur time) on March 21 and will spend the next five months living and working aboard the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The sun casts diamond-bright light over space shuttle Atlantis under the mate/demate device at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Atlantis is being fitted with a sling to lift it for attachment to the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, a modified Boeing 747. Atlantis landed at Edwards on May 24, which concluded mission STS-125, after two landing opportunities at Kennedy were waved off due to weather concerns. Atlantis is being returned to Florida on a ferry flight on the SCA. Atlantis' next assignment is the STS-129 mission, targeted to launch in November 2009.

The first half of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket payload fairing is lifted up and into the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on June 4, 2018. NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will launch later this year on the final Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry a single instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, is changing in a warming climate.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, is lifted from its transporter beside the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Launch is scheduled for July 2014. The observatory will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The transporter with the payload canister exits the Canister Rotation Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside the canister is space shuttle Endeavour's payload for the STS-127 mission, which includes the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section to the International Space Station. They will be installed on the Kibo laboratory on the station. Launch of Endeavour is targeted for June 13.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff with the SpaceX Dragon capsule aboard is set for 4:55 a.m. EDT on May 19. The launch will be the company's second demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program, or COTS.During the flight, the capsule will conduct a series of check-out procedures to test and prove its systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station. If the capsule performs as planned, the cargo and experiments it is carrying will be transferred to the station. The cargo includes food, water and provisions for the stations Expedition crews, such as clothing, batteries and computer equipment. Under COTS, NASA has partnered with two aerospace companies to deliver cargo to the station.

The crew access arm is swung into position for the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-2 mission, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Demo-2 mission is the first launch with astronauts of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. The flight test will serve as an end-to-end demonstration of SpaceXs crew transportation system. Behnken and Hurley are scheduled to launch at 4:33 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 27, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. A new era of human spaceflight is set to begin as American astronauts once again launch on an American rocket from American soil to low-Earth orbit for the first time since the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Pad 17-A, workers check the lower portion of the Boeing Delta II rocket as it is lifted off the transporter. The rocket is the launch vehicle for the CONTOUR spacecraft, scheduled to launch July 1. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. The spacecraft will fly close to at least two comets, Encke and Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, taking pictures of the nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - 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. -- The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASAs Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, spacecraft towers above the transporter moving it from the Vertical Integration Facility to the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Rollout began on schedule with first motion at 9:57 a.m.Launch is scheduled for Nov. 18 during a window that extends from 1:28 to 3:28 p.m. Once positioned in orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study its upper atmosphere in unprecedented detail.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Ares I-X aft assembly moves toward the door of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside, it will be stacked with other segments to complete the Ares I-X test vehicle. The aft assembly will be the first segment to be stacked on the mobile launch platform in the VAB. 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 Ares I-X flight test is targeted no earlier than Aug. 30 from Launch Pad 39B.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the canister containing the payload for space shuttle Endeavours STS-127 mission is prepared for its lift into the Payload Changeout Room. Endeavours rollaround from Pad 39B to Pad 39A is planned for May 30. The STS-127 payload includes the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section of the International Space Station. They will be installed on the Kibo laboratory already on the station. Launch of the STS-127 mission is targeted for June 13.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the core stage of a Delta IV rocket has been transferred into the mobile service tower. This view from the tower shows the proximity of the pad to the Atlantic Ocean, in the background.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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has been raised to vertical on the launch pad at Launch Complex 40, awaiting a test firing of the vehicle's nine Merlin first-stage engines. The test is part of prelaunch preparations for the upcoming SpaceX 2 mission. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is planned for March 1, 2013, at 10 10 a.m. EST, from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Dragon will be making its third trip to the space station. It will carry supplies and experiments to the orbiting laboratory. The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Boeing Delta II Heavy second-stage engine, the Aerojet AJ10-118K, is lifted up the mobile service tower on Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. At right can be seen the first stage of the Delta II and the nine Solid Rocket Boosters surrounding it. The Delta II is the launch vehicle for the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft, scheduled to lift off Aug. 2. Bound for Mercury, the spacecraft is expected to reach orbit around the planet in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The TDRS-J satellite is lifted up the gantry on Launch Complex 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The satellite is scheduled to be launched Dec. 4 aboard an Atlas IIA vehicle. The launch window is 9:42 to 10:22 p.m. EST. TDRS-J, the third in a series of telemetry satellites, will help replenish the current constellation of geosynchronous TDRS satellites that are the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. The satellites also provide 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.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at sunrise at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-4 mission, Monday, April 25, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission is the fourth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti are scheduled to launch no earlier than April 27, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

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