Rocket Launches and Space Exploration

Dramatic visuals of rocket launches and space missions, featuring iconic spacecraft like Columbia and Saturn boosters against striking skies.

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1) at Dusk

Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1) at Dusk

April 25, 1961 - View of the Mercury-Atlas 3 liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

(Unmanned) Gemini Titan #2 launched from Pad # 19. Cape Kennedy. (Test 4466)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, final preparations are made to roll the mobile service tower away from the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission.GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moons surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8.

Launch of Apollo 15

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers prepare the Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket for mating of the solid rocket boosters. In the foreground is the trailer used to transport the boosters to the pad. 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 Pluto or its moon, it will take close-up pictures

Titan II GLV-2, GT-2 launched from Pad 19, Cape Kennedy.

S71-41810 (26 July 1971) --- The 363-feet tall Apollo 15 (Spacecraft 112/Lunar Module 10/Saturn 510) space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 9 34 00.79 a.m., July 26, 1971, on a lunar landing mission. Aboard the Apollo 15 spacecraft were astronauts David R. Scott, commander; Alfred M. Worden, commander module pilot; and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot. Apollo 15 is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's

July 22, 1965 - Overall view of Launch Pad 19 showing Gemini-5 spacecraft atop the Gemini Launch Vehicle 5 during a wet mock simulation exercise.

S66-34098 (3 June 1966) --- The Gemini-9 spacecraft was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 19 at 8 39 a.m. (EST), June 3, 1966.

S63-22731 (31 Jan. 1961) --- The launch of the Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) suborbital mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Jan. 31, 1961. Onboard the spacecraft was Ham, a 37-pound chimpanzee. Despite an over-acceleration factor, the flight was considered to be successful. Following recovery Ham appeared to be in good physiological condition, but sometime later when he was shown the Mercury spacecraft it was visually apparent that he had no further interest in cooperating with the spaceflight program.

A full Moon is in view from Launch Complex 39B at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 14, 2022. The Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher, are being prepared for a wet dress rehearsal to practice timelines and procedures for launch. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and using the Moon as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.

S70-34852 (11 April 1970) --- The Apollo 13 (Spacecraft 109/Lunar Module 7/Saturn 508) space vehicle is launched from Pad A Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at 2 13 p.m. (EST), April 11, 1970. The crew of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a crane lifts a frustum towards platforms separating the transfer aisle from a high bay. The solid rocket booster segment is being moved into a high bay where it will be added to the stack being prepared for space shuttle mission STS-122, targeted for launch in December. On this mission, Atlantis will carry the Columbus Laboratory, the European Space Agency's largest contribution to the International Space Station. Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, also called Harmony, to carry out experiments in materials science, fluid physics and biosciences, as well as to support a number of technological applications.

A Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft and its booster rocket is seen, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2003, on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan during preparations for liftoff Oct. 18 to carry Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Science Officer Michael Foale, Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander Alexander Kaleri and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain to the International Space Station.

View of Solid Rocket Booster

Pelicans Fly By for a Closer Look at the Apollo 17

The Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The Saturn V vehicle produced a holocaust of flames as it rose from its pad at Launch complex 39. The 363 foot tall, 6,400,000 pound rocket hurled the spacecraft into Earth parking orbit and then placed it on the trajectory to the moon for mans first lunar landing. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module pilot. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished.

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft (left) nears the top of the gantry at Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be mated with the Delta II rocket seen in the center. The spacecraft will map the Martian surface in search of geological features that could indicate the presence of water, now or in the past, and may contribute significantly toward understanding what will be necessary for a more sophisticated exploration of Mars. Launch is scheduled for 11:02 a.m. EDT April 7

Soyuz spacecraft launch at the Russian Baikonur complex in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz spacecraft docked with a US Apollo capsule to test means for international rescue missions and future collaboration on manned spaceflights. July 15, 1975.

Night view of shelter, gantry and Space Shuttle Enterprise in launch position on the Space Launch Complex (SLC) #6, commonly known as "SLICK 6", photographed through the shelter building. Exact Date Shot Unknown. Base: Vandenberg Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the mobile service tower begins to roll away from the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission. The "rollback" began at about 11:20 p.m. EDT.GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future lunar vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on the moons surface. Launch is scheduled for 8:37:06 a.m. EDT Sept. 8.

Launch of Lunar Orbiter 1

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., the gantry at Space Launch Complex 3E rolls back from NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM, satellite 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.

S69-34327 (13 May 1969) --- Aerial, high-angle, view of the Apollo 10 (Spacecraft 106/Lunar Module 4/Saturn 505) space vehicle at Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The crew of the Apollo 10 lunar orbit mission will be astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, commander; John W. Young, command module pilot; and Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot.

STS027-S-005 (Dec 2, 1988) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched from Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Pad 39-B at 9:30 a.m. EST, on a Department of Defense (DOD) dedicated mission. This is the third mission for the orbiter Atlantis. Crew members are: Commander Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson; Pilot Guy S. Gardner; and Mission Specialists Jerry L. Ross, William M. Shepherd and Richard M. (Mike) Mullane.

A pre launch view of Pioneer-10 (or F) spacecraft encapsulated and mated with a Atlas-Centaura launch vehicle in preparation for mission to Jupiter

On Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers maneuver the first stage of a Boeing Delta rocket into a vertical position . The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, scheduled for launch April 7, 2001. Mars Odyssey contains three science instruments THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

S65-30412 (3 June 1965) --- The Gemini-Titan 4 (GT-4) spaceflight launches from Cape Kennedy's Pad 19 at 10:16 a.m. (EST) on June 3, 1965. The GT-4 spacecraft carried astronauts James A. McDivitt, command pilot, and Edward H. White II, pilot, on a four-day, 62-revolution mission.

S84-35325 (2 June 1984) --- The Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) for NASA's 41-D spaceflight was completed on June 2, 1984 to pave the way for launch of the Discovery's seven-day mission later this month. Making its first flight, the orbiter will be mated to the same two solid rocket boosters (SRB) and external tank (ET) seen here.

The Columbia on the launch pad prior to the first launch of the 30 year Space Shuttle program. April 12, 1981.

S63-07603 (15 May 1963) --- This is the launch of Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) on May 15, 1963, at 8 04 a.m. (EST) carrying astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., pilot. Astronaut Cooper made 22 orbits in 34 hours and 19 minutes, in the spacecraft designated the Faith 7 .

Psyche at Sunset. NASAs Psyche spacecraft stands tall atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at Kennedy Space Centers historic Launch Complex 39A in Florida on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Liftoff of Psyche is targeted for 10:19 a.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 13. The mission will explore an asteroid that scientists hope will help solve mysteries of our solar system for the benefit of humanity. This includes, for the first time, examining a world dominantly made not of rock or ice, but of metal, to answer fundamental questions about Earths own metal core and the formation of our solar system. Psyche also will carry a technology demonstration - NASAs Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment - that will test a next-generation way to communicate from space.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The fifth and final solid rocket booster arrives at the Vertical Integration Facility on Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It will be added to the other four already mated to the Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket, seen in the background. 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 Pluto or

A Delta 7925 rocket on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, is being erected for launch April 7, 2001. The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, containing three science instruments: THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

51G-S-100 (17 June 1985) --- A low-angle 35mm tracking view of the Space Shuttle Discovery, its external tank and two solid rocket boosters speeding from the KSC launch facility to begin NASA STS 51-G. The camera has captured the diamond shock effect associated with the launch phase or orbiter vehicles. Inside the Discovery are seven crewmembers and a variety of payloads representing international interests. Liftoff for 51-G occurred at 7 33 043 a.m. (EDT), June 17, 1985.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A worker stands nearby as the United Launch Alliance Delta II heavy rocket at Space Launch Complex 17B, carrying NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft, is rolled back around to the mobile service tower after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. GRAIL is scheduled for another launch attempt Sept.10 at 8:29:45 a.m. EDT at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can sa

Artemis 1

STS114-S-037 (26 July 2005) --- Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew launched at 10:39 a.m. (EDT) to begin the two-day journey to the International Space Station on the historic Return to Flight STS-114 mission. Discovery is slated to dock with the Station at 7:18 a.m. (EDT) Thursday July 28, 2005.

Space Shuttle Discovery, With External Tank And 2 Solid Rocket Boosters, 6/17/85

The first stage of a Boeing Delta II rocket is lifted to its vertical position on the tower at Launch Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station. The rocket will carry the Stardust spacecraft into space for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a medium called aerogel, it 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

Space shuttle Challenger disaster. Grey-brown smoke on the right side of the Solid Rocket Booster, line directly across from the letter 'U' in United States, was the first visible sign a joint breach occurred. Jan. 28, 1986.

Sequence 6 of 22 showing the lift-off and explosion of A/C-5.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the third in a set of three Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) is lifted into the mobile service tower alongside two others. The SRBs will be mated to the Boeing Delta II rocket, joining others for a complement of nine, to launch the Deep Impact spacecraft, scheduled for no earlier than Jan. 8, 2005. A NASA Discovery mission, Deep Impact will probe beneath the surface of Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when the comet is 83 million miles from Earth, and reveal the secrets of its interior. After releasing an impactor on a course to hit the comets sunlit side, Deep Impacts flyby spacecraft will collect pictures and data of how the crater forms, measure the craters depth and diameter, as well as the composition of the interior of the crater and any material thrown out, and determine the changes in natural outgassing produced by the impact. It will send the data back to Earth through the antennas of the Deep Space

S65-28694 (21 Aug. 1965) --- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched the Gemini-5 spacecraft from Pad 19 at 9 a.m. (EST) Aug. 21, 1965, on a planned eight-day orbital mission. Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr. was the command pilot and astronaut Charles Conrad Jr. was the pilot. A full duration mission will achieve the longest manned spaceflight to date.

S66-59975 (11 Nov. 1966) --- Gemini-12 spacecraft, carrying astronauts James A. Lovell Jr., command pilot, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., pilot, was launched from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 19 at 3 46 p.m. (EST), Nov. 11, 1966.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - New Horizons arrives at the Vertical Integration Facility at Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where buildup of its Lockheed Martin Atlas V launch vehicle is complete. New Horizons carries seven scientific instruments that will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will launch aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket and fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

S63-07135 (16 May 1963) --- This was the Nations sixth manned orbital space flight, and the Faith 7 spacecraft was piloted by astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr. The launch was originally scheduled for May 14, 1963, but due to a malfunction in the radar tracking system at Bermuda. The launch was scrubbed 12 minutes before countdown would have been completed. At midnight, May 15, 1963, countdown was resumed and liftoff occurred at 8:04 a.m. (EST), May 16, 1963. Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., completed a total of 22.9 orbits and spent 34 hours, 20 minutes in space flight. The launch and recovery was highly successful and was the last of the Mercury flights.

The first stage of a Boeing Delta II rocket is in position on the mobile tower (at right) at Launch Complex 17. At left is the launch tower. The rocket will carry the Stardust spacecraft into space for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a medium called aerogel, it 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

Ares I-X -- First Flight of a New Moon Rocket

Rockets Spur Wing Research -- This rocket-driven device developed by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation scientists provides supersonic testing of scale models of wing designs for tomorrow's aircraft. The model wing is mounted on an ordinary 5-inch high-velocity combat rocket. Firing tests are conducted at remote desert test bases. Electronic instruments packed in the 74-inch "rocket laboratory" radio back to the ground a report of the wing's behaviour at speeds about twice supersonic. Note the test w

STS076-S-008 (22 March 1996) --- As represented in this fish-eye view from the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Launch Pad 39B, the space shuttle Atlantis heads toward Earth-orbit and an eventual docking with Russia's Mir Space Station. Mir has been in space for ten years and a two man crew (Mir-21) currently awaits the arrival of Atlantis. The on-time launch occurred at 3:13:04 a.m. (EST) on March 22, 1996. Onboard for STS-76 are astronauts Kevin P. Chilton, Richard A. Searfoss, Ronald M. Sega, Michael R. (Rich) Clifford, Linda M. Godwin and Shannon W. Lucid. Lucid will remain onboard Mir for just under five months time.

STS047-S-019 (12 Sept 1992) --- With a crew of six NASA astronauts and a Japanese payload specialist onboard, the Space Shuttle Endeavour heads for its second trip into space. This trip will be devoted to support of the Spacelab-J mission, a joint effort between Japan and the United States. Launch occurred at 10 23 00 0680 a.m. (EDT), September 12, 1992. Onboard were astronauts Robert L. Gibson, mission commander; Curtis L. Brown Jr., pilot; Mark C. Lee, payload commander; and Jerome (Jay) Apt, Mae C. Jemison and N. Jan Davis, mission specialists; along with payload specialist Mamoru Mohri, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Boeing Delta II rocket nears a vertical position as it is lifted from 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.

STS-75 Shuttle Columbia Launch

Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, North America

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, rolled aboard their Atlas V rocket to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in preparation for launch. LRO is scheduled for a one-year exploration mission at a polar orbit of about 31 miles, or 50 kilometers, the closest any spacecraft has orbited the moon. Its primary objective is to conduct investigations to prepare for future explorations of the moon. LCROSS will s

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Rotating Service Structure is rolled back at Launch Pad 39B revealing Space Shuttle Discovery. A propellant-loading test of Discovery's External Tank (ET) is scheduled for April 14. During the test, the tank will be filled to launch levels with ultra-cold hydrogen and oxygen propellants, known as 'cryogenics.' The test is designed to evaluate how the tank, orbiter, Solid Rocket Boosters and ground systems are performing under full 'cryo-load.' Throughout testing, engineers will observe the effectiveness of key safety modifications made to the External Tank. NASAs Return to Flight mission, STS-114 on Space Shuttle Discovery, is targeted for launch on May 15 with a launch window that extends to June 3.

Workers on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, keep watch as a solid rocket booster is lifted in between two other SRBs suspended from the gantry. They will be mated with a Delta 7925 rocket for launch April 7, 2001. The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, containing three science instruments THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Deep Impact spacecraft arrives before dawn at the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The spacecraft will be attached to the second stage of the Boeing Delta II rocket. Next the fairing will be installed around the spacecraft. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the Delta II upper stage booster and forms an aerodynamically smooth joint, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. Scheduled for liftoff Jan. 12, Deep Impact will probe beneath the surface of Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when the comet is 83 million miles from Earth. After releasing a 3- by 3-foot projectile to crash onto the surface, Deep Impacts flyby spacecraft will reveal the secrets of its interior by collecting pictures and data of how the crater forms, measuring the craters depth and diameter as well as the composition of the interior of the crater and any material thrown out, and deter

The launch of the MA-6, Friendship 7, on February 20, 1962. Boosted by the Mercury-Atlas vehicle, a modified Atlas Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), Friendship 7 was the first U.S. marned orbital flight and carried Astronaut John H. Glenn into orbit. Astronaut Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.

Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr. lifts off in the Freedom 7 Mercury spacecraft on May 5, 1961. This third flight of the Mercury-Redstone (MR-3) vehicle, developed by Dr. Wernher von Braun and the rocket team in Huntsille, Alabama, was the first marned space mission for the United States. During the 15-minute suborbital flight, Shepard reached an altitude of 115 miles and traveled 302 miles downrange.

Workers on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, keep watch as a solid rocket booster is lifted in between two other SRBs suspended from the gantry. They will be mated with a Delta 7925 rocket for launch April 7, 2001. The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, containing three science instruments: THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

View of STS Discovery

At Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, as tower rollback begins, a Boeing Delta II rocket undergoes final preparations for launch. The targeted launch time is 4:06 p.m. EST. The Delta II rocket is carrying the Stardust spacecraft, destined for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a silicon-based substance called aerogel, Stardust will capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of the comet. The spacecraft also will bring back samples of interstellar dust. These materials consist of ancient pre-solar interstellar grains and other remnants left over from the formation of the solar system. Scientists expect their analysis to provide important insights into the evolution of the sun and planets and possibly into the origin of life itself. The collected samples will return to Earth in a sample return capsule to be jettisoned as Stardust swings by Earth in January 2006

At Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the aft stub adapter (ASA) and interstage adapter (ISA) for a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V are lifted by crane for mating atop a Centaur upper stage. The launch vehicle will send NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft to land on Mars. InSight is the first mission to explore the Red Planet's deep interior. InSight is scheduled for liftoff May 5, 2018. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planets deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission

Stacked Space Shuttle For Mission 51-J With Orbiter Atlantis, August 1985.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The Space Shuttle Endeavour awaits the first glimpse of a very significant day for the youngest orbiter of the fleet as its Rotational Service Structure is rolled back just before dawn on its scheduled day of launch. STS-89, slated for a 9:48 p.m. EST liftoff Jan. 22, is the eighth docking with the Russian Space Station Mir, the first Mir docking for Endeavour (all previous dockings were made by Atlantis), and the first launch of 1998. After docking with Mir, Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas, Ph.D., will transfer to the space station, succeeding David Wolf, M.D., who will return to Earth aboard Endeavour. Dr. Thomas will live and work on Mir until June

Vintage Photograph. The Atlas Missile connected to launching stand. Frame 2

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the United Launch Alliance Delta II heavy rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft is rolled back around to the mobile service tower after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. GRAIL is scheduled for another launch attempt Sept.10 at 8:29:45 a.m. EDT.GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on th

Artemis 1

NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft launched atop its Titan/Centaur-7 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on August 20, 1977, at 10 29 a.m. local time.

March 11, 2009 - A nearly full Moon sets as the Space Shuttle Discovery sits atop Launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Apollo 11 mission, first lunar landing mission, with American astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., launched via Marshall Space Flight Center developed Saturn V launch vehicle, Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, USA, NASA, July 16, 1969

NASAs Lunar Prospector is readied for launch as its gantry-like service tower is rolled back again at Cape Canaveral Air Stations Launch Complex 46. The launch, previously scheduled for Jan. 5, was postponed one day due to a problem with a range safety radar located at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. Lunar Prospector, built for the NASA Ames Research Center by Lockheed Martin, is a spin-stabilized spacecraft designed to provide NASA with the first global maps of the Moons surface and its gravitational magnetic fields, as well as look for the possible presence of ice near the lunar poles. It will orbit the Moon at an altitude of approximately 63 miles during a one-year mission. The launch of Lunar Prospector is now scheduled for Jan. 6, 1998 at 9:28 p.m. EST

The fuel tank assembly of the Saturn V S-IC (first) stage supported with the aid of a C frame on the transporter was readied to be transported to the Marshall Space Flight Center, building 4705. The fuel tank carried kerosene (RP-1) as its fuel. The S-IC stage utilized five F-1 engines that used kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellant and each engine provided 1,500,000 pounds of thrust. This stage lifted the entire vehicle and Apollo spacecraft from the launch pad.

Apollo-Soyuz Rocket at Night

STS-131 Discovery Lift & Mate to SRB/ET Stack

Cranes on the gantry on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, lift the first stage of a Boeing Delta rocket to a vertical position. The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, scheduled for launch April 7, 2001. Mars Odyssey contains three science instruments THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

On Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Delta II Heavy launch vehicle carrying the rover "Opportunity" for the second Mars Exploration Rover mission is poised for launch after rollback of the Mobile Service Tower. Opportunity will reach Mars on Jan. 25, 2004. Together the two MER rovers, Spirit (launched June 10) and Opportunity, seek to determine the history of climate and water at two sites on Mars where conditions may once have been favorable to life. The rovers are identical. They will navigate themselves around obstacles as they drive across the Martian surface, traveling up to about 130 feet each Martian day. Each rover carries five scientific instruments including a panoramic camera and microscope, plus a rock abrasion tool that will grind away the outer surfaces of rocks to expose their interiors for examination. Each rovers prime mission is planned to last three months on Mars.

S81-39548 (12 Nov. 1981) --- NASA's space shuttle Columbia climbs toward space for a return visit after its 10 10 a.m. liftoff from Launch Pad 39A. Aboard the space shuttle, astronauts Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly man the flight deck. On its second mission (STS-2), Columbia carries a payload of science and applications experiments and an arm-like robot device named a remote manipulator system (RMS).

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the lower right, the roll control system can be seen installed inside the Ares I-X segment. The work is being done in high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 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. Ares I-X is targeted for launch in July 2009.

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