Space Equipment and Maintenance

Images showcasing technicians working on NASA equipment, including spacecraft and technology for space missions, in detail.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the wheel well behind Atlantis right-hand main landing gear, workers (left) install a new retract link (at right is a reflection). The link replaces one in which a small crack was recently found. To lower the main landing gear, a mechanical linkage released by each gear actuates the doors to the open position. The landing gear reach the full-down and extended position with 10 seconds and are locked in the down position by spring-loaded downlock bungees Atlantis is scheduled to launch in September 2005 on the second Return to Flight mission, STS-121.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the wheel well behind Atlantis right-hand main landing gear, workers (left) install a new retract link (at right is a reflection). The link replaces one in which a small crack was recently found. To lower the main landing gear, a mechanical linkage released by each gear actuates the doors to the open position. The landing gear reach the full-down and extended position with 10 seconds and are locked in the down position by spring-loaded downlock bungees Atlantis is scheduled to launch in September 2005 on the second Return to Flight mission, STS-121.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 39A, a team of external tank specialists from Lockheed Martin and the United Space Alliance undertakes the task of removing the hydrogen feed-through connector in support of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission. Here, a technician removes a pair of support brackets. Some of the tank's engine cutoff sensors, or ECO sensors, failed during propellant tanking for launch attempts on Dec. 6 and Dec. 9. Results of a tanking test on Dec. 18 pointed to an open circuit in the feed-through connector wiring, which is located at the base of the tank. The feed-through connector passes the wires from the inside of the tank to the outside. After the data from additional testing on the connector is analyzed, shuttle program managers will decide on a forward plan. Launch of STS-122 is targeted for January 2008.

Engineers from NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASAs all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrongs environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the projects first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASAs first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians move NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, into position for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41. Liftoff for the TDRS-K is planned for January 30, 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. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, United Space Alliance shuttle technicians remove the hard cover from a window on Space Shuttle Discovery to enable STS-121 crew members to inspect the window from the cockpit. Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, the second return-to-flight mission, is scheduled no earlier than May.

Engineers from NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASAs all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrongs environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the projects first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASAs first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-123 Mission Specialist Takao Doi tries out one of the cameras that will be used on the mission. Doi represents the Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency. He and other crew members are at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for a crew equipment interface test, a process of familiarization with payloads, hardware and the space shuttle. The STS-123 mission is targeted for launch on space shuttle Endeavour on Feb. 14. It will be the 25th assembly flight of the station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, astronaut Don Pettit speaks with a technician who is working on the Orion crew module. Orion is being prepared for Exploration Flight Test 1, or EFT-1. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry crews to space beyond low Earth orbit. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orions first unpiloted test flight is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV heavy rocket. A second uncrewed flight test is scheduled for 2017 on the Space Launch System rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers place a protective cover over a reinforced-carbon carbon, or RCC, panel removed from space shuttle Atlantis. for SPAR corrosion inspection. The structural edge of the wing will undergo spar corrosion inspection to verify the structural integrity of the wing. The RCC panels will be placed in protective coverings until the inspection is complete. Atlantis will make the 31st flight to the International Space Station for the STS-129 mission, targeted for launch on Nov. 12.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, Jerry Belt, with United Space Alliance, checks a spar attachment on the wing of the orbiter Atlantis before installing Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) panels on the wing. The spars - floating joints - reduce loading on the panels caused by wing deflections. The gray carbon composite RCC panels have sufficient strength to withstand the aerodynamic forces experienced during launch and reentry, which can reach as high as 800 pounds per square foot. The operating range of RCC is from minus 250º F to about 3,000º F, the temperature produced by friction with the atmosphere during reentry.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, United Space Alliance technicians Dave Fuller (left) and Jim Burgess (right) lift into place the first Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panel toward the left wing leading edge of Discovery for installation. The RCC panels are mechanically attached to the wing with spars, a series of floating joints to reduce loading on the panels caused by wing deflections. Discovery has been named as the orbiter to fly on the first Return to Flight mission, STS-114.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - United Space Alliance technicians remove and replace all the hub tiles on space shuttle Discovery before its STS-119 mission targeted for Feb. 12. Hub tiles, heat protection tiles, are difficult to install because of their location on the inboard side of the inboard elevons. On the STS-119 mission, Discovery will carry the S6 truss segment to complete the 361-foot-long backbone of the International Space Station. The truss includes the fourth pair of solar array wings and electronics that convert sunlight to power for the orbiting laboratory.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician on a scissor lift works on the installation of the second of three fairings on the service module for the Orion spacecraft. The Orion spacecraft is being prepared for its first unpiloted flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1, scheduled for launch atop a Delta IV rocket in September 2014. The Orion spacecraft is designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orion is scheduled to launch atop NASAs Space Launch System rocket in 2017.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, Ken Revay, the ET_SRB processing manager with United Space Alliance, inspects the newly installed liquid oxygen bellows heater on External Tank 120, recently removed from the orbiter Discovery. The new heater has been added to the feedline bellows to minimize the potential for ice and frost buildup. ET-120 will fly with Atlantis on the second Return to Flight mission STS-121. The launch window for STS-121 extends from Sept. 9 - 24.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, United Space Alliance workers share the task of examining a Reinforced Carbon Carbon panel using flash thermography. From left are Paul Ogletree, Jim Landy (kneeling), Dan Phillips and Dan Kenna. Attached to the leading edge of the wing of the orbiters, the gray carbon composite RCC panels have sufficient strength to withstand the aerodynamic forces experienced during launch and reentry, which can reach as high as 800 pounds per square foot. The operating range of RCC is from minus 250º F to about 3,000º F, the temperature produced by friction with the atmosphere during reentry.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, foam insulation is being trimmed for placement around the engine cutoff, or ECO, sensor system connector and wiring on space shuttle Atlantis' external tank. The foam was removed to enable engineers to remove and replace a feed-through ECO sensor connector on the tank. The feed-through connector passes the wires from the inside of the tank to the outside. Results of a tanking test on Dec. 18 pointed to an open circuit in the feed-through connector wiring, which is located at the base of the tank. The pins in the replacement connector were precisely soldered to create a connection that allows sensors inside the tank to send signals to the computers onboard Atlantis. The launch date for the shuttle's STS-122 mission has now been targeted for Feb. 7.

T&R/Endeavour Final Power Down

STS-133 DISCOVERY - HARDWARE REMOVAL FROM ORBITER IN WHITE ROOM - ET FOAM REPAIR PREPS WITH TENTS

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Gary King, a test technician, helps test electronic components related to the faulty sensor readings in the liquid hydrogen tank low-level fuel cut-off sensor. The sensor failed a routine prelaunch check during the launch July 13 afternoon, causing mission managers to scrub Discovery's first launch attempt. The sensor protects the Shuttle's main engines by triggering their shutdown in the event fuel runs unexpectedly low. The sensor is one of four inside the liquid hydrogen section of the External Tank (ET).

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians install a heat shield around one of space shuttle Endeavours replica shuttle main engines.The work is part of Transition and Retirement of the remaining space shuttles, Endeavour and Atlantis. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. Endeavour was the last space shuttle added to NASAs orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers attach boundary layer transition, or BLT, tile to space shuttle Discovery before its launch on the STS-119 mission in February 2009. The specially modified tiles and instrumentation package will monitor the heating effects of early re-entry boundary layer transition at high mach numbers. These data support analytical modeling and design efforts for both the space shuttles and NASA next-generation spacecraft, the Orion crew exploration vehicle. On the STS-119 mission, Discovery also will carry the S6 truss segment to complete the 361-foot-long backbone of the International Space Station. The truss includes the fourth pair of solar array wings and electronics that convert sunlight to power for the orbiting laboratory.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF), Rick Beckwith, an orbiter engineer with United Space Alliance, explains to the media the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiter Atlantis wing leading edge. The media was invited to tour the OPF at KSC and to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, also including wiring inspections and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the back transfer aisle of the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, Todd Dugan, a technician with United Space Alliance, begins attaching the Thermal Protection System (TPS) blanket to the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS). The installation of the insulation concludes TPS closeout prior to installation of the boom in the orbiter Discovery. The OBSS is one of the new safety measures for Return to Flight, equipping the Shuttle with cameras and laser systems to inspect the Shuttles Thermal Protection System while in space. Discovery is designated as the Return to Flight vehicle for mission STS-114, with a launch window of May 12 to June 3, 2005.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers remove the 7-inch quick disconnect from the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, on space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank. A hydrogen leak at the location during tanking for the STS-127 mission caused the launch attempts to be scrubbed on June 13 and June 17. The GUCP will be examined to determine the cause of the hydrogen leak and repaired. The GUCP is the overboard vent to the pad and the flame stack where the vented hydrogen is burned off. Endeavour's next launch attempt is targeted for July 11 at 7:39 p.m. EDT.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- United Space Alliance (USA) technicians install thermal protection system tiles on Space Shuttle Discovery. Discovery is undergoing its Orbiter Major Modification Period, a regularly scheduled structural inspection and modification downtime, which began in September 2002..

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- James Stickley and Kristin Rumpf, both with United Space Alliance - Main Propulsion System Engineering, discuss procedures about welding the minute cracks on Endeavour's flow liners. Endeavour is scheduled to fly on mission STS-113 in November. The mission payload is the P1 Integrated Truss Structure, the first portside truss to go to the International Space Station, and will be attached to the central truss segment, S0, on the Station. Also additional cooling radiators will be delivered but will remain stowed until flight 12A.1.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians replace a valve on Atlantis external tank after small dings were found on the sealing surface of the quick disconnect system that handles liquid-hydrogen fuel for the shuttles three main engines. The tank will be attached to the twin solid rocket boosters on Aug. 3 for the STS-125 mission, the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to NASAs Hubble Space Telescope. During the mission, the crew will install new instruments on the telescope, including the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and the Wide Field Camera 3. A refurbished Fine Guidance Sensor will replace one unit of three now onboard. Mission specialists will also install new gyroscopes, batteries and thermal blankets on the telescope. Launch is targeted for Oct. 8.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-123 Mission Specialist Richard Linnehan inspects the thermal protection system tiles on the underside of space shuttle Endeavour. He and other crew members are at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for a crew equipment interface test, a process of familiarization with payloads, hardware and the space shuttle. The STS-123 mission is targeted for launch on space shuttle Endeavour on Feb. 14. It will be the 25th assembly flight of the station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians have removed one of the auxiliary power units from space shuttle Endeavour and have transported it to an area inside OPF-2.The work is part of Endeavours transition and retirement processing. The spacecraft is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Endeavour flew 25 missions, spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122, 883, 151 miles over the course of its 19-year career.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician secures shuttle Atlantis hatch in preparation for the Mylar Pull Test. During the test, a scale is used to measure the force required to pull a piece of Mylar paper out from between the door and structural wall thermal barriers. The pull test is performed to ensure the integrity of the hatch and that it has closed properly. Atlantis is being processed for the STS-132 mission targeted for launch May 14. The six-member crew will deliver an Integrated Cargo Carrier and a Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers take photos of the ground umbilical carrier plate's (GUCP) 7-inch quick disconnect, which has been removed from the external fuel tank. A hydrogen gas leak at that location during tanking for space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission to the International Space Station caused the launch attempt to be scrubbed Nov. 5. The GUCP will be examined to determine the cause of the hydrogen leak and then repaired. The GUCP is the overboard vent to the pad and the flame stack where the vented hydrogen is burned off. Discovery's next launch attempt is no earlier than Nov. 30 at 4:02 a.m. EST.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Chief Mate Jamie Harris is steering Freedom Star, one of NASA's solid rocket booster retrieval ships in the direction of the left spent booster that splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean after space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 launch.The shuttles two solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware are recovered in the Atlantic Ocean after every launch by Liberty Star and Freedom Star. The boosters impact the Atlantic about seven minutes after liftoff and the retrieval ships are stationed about 10 miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. After the spent segments are processed, they will be transported to Utah, where they will be refurbished and stored, if needed.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, a worker tightens a fitting on the device being used to remove the Rudder Speed Brake panel on the vertical tail of the orbiter Atlantis. The Rudder Speed Brake is being removed for inspection and maintenance prior to Return to Flight. The vertical tail consists of a structural fin surface made of aluminum, the Rudder Speed Brake surface, a tip and a lower trailing edge. The rudder splits into two halves to serve as a speed brake. The vertical tail and Rudder Speed Brake are covered with a reusable thermal protection system. The Rudder Speed Brake is used to guide and slow the Shuttle as it comes in for a landing.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A component is machined for a cubesat that is being assembled for launch in June. The component, being machined at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will hold accelerometers for the StangSat, which is a project whose development includes students from Merritt Island High School in Florida. The satellite will work inside a small rocket to measure vibration and collect other data during launch. NASA engineers are acting as mentors for the project.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker examines the underside of the reinforced carbon-carbon nose cap that will be installed on Endeavour. The nose cap is insulated with thermal protection system blankets made of a woven ceramic fabric. The special blankets help insulate the vehicle's nose cap and protect it from the extreme temperatures it will face during a mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Donald Houzer, a QinetiQ North America mechanical technician checks out the Advanced Plant Experiment, or APEX, experiment as it is being prepared for launch to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Scheduled for launch on March 16 atop a Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon will be marking its fourth trip to the space station. The SpaceX-3 mission is the third of 12 flights contracted by NASA to resupply the orbiting laboratory.

SpaceXs Dragon capsule is seen shortly after arriving at a port near Los Angeles, Calif on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Dragon had just completed its first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station and returned 1,673 pounds of science and supplies back to Earth.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 Commander Dominic Gorie (center) and Pilot Gregory Johnson (right) look over equipment for the mission. The crew is at Kennedy for crew equipment interface test, a process of familiarization with payloads, hardware and the space shuttle. The STS-123 mission is targeted for launch on Feb. 14. It will be the 25th assembly flight of the station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the foreground, STS-112 Pilot Pamela Melroy (left), Mission Specialist Fyodor Yurchikhin (center) and Commander Jeffrey Ashby (right) watch as a slidewire basket descends to the landing area. The crew is taking part in emergency egress training from the pad, part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities. Mission STS-112 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch no earlier than Oct. 2, between 2 and 6 p.m. EDT. STS-112 is the 15th assembly mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis will be carrying the S1 Integrated Truss Structure, the first starboard truss segment, to be attached to the central truss segment, S0, and the Crew and Equipment Translation Aid (CETA) Cart A. The CETA is the first of two human-powered carts that will ride along the ISS railway, providing mobile work platforms for future spacewalking astronauts.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, right, participates in a crew Dragon flight simulation with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley, who will be flying aboard the Crew Dragon during the Demo-2 mission, at the SpaceX Headquarters, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019 in Hawthorne, CA.

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - Technicians monitor the movement of the second stage of an Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket into the first stage before a separation test is conducted. The Pegasus is being processed to launch NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph mission, known as IRIS.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, United Space Alliance workers share the task of examining a Reinforced Carbon Carbon panel using flash thermography. From left are Dan Kenna, Jim Landy, Paul Ogletree and Dan Phillips. Attached to the leading edge of the wing of the orbiters, the gray carbon composite RCC panels have sufficient strength to withstand the aerodynamic forces experienced during launch and reentry, which can reach as high as 800 pounds per square foot. The operating range of RCC is from minus 250º F to about 3,000º F, the temperature produced by friction with the atmosphere during reentry.

T&R/Atlantis, Locker Installation in Mid-Deck

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 39A, a team of external tank specialists from Lockheed Martin and the United Space Alliance undertakes the task of removing the hydrogen feed-through connector in support of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission. Here, technicians set up equipment that will be used to take X-rays of the connector cable. Some of the tank's engine cutoff sensors, or ECO sensors, failed during propellant tanking for launch attempts on Dec. 6 and Dec. 9. Results of a tanking test on Dec. 18 pointed to an open circuit in the feed-through connector wiring, which is located at the base of the tank. The feed-through connector passes the wires from the inside of the tank to the outside. After the data from additional testing on the connector is analyzed, shuttle program managers will decide on a forward plan. Launch of STS-122 is targeted for January 2008.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers install a new 7-inch quick disconnect on the ground umbilical carrier plate (GUCP) of space shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank. A hydrogen gas leak at that location during tanking for Discovery's STS-133 mission to the International Space Station caused the launch attempt to be scrubbed Nov. 5. The GUCP is the overboard vent to the pad and the flame stack where the excess hydrogen is burned off.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-123 crew members inspect the thermal protection system tiles on the underside of space shuttle Endeavour. At center is Commander Dominic Gorie; at right is Pilot Gregory Johnson. They and other crew members are at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for a crew equipment interface test, a process of familiarization with payloads, hardware and the space shuttle. The STS-123 mission is targeted for launch on space shuttle Endeavour on Feb. 14. It will be the 25th assembly flight of the station.

DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER, Calif. - Simulation technicians Brent Bieber, left, and Dennis Pitts install a boilerplate Dream Chaser canopy structure over the cockpit of a flight simulator in the simulation laboratory at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. The modification will give Dream Chaser pilot-astronauts a more representative view of the actual flight profiles the spacecraft would fly during piloted approach and landing tests. Sierra Nevada Corporation's Space Systems division is conducting uncrewed captive- and free-flight approach and landing tests of its Dream Chaser at Dryden during the summer and fall.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- United Space Alliance technician Shane Colvin prepares to cut the excess gap filler from the tile on the orbiter Discovery, which is being processed in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. This work is being performed due to two gap fillers that were protruding from the underside of Discovery on the first Return to Flight mission, STS-114. New installation procedures have been developed to ensure the gap fillers stay in place and do not pose any hazard during the shuttle's re-entry to the atmosphere. Discovery is the scheduled orbiter for the second space shuttle mission in the return-to-flight sequence.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the RLV hangar at KSC, United Space Alliance worker Steve Mitchell unpacks equipment that was removed from the hurricane-ravaged Thermal Protection System Facility (TPSF). The facility, which creates the TPS tiles, blankets and all the internal thermal control systems for the Space Shuttles, is almost totally unserviceable at this time after losing approximately 35 percent of its roof due to Hurricane Frances, which blew across Central Florida Sept. 4-5. The maximum wind at the surface from Hurricane Frances was 94 mph from the northeast at 6:40 a.m. on Sunday, September 5. It was recorded at a weather tower located on the east shore of the Mosquito Lagoon near the Cape Canaveral National Seashore. The highest sustained wind at KSC was 68 mph.

Woman with tablet PC connecting wires of solar panels

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Chief Mate Jamie Harris is steering Freedom Star, one of NASA's solid rocket booster retrieval ships in the direction of the left spent booster that splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean after space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 launch.The shuttles two solid rocket booster casings and associated flight hardware are recovered in the Atlantic Ocean after every launch by Liberty Star and Freedom Star. The boosters impact the Atlantic about seven minutes after liftoff and the retrieval ships are stationed about 10 miles from the impact area at the time of splashdown. After the spent segments are processed, they will be transported to Utah, where they will be refurbished and stored, if needed.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Local Central Florida television reporters Phil Robertson (left), with WFTV, and Dan Billow (right), with WESH, tape commentaries after a media tour of the Orbiter Processing Facility. The media was invited to see the orbiter Atlantis as it is being prepared for Return to Flight. Both local and national reporters representing print and TV networks were able to see work in progress on Atlantis, including the reinstallation of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panels on the orbiters wing leading edge; wiring inspections; and checks of the engines in the Orbital Maneuvering System.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, United Space Alliance technician Jim Burgess (right) works on the first Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panel to be installed on the left wing leading edge on Discovery. At left is USA technician Dave Fuller. The RCC panels are mechanically attached to the wing with spars, a series of floating joints to reduce loading on the panels caused by wing deflections. Discovery has been named as the orbiter to fly on the first Return to Flight mission, STS-114.

During a tour of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, commercial crew astronauts Bob Behnken, left, and Eric Boe participate in joint test team training using mockup components of the Crew Dragon on Feb. 23, 2017. Crew Dragon is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.

Expedition 46 (Soyuz 45) crew members Tim Kopra, Tim Peake (ESA) and Yuri Malenchenko (RSA) with instructors Skyler LaBuff and Dave Wiedmeyer during Fire Scene Generic training in the Space Vehicle Mockup Training Facility (SVMTF) ISS mockups. Photo Date: September 26, 2014. Location: Building 9NW - ISS Mockups.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-116 Mission Specialist Robert Curbeam practices photographing the orbiter Discovery with a camera similar to those the crew will use on the mission. The crew is at KSC for a Crew Equipment Interface Test Mission crews make frequent trips to the Kennedy Space Center to become familiar with the equipment and payloads they will be using. STS-116 will be mission No. 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Dec. 7.

Technicians prepare to install one of the fins on the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fins will provide aerodynamic stability during flight. The rocket is being prepared at Vandenberg, and then will be transported to NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida attached to the Orbital ATK L-1011 carrier aircraft with NASAs Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) in its payload fairing. CYGNSS will launch on the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the RLV Hangar, a member of the Columbia Reconstruction Project team places recovered Thermal Protection System (TPS) tile on a tabletop mock-up of the wing of Columbia. Shipped from Barksdale Air Force Base, Shreveport, La., more than 70,000 items, weighing 78,000 pounds, about 36 percent of the Shuttle by weight, have been delivered to KSC for use in the mishap investigation. Ground teams have completed 78 percent of their primary search area, and airborne crews finished 80 percent of their assigned area. Search teams have completed 98 percent of the underwater searches in Lake Nacogdoches and Toledo Bend Reservoir.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- United Space Alliance technician Larry Tanner punches three holes in the gap filler to be installed on Discovery. The holes are used for the string pull test done after installation to ensure the gap filler is bonded properly. Discovery is being processed in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. This work is being performed due to two gap fillers that were protruding from the underside of Discovery on the first Return to Flight mission, STS-114. New installation procedures have been developed to ensure the gap fillers stay in place and do not pose any hazard during the shuttle's re-entry to the atmosphere. Discovery is the scheduled orbiter for the second space shuttle mission in the return-to-flight sequence.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A worker in the Orbiter Processing Facility installs a new carrier panel on the orbiter Discovery. The new panel has an added thermal barrier that performs as a flow restrictor to further protect the wing leading edges. The panels fit between the Reinforced Carbon Carbon panel and the vehicle. The change is one of the safety features for return to flight. Discovery is the orbiter designated for the Return to Flight mission, STS-114. The launch window is May 12 to June 3, 2005.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, United Space Alliance technicians Jim Burgess (left) and Dave Fuller (right) prepare the first Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panel for installation on the left wing leading edge on Discovery. The RCC panels are mechanically attached to the wing with spars, a series of floating joints to reduce loading on the panels caused by wing deflections. Discovery has been named as the orbiter to fly on the first Return to Flight mission, STS-114.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians reinstall the lockers in the middeck of space shuttle Discovery.The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing of shuttle Discovery, which is being prepared for display at Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Discovery is scheduled to be transported atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft modified 747 jet to Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17 and then be transported to the Smithsonian on April 19.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility 1, STS-129 Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik gets a close look at equipment that will be used on the mission. The crew is at Kennedy for a Crew Equipment Interface Test, which provides hands-on training and observation of shuttle and flight hardware. Space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission is targeted to launch Nov. 12.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Center Director Robert Cabana participates in the final power down of space shuttle Discovery during Space Shuttle Program transition and retirement activities. "Power down" follows the final closure of Discovery's payload bay doors.Discovery is being prepared for public display at the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in 2012.

Solar Simulator

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the second stage of the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle for the STEREO spacecraft is being 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.

NASA Tweetup participants look into the Orion low fidelity mockup in Building 9 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on July 19, 2011. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- During crew equipment interface test activities in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 at KSC, STS-118 Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan gets hands-on practice with tools she may use during the flight. The STS-118 mission will be delivering the third starboard truss segment, the ITS S5, to the International Space Station, as well as the SPACEHAB single cargo module filled with supplies and equipment. Launch aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour is targeted for Aug. 9.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a technician removes a valve on Atlantis external tank after small dings were found on the sealing surface of the quick disconnect system that handles liquid-hydrogen fuel for the shuttles three main engines. The tank will be attached to the twin solid rocket boosters on Aug. 3 for the STS-125 mission, the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to NASAs Hubble Space Telescope. During the mission, the crew will install new instruments on the telescope, including the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and the Wide Field Camera 3. A refurbished Fine Guidance Sensor will replace one unit of three now onboard. Mission specialists will also install new gyroscopes, batteries and thermal blankets on the telescope. Launch is targeted for Oct. 8.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility 1, STS-129 crew members look over equipment that is part of the mission. At left are Commander Charles Hobaugh and Mission Specialist Randy Bresnik; at right is Pilot Barry Wilmore. The crew is at Kennedy for a Crew Equipment Interface Test, which provides hands-on training and observation of shuttle and flight hardware. Space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission is targeted to launch Nov. 12.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, right, shows a space shuttle low-temperature reusable surface insulation LRSI tile to Floridas Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll during a tour of Kennedys Orbiter Processing Facility-1. The tile is part of the shuttles thermal protection system which covers the shuttles exterior and protects it from the heat of re-entry.The tour coincided with Carrolls visit to Kennedy for a meeting with Cabana. Atlantis is being prepared for public display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in 2013. The groundbreaking for Atlantis exhibit hall took place in January Atlantis is scheduled to be moved to the visitor complex in November.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers prepare experiments for loading aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule for launch to the International Space Station. Once the packaging is complete, the samples will be transported to Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where they will be loaded aboard the Dragon.Scheduled for launch March 1 atop a Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon will be making its third trip to the space station. The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the orbiting laboratory.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts Mike Fossum and Cady Coleman, both in blue flight suits, listen as NASA's Johnson Space Center Aerospace Engineer Jeff Hagen explains the rotor mechanism for a model capsule ahead of tests inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The design would give a capsule the stability and control of a helicopter, but would not be powered. Instead, the wind passing over the rotors as the capsule descends would make the blades turn, a process called auto-rotation. The intent is to give real spacecraft a soft landing with enough control that they could touch down anywhere in the world, whether it be a runway or parking lot. In other words, wherever a helicopter could land, a spacecraft could land, too.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Brian Duffy, the vice president and Johnson Space Center manager for Exploration Systems with ATK Aerospace Systems, talks with members of the media during a viewing of ATKs launch abort motor inside the Launch Abort System Facility. The abort motor is one of the components of Orions Launch Abort System, which will be used for Exploration Flight Test 1, or EFT-1. The system is designed to safely pull the Orion crew module away from the launch vehicle in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during the initial ascent of NASAs Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket. The test flight abort motor is configured with inert propellant. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry crews to space beyond low Earth orbit. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orions first unpiloted test flight is scheduled to lau

John McKinley, Northrop Grumman deployment team lead, and Kevin Cross, Northrop Grumman field technician, remove an old printer from a launch control center, Dec. 2, 2022, at the Kilo-01 Missile Alert Facility near Dix, Nebraska. The 90th Missile Wing and Northrop Grumman are conducting a Launch Control Center Block Upgrade deployment effort to replace old equipment with new technology.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-91 crew participate in the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) for their upcoming Space Shuttle mission at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility in Cape Canaveral. The CEIT gives astronauts an opportunity to get a hands-on look at the payloads with which they will be working on-orbit. STS-91 will be the ninth and final scheduled Mir docking and will include a single module of SPACEHAB, used mainly as a large pressurized cargo container for science, logistical equipment and supplies to be exchanged between the orbiter Discovery and the Russian Space Station Mir. The nearly 10-day flight of STS-91 also is scheduled to include the return of the last astronaut to live and work aboard the Russian orbiting outpost, Mission Specialist Andy Thomas, Ph.D. Liftoff of Discovery and its six-member crew is targeted for May 28, 1998, at 8:05 p.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39A. From left to right are STS-91 Pilot Dominic Gorie, Russian Interpreter Olga Belozerova,

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Firing Room No. 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers put together another cabinet to hold equipment that will support the future Ares rocket launches as part of the Constellation Program. Future astronauts will ride to orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the space shuttle's solid rocket booster, for the first stage. Ares will be launched from Pad 39B, which is being reconfigured from supporting space shuttle launches. The Launch Control Center firing rooms face the launch pads.

NASA engineers put the X-57 Maxwell, NASAs first all-electric X-plane, through its initial telemetry tests at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, testing the aircrafts ability to transmit data to teams on the ground. The data is packaged and transmitted down to ground assets, where its decoded into a format that can be presented to a flight control team to look at screens in real time for flight operations. X-57s goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers prepare to load experiments requiring low temperatures into the General Laboratory Active Cryogenic International Space Station ISS Experiment Refrigerator, or GLACIER. The samples will then be transported to Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where the GLACIER will be loaded aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule. Scheduled for launch on March 1 atop a Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon will be marking its third trip to the space station. The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the orbiting laboratory.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, STS-114 crew members look at the reinforced carbon-carbon panels on the wing of Atlantis. From left are Mission Specialists Charles Camarda and Andrew Thomas and Commander Eileen Collins. The STS-114 crew is at KSC to take part in crew equipment and orbiter familiarization.

Engineers from NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASAs all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrongs environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the projects first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASAs first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

FINAL DEMONSTRATION OF A WIRELESS DATA TASK SUPPORTED BY SLS ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT USED TO DEMONSTRATE REAL-TIME VIDEO OVER WIRELESS CONNECTIONS ALONG WITH DATA AND COMMANDS AS DEMONSTRATED VIA THE ROBOTIC ARMS. THE ARMS AND VIDEO CAMERAS WERE MOUNTED ON FREE FLOATING AIR-BEARING VEHICLES TO SIMULATE CONDITIONS IN SPACE. THEY WERE USED TO SHOW HOW A CHASE VEHICLE COULD MOVE UP TO AND CAPTURE A SATELLITE, SUCH AS THE FASTSAT MOCKUP DEMONSTRITING HOW ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY AND SMALL SPACECRAFT COULD ASSIST WITH ORBITAL DEBRIS MITIGATION

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 39A, Lockheed Martin engineer Ray Clark splices wires between space shuttle Atlantis' external tank and the engine cutoff, or ECO, sensor system. The replacement feed-through connector in the ECO sensor system will be installed later. Some of the tank's ECO sensors gave failed readings during propellant tanking for Atlantis' STS-122 mission launch attempts on Dec. 6 and Dec. 9. Results of a tanking test on Dec. 18 pointed to an open circuit in the feed-through connector wiring, which is located at the base of the tank. The feed-through connector passes the wires from the inside of the tank to the outside. The pins in the replacement connector have been precisely soldered to create a connection that allows sensors inside the tank to send signals to the computers onboard Atlantis. No problems with the ECO sensors themselves have been found. NASA's Space Shuttle Program has proposed a target launch date of Feb. 7 for the STS-122 mission. Tha

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At SPACEHAB in Cape Canaveral, Fla., STS-116 Mission Specialists Sunita Williams (left) and Joan Higginbotham get a close look at the rack front stowage trays that are used inside the SPACEHAB module. Mission crews make frequent trips to the Space Coast to become familiar with the equipment and payloads they will be using. STS-116 will be mission number 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Dec. 7.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, United Space Alliance workers Jim Landy (front), Dan Phillips and Dan Kenna watch a monitor showing results of flash thermography on the Reinforced Carbon Carbon panel on the table (foreground). Attached to the leading edge of the wing of the orbiters, the gray carbon composite RCC panels have sufficient strength to withstand the aerodynamic forces experienced during launch and reentry, which can reach as high as 800 pounds per square foot. The operating range of RCC is from minus 250º F to about 3,000º F, the temperature produced by friction with the atmosphere during reentry.

The Orion crew module flown on NASAs Pad Abort-1 (PA-1) flight test is shown on display at an event at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 4, 2011 before moving into the Operations & Checkout (O&C) Building. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A worker in the Orbiter Processing Facility checks part of the payload bay on Discovery. The orbiter recently underwent an Orbiter Major Modification period, which included inspection, modifications and reservicing of most systems onboard. The work on Discovery also included the installation of a Multifunction Electronic Display Subsystem (MEDS) - a state-of-the-art glass cockpit.” The orbiter is now being prepared for eventual launch on a future mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, social media followers, at right, listen to NASA Social media coordinator Jason Townsend, far left, describe the SpaceX 2 Commercial Resupply Mission to the International Space Station. Standing next to Townsend, is Bob Jacobs, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Communications.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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Dr. Mason Peck, second from left, NASA's chief technologist, and a team of NASA's innovative engineers discuss some of NASA's cutting-edge projects with media representatives touring the Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Kennedy's Swamp Works provides rapid, innovative and cost-effective exploration mission solutions, leveraging partnerships across NASA, industry and academia. Kennedy's research and technology mission is to improve spaceports on Earth, as well as lay the groundwork for establishing spaceports at destinations in space.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers prepare experiments for loading aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule for launch to the International Space Station. Once the packaging is complete, the samples will be transported to Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where they will be loaded aboard the Dragon.Scheduled for launch March 1 atop a Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon will be making its third trip to the space station. The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the orbiting laboratory.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians inspect and prepare a camera for installation in the forward mid-body of shuttle Atlantis. Atlantis is being processed for the STS-132 mission targeted for launch May 14. The six-member crew will deliver an Integrated Cargo Carrier and a Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station.

At the launch pad perimeter camera site at Launch Complex 39B, news media representatives are briefed on the improved tracking cameras that will be used to capture ascent imagery during the return to flight of the Space Shuttle. The press opportunity also includes tours of the Image Analysis Facility in the Vehicle Assembly Building and two Playalinda Beach optical tracking sites at the Cape Canaveral National Seashore and the Merritt Island National Refuge.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building, Michael Cinquigianno (left), who is a system test mechanical technician with Lockheed Martin, checks out the vent valve assembly on External Tank 121. Next to him is Lance Mercier, with Lockheed Martin Quality Control. The assembly sits on top of the tank and, when on the launch pad, is connected to the beanie cap, a swing-arm-mounted cap that covers the oxygen tank vent on top of the tank during the countdown. The cap is retracted about two minutes before liftoff. The cap siphons off oxygen vapor that threatens to form large ice on the tank, thus protecting the orbiters thermal protection system during launch. The External Tanks are built by Lockheed Martin at the Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. The tank is being prepared to fly with Discovery on mission STS-114, whose launch window extends July 13 to July 31.

NASA mission controllers, engineers, pilots and communications specialists in the mission control room monitor the supersonic research flight off the coast of Galveston, as part of the QSF18 flight series. The flight operations crew tracks the status of the flights, maintains communications with the aircraft, communicates with U.S. Coast Guard, and coordinates community feedback data.

JSC2012-E-237307 (5 Nov. 2012) --- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 38 flight engineer and Expedition 39 commander, uses the virtual reality lab in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center to train for some of his duties aboard the International Space Station. This type of computer interface, paired with virtual reality training hardware and software, helps to prepare crew members for dealing with space station elements.

S130-E-010446 (18 Feb. 2010) --- NASA astronaut George Zamka, STS-130 commander, adds his crew's patch to the growing collection, in the Unity node, of insignias representing crews who have worked on the International Space Station.

Edwards, Calif. - ED13-0266-012- Technicians prepare for 60 mph tow tests of Sierra Nevada Corporation's, or SNC's, Dream Chaser flight vehicle on taxi and runways at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Ground testing at 10, 20, 40 and 60 miles per hour is helping the company validate the performance of the spacecraft's braking and landing systems prior to captive-carry and free-flight tests scheduled for later this year.SNC is continuing the development of its Dream Chaser spacecraft under the agency's Commercial Crew Development Round 2, or CCDev2, and Commercial Crew Integrated Capability, or CCiCap, phases, which are intended to lead to the availability of commercial human spaceflight services for government and commercial customers.

WASHINGTON, D.C.---S&T Partnership Forum In-Space Assembly Technical Interchange Meeting-On September 6th 2017, many of the United States government experts on In-Space Assembly met at the U.S. Naval Research Lab to discuss both technology development and in-space applications that would advance national capabilities in this area. Expertise from NASA, USAF, NRO, DARPA and NRL met in this meeting which was coordinated by the NASA Headquarters, Office of the Chief Technologist. This technical interchange meeting was the second meeting of the members of this Science and Technology Partnership Forum.Glen Henshaw of Code 8231 talks to the group in the Space Robotics Lab.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Technicians remove a faulty Enhanced Main Events Controller (E-MEC) from Shuttle Endeavour at Launch Pad 39A. The E-MEC became suspect during the Jan. 31 launch countdown and mission STS-99 was delayed when NASA managers decided to replace it. Each Shuttle carries two enhanced master events controllers (E-MECs), which provide relays for onboard flight computers to send signals to arm and fire pyrotechnics that separate the solid rockets and external tank during assent. Both E-MECs are needed for the Shuttle to be cleared for flight. Currently Endeavour and Columbia are the only two orbiters with the E-MECs. Built by Rockwell's Satellite Space Electronics Division, Anaheim, Calif., each unit weighs 65 pounds and is approximately 20 inches long, 13 inches wide and 8 inches tall. Previously, three Shuttle flights have been scrubbed or delayed due to faulty MECs: STS-73, STS-49 and STS-41-D. The next scheduled date for launch of STS-99 is Feb. 11 at 12:30 p.m.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A technician works on a Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) slated for use on the STS-114 mission in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Repairs are under way on the Solid Rocket Booster aft inactive stub, an attach ring surrounding the booster located approximately 10 feet below the point where the External Tank is mated to the SRBs. Return to Flight Mission STS-114 will carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, filled with supplies for the International Space Station, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope. Launch of STS-114 has a launch window of May 15 to June 3.

of 2