Space Shuttle Launch Events

Dynamic images of rocket launches including Space Shuttles and Falcon Heavy. The visuals capture the intensity and excitement of liftoffs against dramatic skies.

Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-121

STS050-S-038 (25 June 1992) --- The Space Shuttle Columbia, NASA's first Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO), lifts off on its way toward a scheduled record 13-day mission in Earth-orbit. Liftoff occurred at 12 12 23 0534 p.m. (EDT) on June 25, 1992. Five NASA astronauts and two scientists/payload specialists are aboard. The seven will divide into two shifts to support United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML) research.

STS051-S-108 (12 Sept. 1993) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery soars toward a nine-day stay in Earth-orbit to support the mission. Launch occurred at 7 45 a.m. (EDT) September 12, 1993. Note the diamond shock effect coming from the thrust of the three main engines. Onboard the shuttle were astronauts Frank L. Culbertson, Jr., William F. Readdy, Daniel W. Bursch, James H. Newman and Carl E. Walz, along with a number of payloads. The payloads included the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) with its Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS), the Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer (ORFEUS) and its Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) carrier. This photograph was taken with a 35mm camera.

Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-121

NASAs Psyche spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, soars into the sky after lifting off from Kennedy Space Centers historic Launch Complex 39A in Florida at 10:19 a.m. EDT on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. The Psyche mission will study a metal-rich asteroid with the same name, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This is NASAs first mission to study an asteroid that has more metal than rock or ice. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration - NASAs Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment - which will be the first test of laser communications beyond the Moon.

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

Like a rising sun lighting up the afternoon sky, the Space Shuttle Columbia soars from Launch Pad 39B at 2:46:00 p.m. EST, November 19, on the fourth flight of the United States Microgravity Payload and Spartan-201 satellite. The crew members include Mission Commander Kevin Kregel.; Pilot Steven Lindsey; Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D., Winston Scott, and Takao Doi, Ph.D., of the National Space Development Agency of Japan; and Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk of the National Space Agency of Ukraine. During the 16-day STS-87 mission, the crew will oversee experiments in microgravity; deploy and retrieve a solar satellite; and test a new experimental camera, the AERCam Sprint. Dr. Doi and Scott also will perform a spacewalk to practice International Space Station maneuvers

Liftoff of Apollo 14

S68-48666 (11 Oct. 1968) --- The Apollo 7/Saturn IB space vehicle is launched from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 34 at 11 03 a.m. (EDT), Oct. 11, 1968. Apollo 7 (Spacecraft 101/Saturn 205) is the first of several manned flights aimed at qualifying the spacecraft for the half-million-mile round trip to the moon. Aboard the Apollo spacecraft are astronauts Walter M. Schirra Jr., commander; Donn F. Eisele, command module pilot; and Walter Cunningham, lunar module pilot.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at 2:19 p.m. EDT Apr. 17 to begin the nearly 17-day STS-90 Neurolab mission. The launch was delayed 24 hours due to difficulty with a network signal processor, which was replaced Apr. 16, on the orbiter. The crew members are Commander Richard Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists Richard Linnehan, D.V.M., Dafydd (Dave) Williams, M.D., with the Canadian Space Agency, and Kathryn (Kay) Hire; and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey, M.D., and James Pawelczyk, Ph.D. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system

STS026-S-031 (29 Sept 1988) --- Just moments after ignition, the Space Shuttle Discovery, mated to two solid rocket boosters and an external fuel tank, heads, toward Earth orbit. The mission marks Discoverys first flight since September of 1985 and NASAs first manned mission since September of 1985 and NASAs first manned mission since the 51L Challenger accident of January 28, 1986. Onboard the spacecraft are Astronauts Frederick H. (Rick) Hauck, commander; Richard O. Covey, pilot; and George D. Nelson, John M. (Mike) Lounge and David C. Hilmers, mission specialists. Discoverys dry weight is 171,419 pounds. The tracking and data relay satellite and its inertial upper stage total about 37,000 pounds.

DF-SC-83-05709. Base: Cape Canaveral State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

S70-34854 (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

STS059-S-036 (9 April 1994) --- The liftoff of the Space Shuttle Endeavour is backdropped against a dawn sky at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) as six NASA astronauts head for a week and a half in Earth orbit. The morning sky allows for a contrasting backdrop for the diamond shock effect of the thrust from Endeavour's main engines. Liftoff occurred at 7 05 a.m. (EDT), April 9, 1994. Onboard for the Space Radar Laboratory (SRL-1) mission were astronauts Sidney M. Gutierrez, Kevin P. Chilton, Jerome (Jay) Apt, Linda M. Godwin, Michael R. U. (Rich) Clifford and Thomas D. Jones.

North America, USA, Florida, Cape Canaveral. A rocket launch at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Cape Canaveral.

Raumschiff Rakete hebt mit Rauch und Explosion auf dem roten Planeten Mars. Mars-Raumfahrt, kreative Idee. Erfolgreicher Raketenstart zum Mars *** Spaceship Rocket lifts with Smoke and Explosion at the Red Planets Mars Mars Space travel, Creative Idea Successful Rocket Launch to Mars 1102801985

Raumschiff Rakete hebt mit Rauch und Explosion auf dem roten Planeten Mars. Mars-Raumfahrt, kreative Idee. Erfolgreicher Raketenstart zum Mars *** Spaceship Rocket lifts with Smoke and Explosion at the Red Planets Mars Mars Space travel, Creative Idea Successful Rocket Launch to Mars 1102805056

S69-25864 (3 March 1969) --- The Apollo 9 (Spacecraft 104/Lunar Module 3/Saturn 504) space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 11 a.m. (EST), March 3, 1969. Aboard the spacecraft are astronauts James A. McDivitt, commander; David R. Scott, command module pilot; and Russell L. Schweickart, lunar module pilot. The Apollo 9 mission will evaluate spacecraft lunar module systems performance during manned Earth-orbital flight. Apollo 9 is the second manned Saturn V mission.

The STS-45 mission launched aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on March 24, 1992 at 8 13 40am (EST) carrying the Atmospheric Laboratory for Application and Science (ATLAS-1) as its primary payload. Crew members included Charles F. Bolden, Jr., commander; Brian Duffy, pilot; Kathryn D. Sullivan, payload commander; Byron K. Lichtenberg, payload specialist 1; Dirk K. Frimout, payload specialist 2; David C. Leestma, mission specialist 2; and C. Michael Foale, mission specialist 3.

A United Kingdom Polaris missile lifts off from a land pad at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. This is the fourth in a series of Polaris launches by the United Kingdom. Base: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Liftoff of the New Horizons Atlas Rocket

STS063-S-007 (3 Feb 1995) --- The race to catch up with the Russia's Mir gets underway as the Space Shuttle Discovery launches from Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 12 22 04 (EST), February 3, 1995. Discovery is the first in the current fleet of four Space Shuttle vehicles to make 20 launches. Onboard for the 67th (STS-63 is out of sequence) Shuttle flight are astronauts James D. Wetherbee, mission commander; Eileen M. Collins, pilot; Bernard A. Harris Jr., payload commander; mission specialists Janice Voss and C. Michael Foale; along with Russian cosmonaut Vladimir G. Titov.

STS-49, the first flight of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Endeavour, lifted off from launch pad 39B on May 7, 1992 at 6 40 pm CDT. The STS-49 mission was the first U.S. orbital flight to feature 4 extravehicular activities (EVAs), and the first flight to involve 3 crew members working simultaneously outside of the spacecraft. The primary objective was the capture and redeployment of the INTELSAT VI (F-3) which was stranded in an unusable orbit since its launch aboard the Titan rocket in March 1990.

STS083-S-003 (4 April 1997)--- With the Atlantic Ocean in the background, the Space Shuttle Columbia heads toward Earth-orbit from Launch Pad 39A at 2:20:32 p.m. (EST), April 4, 1997, from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Onboard the spacecraft to support the Microgravity Science Laboratory 1 (MSL-1) mission were astronauts James D. Halsell, commander; Susan L. Still, pilot; Janice E. Voss, payload commander; Michael L. Gernhardt and Donald A. Thomas, both mission specialists; along with payload specialists Roger K. Crouch and Gregory T. Linteris. A problem with a fuel cell caused the crew to cut the mission short and return to Earth on April 8, 1997.

STS106-S-005 (8 September 2000) --- This distant view of the STS-106 liftoff was photographed across marsh waters around Mosquito Lagoon and Banana Creek, looking toward the Atlantic Ocean. The perfect on-time liftoff of the Space Shuttle Atlantis occurred at 8:45:47 a.m. (EDT), September 8, 2000. Onboard the shuttle were astronauts Terrence W. Wilcutt, Scott D. Altman, Edward T. Lu, Richard A. Mastracchio and Daniel C. Burbank, along with cosmonauts Yuri I. Malenchenko and Boris V. Morukov who represent the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

a Powerful Rocket Shoots in the Heaven, Fiery Exhaust Gases and Poet Smoke Wabern Including, Generated With Ki 1127143714

Delta II launching NRO L_21

TROPICS Rocket Launch. A Rocket Lab Electron rocket soars upward after liftoff from Launch Complex 1, Pad B, in Māhia, New Zealand on May 8 at 1 p.m. New Zealand time (May 7 at 9 p.m. EDT), carrying two NASA CubeSats designed to study tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons. NASAs Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) CubeSats will provide data on temperature, precipitation, water vapor, and clouds by measuring microwave frequencies, providing insight into storm formation and intensification.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Amid clouds of exhaust and into a gray-clouded sky , a Boeing Delta II expendable launch vehicle lifts off with NASA's Mars Polar Lander at 3:21:10 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 17B, Cape Canaveral Air Station. The lander is a solar-powered spacecraft designed to touch down on the Martian surface near the northern-most boundary of the south polar cap, which consists of carbon dioxide ice. The lander will study the polar water cycle, frosts, water vapor, condensates and dust in the Martian atmosphere. It is equipped with a robotic arm to dig beneath the layered terrain at the polar cap. In addition, Deep Space 2 microprobes, developed by NASA's New Millennium Program, are installed on the lander's cruise stage. After crashing into the planet's surface, they will conduct two days of soil and water experiments up to 1 meter (3 feet) below the Martian surface, testing new technologies for future planetary descent probes. The lander is the second spacecraft to b

Launch Complex 39 is in partial darkness as the Space Shuttle Discovery heads toward an eight-day mission in Earth orbit. Liftoff occurred as scheduled at 7 10 a.m., February 3, 1994.

Launch of Surveyor 1

STS034-S-025 (18 Oct 1989) --- The STS-34 Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off from Launch Pad 39-B at 2:53:39:983 p.m. (EDT), marking the beginning of a five-day mission in space. Atlantis carries a crew of five and the spacecraft Galileo, along with a number of other scientific experiments. The Jupiter-bound probe will be deployed from Atlantis some six hours after launch. The journey to the giant planet is expected to take over six years. Crewmembers for the mission are astronauts Donald E. Williams, Michael J. McCulley, Shannon W. Lucid, Franklin R. Chang-Diaz and Ellen S. Baker. The scene was recorded with a 70mm camera.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Flames light up the smoke and steam from the launch of Boeing Delta II rocket propelling NASAs Genesis spacecraft into the sky. . The Genesis/Delta launch occurred on time at 12:13:40 p.m. EDT. Genesis is on a journey to collect and return to Earth just 10 to 20 micrograms of solar wind, invisible charged particles that flow outward from the Sun. The particles will be studied by scientists over the next century to search for answers to fundamental questions about the exact composition of our star and the birth of our solar system

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifted off with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. at 9:32 a.m. EDT July 16, 1969, from KSC's Launch Complex 39A. During the planned eight-day mission, Armstrong and Aldrin will descend in a Lunar Module (LM) to the Moon's surface while Collins orbits overhead in the Command Module. The two astronauts are to spend 22 hours on the Moon, including two-and-one-half hours outside the LM. They will gather samples of lunar material and will deploy scientific experiments that will transmit data about the lunar environment. They will rejoin Collins in the Command Module for the return trip to Earth.

51F-S-061 (29 July 1985) --- The 19th Space Shuttle mission gets off to a beginning as the Challenger soars toward earth orbit where it is scheduled to spend a week for a series of mostly scientific tasks. Challenger carries seven crewmembers and Spacelab 2 science pallets. A number of photographers record the event on camera. Launch occurred at 5:00 p.m. (EDT), July 29, 1985. The photo was taken by Otis Imboden.

The Titan III-Centaur carrying the Viking 1 Lander lifted off on August 20, 1975. The Viking Lander conducted a detailed scientific investigation of the planet Mars.

Apollo 17 Clearing Launch Pad

STS113-S-009 (23 November 2002) --- Against a black night sky, the Space Shuttle Endeavour heads toward Earth orbit and a scheduled link-up with the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 occurred at 7:49:47 p.m. (EST), November 23, 2002. The launch is the 19th for Endeavour, and the 112th flight in the Shuttle program. Mission STS-113 is the 16th assembly flight to the International Space Station, carrying another structure for the Station, the P1 integrated truss. Crewmembers onboard were astronauts James D. Wetherbee, commander; Paul S. Lockhart, pilot, along with astronauts Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and John B. Herrington, both mission specialists. Also onboard were the Expedition 6 crewmembers--astronauts Kenneth D. Bowersox and Donald R. Pettit, along with cosmonaut Nikolai M. Budarin--who went on to replace Expedition 5 aboard the Station.

A Saturn 1B space launch vehicle lifts off from Launch Complex 34 carrying Apollo 7 astronauts Walter M. Schirra Jr., Donn F. Eisele and Walter Cunningham. Base: Cape Kennedy State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

STS044-S-095 (24 Nov 1991) --- A wide shot of Atlantis' liftoff for STS-44 was recorded by a remote camera. At 6:44 EST, Nov. 24, 1991, the spacecraft headed toward Earth orbit with a crew of six aboard. The event is reflected in the KSC marsh waters. Darkness accentuates the diamond shock effect from the three main engines.

STS054-S-060 (13 Jan 1993) --- The Space Shuttle Endeavour soars off the launch pad and heads toward Earth orbit with a crew of five and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-F) aboard. Launch occurred at 8 59 30 a.m. (EST), January 13, 1993. Onboard were John H. Casper, mission commander, Donald R. McMonagle, pilot, Gregory J. Harbaugh, Mario Runco Jr., and Susan J. Helms, mission specialists.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Delta II 7925 rocket carrying NASA's Phoenix Mars lander lifts off at 5:26 a.m. EDT amid billows of smoke on Pad 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar, permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing on Mars is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil.

01/14/2014. Takeoff and Explosion of the Challenger Sts-51l 01/28/1986 Archdc.

STS114-S-014 (26 July 2005) --- Discovery and its seven-member crew launched at 10:39 a.m. EDT to begin the two-day journey to the International Space Station. Discovery is slated to dock with the ISS at 7:18 a.m. EDT Thursday.

STS088-S-008 (4 Dec. 1998) --- The Space Shuttle Endeavour lights up the night sky as it embarks on the first mission dedicated to the assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff occurred at 3:35:34 a.m. (EST), December 4, 1998, from Launch Pad 39A, at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. Onboard were astronauts Robert D. Cabana, mission commander; Frederick W. Sturckow, pilot; Nancy J. Currie, Jerry L. Ross and James H. Newman, along with Russian Space Agency (RSA) cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev, all mission specialists.

The 7-year journey to Saturn began with the liftoff of a Titan IVB/Centaur carrying the Cassini orbiter and its attached Huygens probe. After a 2.2-billion mile journey that included two swingbys of Venus and one of Earth to gain additional velocity, the two-story tall spacecraft will arrive at Saturn in July 2004. The orbiter will circle the planet for 4 years, its compliment of 12 scientific instruments gathering data about Saturn's atmosphere, rings and magnetosphere, and conducting close-up observations of the Saturnian moons. Huygens, with a separate suite of 6 science instruments, will separate from Cassini to fly on a ballistic trajectory toward Titan, the only celestial body besides Earth to have an atmosphere rich in nitrogen. Scientists are eager to study further this chemical similarity in hopes of learning more about the origins of our own planet Earth. Huygens will provide the first direct sampling of Titan's atmospheric chemistry and the first detailed photographs of its

Space Shuttle Orbiter Discovery lifted off for the STS-105 mission on August 10, 2001. The main purpose of the mission was the rotation of the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition Two crew with the Expedition Three crew, and the delivery of supplies utilizing the Italian-built Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Leonardo. Another payload was the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE). The MISSE experiment was to fly materials and other types of space exposure experiments on the Space Station and was the first externally mounted experiment conducted on the ISS.

STS128-S-041 (28 Aug. 2009) --- Against a black night sky, Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member STS-128 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff was on time at 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Aug. 28, 2009 from launch pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. Onboard are astronauts Rick Sturckow, commander; Kevin Ford, pilot; John Danny Olivas, European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang, Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez and Nicole Stott, all mission specialists. Stott will join Expedition 20 in progress to serve as a flight engineer aboard the ISS. The 13-day mission will deliver more than seven tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the space station. The equipment includes a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. The mission is the 128th in the Space Shuttle Program, the 37th flight of Discove

The Space Shuttle Atlantis turns night into day for a few moments as it lifts off on May 15 at 4:07:48 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39A on the STS-84 mission. The fourth Shuttle mission of 1997 will be the sixth docking of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. The commander is Charles J. Precourt. The pilot is Eileen Marie Collins. The five mission specialists are C. Michael Foale, Carlos I. Noriega, Edward Tsang Lu, Jean-Francois Clervoy of the European Space Agency and Elena V. Kondakova of the Russian Space Agency. The planned nine-day mission will include the exchange of Foale for U.S. astronaut and Mir 23 crew member Jerry M. Linenger, who has been on Mir since Jan. 15. Linenger transferred to Mir during the last docking mission, STS-81; he will return to Earth on Atlantis. Foale is slated to remain on Mir for about four months until he is replaced in September by STS-86 Mission Specialist Wendy B. Lawrence. During the five days Atlantis is scheduled to be docked with

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- This view of the shock wave condensation collars backlit by the sun occurred during the launch of Atlantis on STS-106 and was captured on an engineering 35mm motion picture film. One frame was digitized to make this still image. Although the primary effect is created by the Orbiter forward fuselage, secondary effects can be seen on the SRB forward skirt, Orbiter vertical stabilizer and wing trailing edges (behind SSME's).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The Space Shuttle Columbia soars from Launch Pad 39A at 2:02 p.m. EDT July 1 to begin the 16-day STS-94 Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) mission. The launch window was opened 47 minutes earlier than the originally scheduled time of 2:37 p.m. to improve the opportunity to lift off before Florida summer rain showers reached the space center. The crew members are Mission Commander James D. Halsell Jr.; Pilot Susan L. Still; Payload Commander Janice Voss; Mission Specialists Michael L.Gernhardt and Donald A. Thomas; and Payload Specialists Roger K. Crouch and Gregory T. Linteris. During the space flight, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. Also onboard is the Hitchhiker Cryogenic Flexible Diode (CRYOFD) experiment payload, which is atta

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Seconds after launch, Space Shuttle Columbia appears as a flaming tip of the smoke column it trails. Following a flawless and uneventful countdown, liftoff occurred on-time at 10:39 a.m. EST. The 16-day research mission will include FREESTAR (Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research) and the SHI Research Double Module (SHI/RDM), known as SPACEHAB. Experiments on the module range from material sciences to life sciences. Landing is scheduled at about 8:53 a.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 1. This mission is the first Shuttle mission of 2003. Mission STS-107 is the 28th flight of the orbiter Columbia and the 113th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle program.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, carrying NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander. Liftoff was at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT). The spacecraft 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.

(5 June 1991) --- The Space Shuttle Columbia, with a seven-member crew aboard, soars toward a nine-day mission devoted to life sciences research. Launch was at 9:24:51 a.m. (EDT), June 5, 1991. .

S61-03249 (13 Sept. 1961) --- View of the launch of the Mercury-Atlas 4 (MA-4) spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Sept. 13, 1961.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Vividly framed by a tranquil Florida landscape, the Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at 2:55:47 p.m. EST, Nov. 19, 1996. Leading the veteran crew of Mission STS-80 is Commander Kenneth D. Cockrell; Kent V. Rominger is the pilot and the three mission specialists are Tamara E. Jernigan, Story Musgrave and Thomas D. Jones. At age 61, Musgrave becomes the oldest person ever to fly in space; he also ties astronaut John Youngs record for most number of spaceflights by a human being, and in embarking on his sixth Shuttle flight Musgrave has logged the most flights ever aboard NASAs reusable space vehicle. The two primary payloads for STS-80 are the Wake Shield Facility-3 (WSF-3) and the Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer-Shuttle Pallet Satellite II (ORFEUS-SPAS II). Two spacewalks also will be performed during the nearly 16-day mission. Mission STS-80 closes out the Shuttle flight schedule for 1996; it marks th

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - With its fiery exhaust casting a beam across the water and billows of smoke casting shadows, Space Shuttle Columbia roars into the pre-dawn sky on mission STS-109. Liftoff occurred at 6:22:02:08 a.m. EST (11:22:02:08 GMT). This was the 27th flight of the vehicle and 108th in the history of the Shuttle program. The goal of mission STS-109 is the maintenance and upgrade of the Hubble Space Telescope, to be carried out in five spacewalks. The crew comprises Commander Scott D. Altman, Pilot Duane G. Carey, Payload Commander John M. Grunsfeld, and Mission Specialists Nancy Jane Currie, Richard M. Linnehan, James H. Newman and Michael J. Massimino. After the 11-day mission, Columbia is expected to return to KSC March 12 about 4:35 a.m. EST (09:35 GMT).

Clouds of exhaust fill the view across the marsh near Launch Pad 39B as Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off at 2:19 p.m. EST Oct. 29 on mission STS-95. Making his second voyage into space after 36 years is Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio. Other crew members are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, (M.D., Ph.D.), with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), and Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski. The STS-95 mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Discovery is expected to return to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov.

Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery

A 4 minute, 38 second exposure showing 'streak' of Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-130 launched from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida combined with a 2 minute, 5 second exposure taken immediately after, with a shutter closure and reopening while the light of the shuttle was blocked from the camera by a cloud. The combined image shows the parabolic arc of the Shuttle, from when it lifts off from the pad and gains altitude as it heads east to begin orbit, to main engine cutoff, just a f

Night view of a Scout missile during launch. Base: Vandenberg Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA's Phoenix spacecraft begins its journey to Mars aboard a Delta II 7925 rocket at 5:26 a.m. EDT from Pad 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar, permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing on Mars is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A diversified mission of astronomy, commercial space research and International Space Station preparation gets under way as the Space Shuttle Columbia climbs into orbit from Launch Pad 39B at 2:55:47 p.m. EST, Nov. 19, 1996. During Mission STS- 80, Columbias five-person crew will deploy and retrieve two free-flying spacecraft, conduct two spacewalks and perform a variety of microgravity research experiments in the Shuttles middeck area. The veteran crew is led by Commander Kenneth D. Cockrell; Kent V. Rominger is the pilot and the three mission specialists are Tamara E. Jernigan, Story Musgrave and Thomas D. Jones. At age 61, Musgrave becomes the oldest person ever to fly in space; he also ties astronaut John Youngs record for most number of spaceflights by a human being, and in embarking on his sixth Shuttle flight Musgrave has logged the most flights ever aboard NASAs reusable space vehicle. The two primary payloads for STS-80 are the Wake Shield Fac

Psyche Liftoff. NASAs Psyche spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, lifts off from Kennedy Space Centers historic Launch Complex 39A in Florida at 10:19 a.m. EDT on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. The Psyche mission will study a metal-rich asteroid with the same name, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This is NASAs first mission to study an asteroid that has more metal than rock or ice. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration - NASAs Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment - which will be the first test of laser communications beyond the Moon.

Clear skies, tranquil winds, and a brilliant morning sun mark the ontime liftoff of Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-62) from Launch Pad 39B. Columbia began the 61st Space Shuttle flight, which was a 14-day extended duration flight. On board, five veteran crew members performed materials processing experiments on the United States Microgravity Payload 2 (USMP-2), and also conducted experiments designed to enable or extend space flight technology aboard the Office of Aeornautics and Space Technology 2 payload (OAST-2).

STS055-S-052 (26 April 1993) --- A wide shot shows the STS-55 launch at the Kennedy Space Center. Carrying an international crew of seven and a science laboratory, the Space Shuttle Columbia was on its way for a nine-day Earth-orbital mission in support of the Spacelab D-2 mission. Onboard were astronauts Steven R. Nagel, mission commander; Terence T. (Tom) Henricks, pilot; Jerry L. Ross, payload commander; Charles J. Precourt and Bernard A. Harris Jr., mission specialists; along with German payload specialists Hans Schlegel and Ulrich Walter. Liftoff occurred at 10:50 a.m. (EDT), April 26, 1993.

Lift off of Space Shuttle, NASA STS-117, the 21st Space Station Flight, from the John F. Kennedy Space Center on June 8, 2007.

S26-S-187 (29 Sept. 1988) --- The STS-26 launch of space shuttle Discovery begins the first flight to be flown after the Challenger accident. The flight crew included astronauts Rick Hauck, commander; Dick Covey, pilot; and three mission specialists, Dave Hilmers, Mike Lounge, and George (Pinky) Nelson. During the four-day mission, the crew deployed the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-C) and operated eleven mid-deck experiments. Discovery completed 64 orbits of the earth before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on October 3, 1988.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour cuts a bright swath through the dark sky as it blazes a trail toward the Russian Space Station Mir. Endeavour lifted off successfully at its scheduled time of 9:48:15 p.m. EST on Jan. 22 from Pad 39A. STS-89 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

STS076-S-009 (22 March 1996) --- 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 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, as a cosmonaut guest researcher.

Moderne Weltraumrakete mit Explosion und Rauch hebt erfolgreich in den sternenklaren Raum in der Dunkelheit ab. Neues Raumschiff hebt ab, fliegt zu einer Weltraummission *** Modernity Space rocket with Explosion and Smoke lifts successful in the starry Room in the Darkness from New Spaceship lifts from, flies to a Space mission 1102801826

November 23, 2002 - Against a black night sky, the Space Shuttle Endeavour heads toward Earth orbit and a scheduled link-up with the International Space Station. Liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 occurred at 7:49:47 p.m.

STS095-S-009 (29 Oct. 1998) --- The space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth-orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. (EST), Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Looking like a comet with a tail of smoky exhaust, Boeing's Delta II rocket hurtles into space carrying NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft. The first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program, Deep Space 1 is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century, including the ion propulsion engine. Propelled by the gas xenon, the engine is being flight-tested for future deep space and Earth-orbiting missions. Other onboard experiments include software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but will also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999

October 12, 2008 - The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - 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 launches at 11:18:15 p.m. EDT. 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.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

Framed by the foliage of the Canaveral National Sea Shore, Space Shuttle Discovery soars through bright blue skies as it lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at 2:19 p.m. EST Oct. 29 on mission STS-95. Making his second voyage into space after 36 years is Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio. Other crew members are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, (M.D., Ph.D.), with the National agency for Space Development (NASDA), Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), and Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski. The STS-95 mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Discovery is expected to

The Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft is seen in this long exposure photograph as it launches with Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, Friday March 15, 2019, Kazakh time (March 14 Eastern time) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Hague, Koch, and Ovchinin will spend six-and-a-half months living and working aboard the International Space Station.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour cuts a bright swath through the dark sky as it blazes a trail toward the Russian Space Station Mir. Endeavour lifted off successfully at its scheduled time of 9:48:15 p.m. EST on Jan. 22 from Pad 39A. STS-89 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

STS61C-S-047 (12 Jan. 1986) --- A remote camera records the early morning launch at Florida s Kennedy Space Center of the space shuttle Columbia and the STS-61C crew on Jan. 12, 1986. Onboard were the following crew members -- Mission Commander Robert L. Gibson and Pilot Charles F. Bolden, along with Mission Specialists Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Steven A. Hawley and George D. Nelson and Payload Specialists Robert J. Cenker of RCA and U.S. Rep. Bill Nelson.

STS082-S-009 (11 Feb 1997) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery clears Pad A at Launch Complex 39A, at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), as it heads for a scheduled 10-day mission in Earth-orbit. Launch occurred at 3:55:17 a.m. (EST), February 11, 1997. The crew members are astronauts Kenneth D. Bowersox, commander; Scott J. Horowitz, pilot; Mark C. Lee, payload commander; and mission specialists Steven A. Hawley, Gregory J. Harbaugh, Steven L. Smith and Joseph R. Tanner. The primary mission of the flight is to service the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). STS-82 represents the 22nd flight of Discovery and the 82nd Space Transportation System (STS) flight.

A view of an operation test launch of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Base: Vandenberg Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Pulling free of Earth's gravity, and leaving a trail of smoke behind, Space Shuttle Columbia roars toward space on mission STS-107. Following a flawless and uneventful countdown, liftoff occurred on-time at 10:39 a.m. EST. The 16-day research mission will include FREESTAR (Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research) and the SHI Research Double Module (SHI/RDM), known as SPACEHAB. Experiments on the module range from material sciences to life sciences.. Landing of Columbia is scheduled at about 8:53 a.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 1. This mission is the first Shuttle mission of 2003. Mission STS-107 is the 28th flight of the orbiter Columbia and the 113th flight overall in NASA's Space Shuttle program.

View of the early morning launch of STS 41-G Challenger. The dark launch complex is illuminated by spotlights as the orbiter begins its ascent from the pad. The light is reflected off the clouds of smoke from the orbiter's engines.

S73-37287 (16 Nov. 1973) --- The Skylab 4/Saturn 1B space vehicle is launched from Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 9:01:23 a.m., Friday, Nov. 16, 1973. Skylab 4 is the third and last of three scheduled manned Skylab missions.

A Telestar 401 Communications Satellite lifts off in a successful launch from complex 36B at 1940 hours eastern standard time aboard General Dynamics first Atlas IIAS Space Vehicle. Base: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The fiery launch of Space Shuttle Columbia casts ghost-like shadows on the clouds of smoke and steam surrounding it. Liftoff occurred at 12:31 a.m. EDT. STS-93 is a five-day mission primarily to release the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the universe. The crew numbers five: Commander Eileen M. Collins, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialists Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.), Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.) and Michel Tognini of France, with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Collins is the first woman to serve as commander of a Shuttle mission. The target landing date is July 27, 1999, at 11:20 p.m. EDT

A Scout missile is launched from Complex 5. Base: Vandenberg Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The Space Shuttle Endeavour cuts a bright swath through the dark sky as it blazes a trail toward the Russian Space Station Mir. Endeavour lifted off successfully at its scheduled time of 9:48:15 p.m. EST on Jan. 22 from Pad 39A. STS-89 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

STS062-S-053 (4 March 1994) --- Carrying a crew of five veteran NASA astronauts and the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP), the Space Shuttle Columbia heads toward its sixteenth mission in Earth-orbit. Launch occurred at 8 53 a.m. (EST), March 4, 1994. Onboard were astronauts John H. Casper, Andrew M. Allen, Marsha S. Ivins, Charles D. (Sam) Gemar and Pierre J. Thuot.

October 12, 2008 - The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft in flight after takeoff.

Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew launched at 2 38 p.m. (EDT) to begin the two-day journey to the International Space Station (ISS) on the historic Return to Flight STS-121 mission. The shuttle made history as it was the first human-occupying spacecraft to launch on Independence Day. During its 12-day mission, this utilization and logistics flight delivered a multipurpose logistics module (MPLM) to the ISS with several thousand pounds of new supplies and experiments. In addition, some new orbital replacement units (ORUs) were delivered and stowed externally on the ISS on a special pallet. These ORUs are spares for critical machinery located on the outside of the ISS. During this mission the crew also carried out testing of Shuttle inspection and repair hardware, as well as evaluated operational techniques and concepts for conducting on-orbit inspection and repair.

Apollo 11 Launches Past American Flag

Brilliant light from the successful liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-103 illuminates the night sky and the nearby waters. Liftoff occurred at 7:50 p.m. EST from Launch Pad 39B. On board are Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Scott J. Kelly and Mission Specialists Steven L. Smith, C. Michael Foale (Ph.D.), John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.), Claude Nicollier of Switzerland and Jean-François Clervoy of France. Nicollier and Clervoy are with the European Space Agency. STS-103 is a Hubble Servicing Mission, with three planned space walks designed to install new equipment and replace old. The primary objective is to replace the gyroscopes that make up the three Rate Sensor Units. Extravehicular activities include installing a new computer, changing out one of the Fine Guidance Sensors, replacing a tape recorder with a new solid state recorder, and installing a voltage/temperature improvement kit, and begin repairing the insulation on the telescope's outer surface. After the 7-day,

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The Space Shuttle Columbia soars from Launch Pad 39A at 2:02 p.m. EDT July 1 to begin the 16-day STS-94 Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) mission. The launch window was opened 47 minutes earlier than the originally scheduled time of 2:37 p.m. to improve the opportunity to lift off before Florida summer rain showers reached the space center. The crew members are Mission Commander James D. Halsell Jr.; Pilot Susan L. Still; Payload Commander Janice Voss; Mission Specialists Michael L.Gernhardt and Donald A. Thomas; and Payload Specialists Roger K. Crouch and Gregory T. Linteris. During the space flight, the MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. Also onboard is the Hitchhiker Cryogenic Flexible Diode (CRYOFD) experiment payload, which is atta

A view of the launch of the Delta 162 carrying WESTAR V, the fifth in a series of Western Union communications satellites. Base: Cape Canaveral State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Space Shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope

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