Spacecraft and Launch Preparations

Photos of spacecraft undergoing assembly and testing, including launch preparations for historic missions targeting planetary exploration.

Workers inside the launch tower at Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, guide the third stage of a Boeing Delta II rocket, and the Stardust spacecraft connected to it, through an opening to the second stage of the rocket below. The second and third stages of teh rocket will be mated next as preparations continue for liftoff on Feb. 6. Stardust is destined for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a silicon-based substance called aerogel, Stardust will capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of the comet. The spacecraft also will bring back samples of interstellar dust. These materials consist of ancient pre-solar interstellar grains and other remnants left over from the formation of the solar system. Scientists expect their analysis to provide important insights into the evolution of the sun and planets and possibly into the origin of life itself. The collected samples will return to Earth in a sample return capsule to be jettisoned as Stardust swings b

In the launch tower on Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is ready for encapsulation. A fairing will be installed around the spacecraft to protect it during launch. SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space. Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed from the ground. Consisting of an 0.85-meter telescope and three cryogenically cooled science instruments, SIRTF is one of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched. SIRTF is currently scheduled for launch April 18 aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Workers inside the launch tower at Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, guide the third stage of a Boeing Delta II rocket, and the Stardust spacecraft connected to it, through an opening to the second stage of the rocket below. The second and third stages of teh rocket will be mated next as preparations continue for liftoff on Feb. 6. Stardust is destined for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a silicon-based substance called aerogel, Stardust will capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of the comet. The spacecraft also will bring back samples of interstellar dust. These materials consist of ancient pre-solar interstellar grains and other remnants left over from the formation of the solar system. Scientists expect their analysis to provide important insights into the evolution of the sun and planets and possibly into the origin of life itself. The collected samples will return to Earth in a sample return capsule to be jettisoned as Stardust swings b

The Unity connecting module rests inside the open payload bay of the orbiter Endeavour at Launch Pad 39A. At the top of bay is the docking mechanism first used with launches to Mir, the Russian space station. Unity is the first U.S. element of the International Space Station (ISS) and is scheduled for launch Dec. 3, 1998, on Mission STS-88. The Unity is a connecting passageway to the living and working areas of ISS. While on orbit, the flight crew will deploy Unity from the payload bay and attach it to the Russian-built Zarya control module which will be in orbit at that time. The mission is expected to last nearly 12 days, landing back at the Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the first half of the two-part fairing is in place around the Space Tracking and Surveillance System - Demonstrator spacecraft. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the rocket and forms an aerodynamically smooth nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. STSS Demo is a space-based sensor component of a layered Ballistic Missile Defense System designed for the overall mission of detection, tracking and discriminating ballistic missiles. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency between 8 and 8:58 a.m. EDT Sept. 18. Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4934 (09-22-09)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians position the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft on a work stand for electrical testing.MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch in November from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 crew members take part in a payload bay walkdown to check out the cargo secured in Atlantis' bay. Seen here inspecting the airlock is Commander Chris Ferguson.The astronauts are at Kennedy to participate in a launch countdown dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) and related training. Atlantis and its crew are targeted to lift off July 8, taking with them the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and fin

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers peer inside after opening an end-cone of the U.S. laboratory module, an element of the International Space Station. The lab is undergoing pre-launch preparations before its launch aboard the Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-98. The laboratory comprises three cylindrical sections with two end cones. Each end-cone contains a hatch opening for entering and exiting the lab. The lab will provide a shirtsleeve environment for research in the areas of life science, microgravity science, Earth science and space science. Designated Flight 5A, this mission is targeted for launch in early 2000

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-90 Neurolab payload and four Getaway Specials (GAS) await payload bay door closure in the orbiter Columbia today in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Specifically, experiments will study the adaptation of the vestibular system, the central nervous system, and the pathways that control the ability to sense location in the absence of gravity, as well as the effect of microgravity on a developing nervous system. The crew of STS-90, slated for launch in April, will include Commander Richard Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists Richard Linnehan, Dafydd (Dave) Williams, M.D., and Kathryn (Kay) Hire, and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey, M.D., and James Pawelczyk, Ph.D

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Pad 39-B, a worker monitors the closing of Space Shuttle Columbia's payload bay doors around the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Chandra is the primary payload on mission STS-93, scheduled to launch aboard Columbia July 20 at 12:36 a.m. EDT. The combined Chandra/Inertial Upper Stage, seen here, measures 57 feet long and weighs 50,162 pounds. Fully deployed with solar arrays extended, the observatory measures 45.3 feet long and 64 feet wide. The world's most powerful X-ray telescope, Chandra will allow scientists from around the world to see previously invisible black holes and high-temperature gas clouds, giving the observatory the potential to rewrite the books on the structure and evolution of our universe

Looking like a painting, this wide-angle view shows the Unity connecting module being moved toward the payload bay of the orbiter Endeavour at Launch Pad 39A. Part of the International Space Station (ISS), Unity is scheduled for launch Dec. 3, 1998, on Mission STS-88. The Unity is a connecting passageway to the living and working areas of ISS. While on orbit, the flight crew will deploy Unity from the payload bay and attach it to the Russian-built Zarya control module which will be in orbit at that time

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the hatch of the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) is closed in preparation for space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission to the International Space Station. Robonaut 2 (R2) and critical spare parts are packed inside the PMM, which will be left aboard the station on Discovery's final mission. Targeted to launch Nov. 1 at 4:40 p.m. EDT, Discovery and its crew also will carry Express Logistics Carrier-4 (ELC-4), which is filled with external payloads and experiments.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Centers Orbiter Processing Facility, bay 3, Pat Cerny, with United Space Alliance, monitors readings from thermography testing on Discoverys nose cone.Thermography uses high-intensity light to heat specific areas, which are then immediately scanned with an infrared camera. As the area cools, internal flaws are revealed. Discovery has been identified as the orbiter to fly on mission STS-121.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery's payload bay doors are closed in preparation for the flight of mission STS-85. The payload includes the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite-2 (CRISTA-SPAS-2). The CRISTA is a system of three telescopes and four spectrometers to measure infrared radiation emitted by the Earths middle atmosphere. During the 11-day mission, the CRISTA-SPAS-2 free-flying satellite will be deployed from Discovery and retrieved later in the flight. Also onboard the satellite will be the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) to measure ultraviolet radiation emitted and scattered by the Earths atmosphere.

NEA Scout spacecraft after de-integration from hot box

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) spacecraft is encapsulated with the fairing. With one half already in place (right), the second half (left) moves into position. MAP is scheduled for launch on June 30 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. The launch will place MAP into a lunar-assisted trajectory to the Sun-Earth for a 27-month mission. The probe will measure small fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation to an accuracy of one millionth of a degree. These measurements should reveal the size, matter content, age, geometry and fate of the universe. They will also reveal the primordial structure that grew to form galaxies and will test ideas about the origins of these primordial structures. The MAP instrument will be continuously shaded from the Sun, Earth, and Moon by the spacecraft

JSC2004-E-44649 (September 2004) --- Engineers and technicians (partially visible in right background) check the International Space Station's Cupola in the Alenia Spazio clean room in Turin, Italy. Personnel are preparing the hardware for shipment to NASA's launch facility at Cape Kennedy, Florida. From inside the Cupola, a dome-shaped module with seven windows, astronauts have a panoramic view for observing operations on the outside of the orbiting complex. The Cupola module provides external observation capabilities during spacewalks, docking operations, hardware surveys and for Earth and celestial studies. It also serves as the primary location for executing robot arm operations of Canadarm2. Until the Cupola is installed, crews have been using a robotic control computer station located in the Destiny Laboratory to operate the arm. The Cupolas windows enhance the robotic arm operator's situational awareness, supplementing camera and graphic views provided by the computer wor

Members of the STS-97 crew look into Endeavours payload bay at some of the equipment that will be carried on the mission. At far left are (left to right) Commander Brent Jett and Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner, with a technician. At center are Mission Specialists Marc Garneau and Carlos Noriega, plus Pilot Michael Bloomfield. The equipment visible at right are the orbiter docking system (ODS) (center) and Canadian robotic arm (left and below the ODS). The arm will be used during spacewalks on the mission to install solar arrays. Each more than 100 feet long, the arrays will capture energy from the sun and convert it to power for the Station. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:06 p.m. EST

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-90 Neurolab payload and two of the four Getaway Specials (GAS) await payload bay door closure in the orbiter Columbia today in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. The GAS container on the left contains the COLLisions Into Dust Experiment, or COLLIDE, which will study low velocity collisions between space-borne particles in an attempt to better understand planetary ring dynamics. The STS-90 mission is a joint venture of six space agencies and seven U.S. research agencies. Agencies participating in this mission include six institutes of the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research, as well as the space agencies of Canada, France, Germany, and Japan, and the European Space Agency (ESA)

At Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the pristine white fairing comes together, enclosing the Mars Odyssey spacecraft inside. The Mars Odyssey is scheduled for launch aboard a Delta II rocket April 7, 2001, at 11:02 a.m. EST. NASAs latest explorer carries three scientific instruments to map the chemical and mineralogical makeup of Mars: a thermal-emission imaging system, a gamma ray spectrometer and a Martian radiation environment experiment. The imaging system will map the planet with high-resolution thermal images and give scientists an increased level of detail to help them understand how the mineralogy of the planet relates to the land forms. In addition, Odyssey will serve as a communications relay for U.S. and international landers arriving at Mars in 2003/2004

In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers look over the Unity connecting module, part of the International Space Station, after attaching the nameplate. Unity was expected to be transported to Launch Pad 39A on Oct. 26 for launch aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on Mission STS-88 in December. The Unity is a connecting passageway to the living and working areas of ISS. While on orbit, the flight crew will deploy Unity from the payload bay and attach Unity to the Russian-built Zarya control module which will be in orbit at that time

NTS A871403 SANDIA NATIONAL LABS U12P MISSION CYBER SCATTER AREA BUTTON UP KEN GLIBERT / KECK (Project Engineer) NOV 30 87 EG&G/NTS PHOTO LAB Publication Date: 11/30/1987 BUTTON UP; EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER; EG&G; EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT & INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTATION; INSTRUMENTS & EQUIPMENT; INSTRUMENTS AND EQUIPMENT; MISSION CYBER; NEVADA; NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; P-TUNNEL; SCATTER AREA; SCATTER AREA BUTTON UP; TEST SITES; TUNNELS; UGT; UNDERGROUND TESTING; WEAPONS EFFECTS; WIRE & CABLES historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

A89570 U12P DISKO ELM FRONT-END EXPERIMENT JERRY CUDERMAN (Project Engineer) JUN 6 89 EG&G/NTS PHOTO LAB Publication Date: 6/6/1989 DISKO ELM; DISKO ELM TEST; EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER; EG&G; EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT & INSTRUMENTS; EQUIPMENT (SNL); FRONT-END EXPERIMENT; INSTRUMENTS & EQUIPMENT; NEVADA; NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; NUCLEAR TESTING; NUCLEAR TESTS; P-TUNNEL; TEST SITES; TUNNELS; UGT; UNDERGROUND; UNDERGROUND TESTING; WIRE & CABLES; WIRES; DISKO ELM-FRONT END EXPERIMENT historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

Technological resources viewed during Secretary Gale Norton's tour of the Mount Graham International Observatory, near Safford, Arizona. During the visit, Secretary Norton discussed forest management issues relevant to the area, affected by the summer's massive Nuttall and Gibson forest fires

JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE CRYOGENIC TEST #4 SIX MIRROR DE-INTEGRATION, JULY 13, 2010, MSFC X-RAY & CRYOGENIC FACILITY

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers watch as the Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER-2), inside the transport canister, is lowered toward the Delta II rocket for mating. MER-2 is one of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers designed to study the history of water on Mars. These robotic geologists are equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow them to have a human-like, 3D view of the terrain. Each rover could travel as far as 100 meters in one day to act as Mars scientists' eyes and hands, exploring an environment where humans can't yet go. MER-2 is scheduled to launch no earlier than June 8 as MER-A.

NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster - Commercial, NEXT-C

STS-133 DISCOVERY - SPACE SHUTTE MAIN ENGINE (SSME) #1 REMOVAL

The U.S. Lab Destiny, one of the key elements of the International Space Station, moves across the Space Station Processing Facility while suspended from an overhead crane. The module is being moved to the payload canister for transfer to Space Shuttle Atlantis. Destiny is the primary payload on mission STS-98, scheduled for launch no earlier than Jan. 19, 2001

Resting in a rotation and handling fixture, the U.S. Lab, a component of the International Space Station, is lifted toward vertical. The Lab, named Destiny, will undergo testing in the altitude chamber in the Operations and Checkout Building. Behind the Lab is the payload canister which transported it from the Space Station Processing Facility. Destiny is scheduled to fly on mission STS-98 in early 2001. During the mission, the crew will install the Lab in the Space Station during a series of three space walks. The STS-98 mission will provide the Station with science research facilities and expand its power, life support and control capabilities. The U.S. Lab module continues a long tradition of microgravity materials research, first conducted by Skylab and later Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Destiny is expected to be a major feature in future research, providing facilities for biotechnology, fluid physics, combustion, and life sciences research

Workers on Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, prepare for mating the second stage of the Delta II Heavy rocket to the first stage below. The rocket will launch the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), currently scheduled for mid-August. SIRTF consists of three cryogenically cooled science instruments and an 0.85-meter telescope, and is one of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched. SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space. Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed from the ground.

White light shape and measurement of a 13.1 Foot diameter fluted-core sandwich composite test article designed by LaRC and fabricated by Boeing Under Space Act Agreement SAA1-737, Annex 14. to be tested in LaRC's combined Loads Testing System (COLTS).

In the Space Station Processing Facility, the overhead crane slowly moves solar panels intended for the International Space Station (ISS). The panels are the first set of U.S.-provided solar arrays and batteries for ISS, scheduled to be part of mission STS-97 in December 1999. The mission, fifth in the U.S. flights for construction of ISS, will build and enhance the capabilities of the Space Station. It will deliver the solar panels as well as radiators to provide cooling. The Shuttle will spend 5 days docked to the station, which at that time will be staffed by the first station crew. Two space walks will be conducted to complete assembly operations while the arrays are attached and unfurled. A communications system for voice and telemetry also will be installed. At the left of the crane and panels is the Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM), the Leonardo A reusable logistics carrier, the MPLM is scheduled to be launched on Space Shuttle Mission STS-100, targeted for April 2000

USA, New Mexico, Sunspot: National Solar Observatory / Sacramento Peak Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope (b.1969) Exterior

Workers at the top of the tower at Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, watch as the second stage of a Boeing Delta II rocket moves toward the opening through which it will be mated with the first stage. The rocket is targeted for launch on Feb. 6, carrying the Stardust spacecraft into space for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a substance called aerogel, Stardust will capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of the comet, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in a sample return capsule to be jettisoned as Stardust swings by Earth in January 2006

T&R Discovery Orbiter Access Hatch Final Closure

S135-E-007551 (12 July 2011) --- With his feet secured on a restraint on the space station remote manipulator system's robotic arm or Canadarm2, NASA astronaut Mike Fossum (lower right side of frame) holds the Robotics Refueling Mission payload, which was the focus of one of the primary chores accomplished on a six and a half hour spacewalk on July 12. The failed pump module is with DEXTRE in the upper left corner of the photo. NASA astronauts Fossum and Ron Garan performed the six-hour, 31-minute spacewalk, which represents the final scheduled extravehicular activity during shuttle missions.

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Backshell-Powered Descent Vehicle and Entry Vehicle assemblies are being prepared to be attached to the Mars Perseverance rover on May 5, 2020. The cone-shaped backshell contains the parachute, and along with the missions heat shield, provides protection for the rover and descent stage during Martian atmospheric entry. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch in mid-July atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Pad 41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rover is part of NASAs Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

The Joint Airlock Module is fully lowered into the vacuum chamber inside the Operations and Checkout Building. Workers on either side check its position. The airlock is being tested for leaks. The module is the gateway from which crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will enter and exit the 470-ton orbiting research facility. The airlock is a critical element of the ISS because of design differences between American and Russian spacesuits. The Joint Airlock Module provides a chamber where astronauts from every nation can suit up for space walks to conduct maintenance and construction work or to do science experiments outside the Station. The Space Shuttle Atlantis will carry the airlock to orbit on mission STS-104, the 10th International Space Station flight, currently targeted for liftoff in May 2001. The Shuttle crew will secure the airlock to the right side of Unity, the American-built connecting node that currently comprises one-third of the current Space Statio

iss056e148130 (8/20/2018) --- Photographic documentation taken in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) during preparation for the installation of the German Space Agency (DLR) Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS) investigation. DESIS verifies and enhances the use of space-based hyperspectral imaging capabilities for Earth remote sensing and provides an instrument which produces high value hyperspectral imagery.

The Passive Aeroelastic Tailored (PAT) wing bends under pressure from the highest loads applied during testing at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

This photograph was taken during a deployment simulation of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The LRV was built to give Apollo astronauts a greater range of mobility during the last three lunar exploration missions; Apollo 15, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17. It was designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and built by the Boeing Company.

USA, Virginia, Dulles, National Air & Space Museum, Vega spacecraft engineering model

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Joint Airlock Module, suspended from an overhead crane, moves toward the payload canister below. After being placed in the canister, the module will be transferred to the Space Station Processing Facility. There the module will undergo more preflight processing for the STS-104 mission scheduled for launch aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis May 17, 2001. The Joint Airlock Module is the gateway from which crew members aboard the International Space Station will enter and exit the 470-ton orbiting research facility

STS-335 STS-135 ATLANTIS ENGINE-3 (LAST) INSTALLATION

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a technician on the work stand prepares the first stage of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket, at left, to be mated to the second stage, at right, for the launch of NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, spacecraft. AIM is the seventh Small Explorers mission under NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics and astrophysics. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global c

NTS A871462 SANDIA NATIONAL LABS U12P MISSION CYBER FAST ALCOVE 2-4 BILL WILSON / KECK (Project Engineer) NOV 29 87 EG&G/NTS PHOTO LAB Publication Date: 11/29/1987 CABLES; EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER; EG&G; EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT & INSTRUMENTS; FAST ALCOVE; FAST ALCOVE 2-4; INSTRUMENTATION; INSTRUMENTS & EQUIPMENT; INSTRUMENTS AND EQUIPMENT; MISSION CYBER; NEVADA; NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; P-TUNNEL; TEST SITES; TUNNELS; UGT; UNDERGROUND TESTING; WEAPONS EFFECTS; WIRE & CABLES historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

Underwater crew training is conducted in Marshall's Neutral Buoyancy Simulator (NBS) in preparation for on-orbit Hubble Space Telescope (HST) operations.

Workers at Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carefully maneuver the Delta rocket fairing as it closes in on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. NASAs latest explorer carries three scientific instruments to map the chemical and mineralogical makeup of Mars a thermal-emission imaging system, a gamma ray spectrometer and a Martian radiation environment experiment. The imaging system will map the planet with high-resolution thermal images and give scientists an increased level of detail to help them understand how the mineralogy of the planet relates to the land forms. In addition, Odyssey will serve as a communications relay for U.S. and international landers arriving at Mars in 2003_2004. The Mars Odyssey is scheduled for launch aboard a Delta II rocket April 7, 2001, at 11 02 a.m. EST

A nuclear reactor, South Carolina, USA.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - A worker attaches a solid rocket motor, or SRM, for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, to the Delta II first stage in the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Operations are underway to attach the rocket's three SRMs, known as graphite epoxy motors, to its first stage.OCO-2 is scheduled to launch into a polar Earth orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II 7320-10C rocket in July. Once in orbit, OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

Interior view of the Space Station Processing Facility

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 17, Pad A, technicians encapsulate the Geotail spacecraft upper and attached Payload Assist Module-D upper stage lower in the protective payload fairing. Geotail and secondary payload Diffuse Ultraviolet Experiment DUVE are scheduled for launch about the Delta II rocket on July 24. The GEOTAIL mission is a collaborative project undertaken by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science ISAS, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA and NASA.

The overhead crane lowers the Joint Airlock Module inside the vacuum chamber in the Operations and Checkout Building. The airlock is being tested for leaks. The module is the gateway from which crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will enter and exit the 470-ton orbiting research facility. The airlock is a critical element of the ISS because of design differences between American and Russian spacesuits. The Joint Airlock Module provides a chamber where astronauts from every nation can suit up for space walks to conduct maintenance and construction work or to do science experiments outside the Station. The Space Shuttle Atlantis will carry the airlock to orbit on mission STS-104, the 10th International Space Station flight, currently targeted for liftoff in May 2001. The Shuttle crew will secure the airlock to the right side of Unity, the American-built connecting node that currently comprises one-third of the current Space Station, along with the Russian modules Za

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - The first stage of the Delta II launch vehicle for the Gravity Probe B experiment is lifted up the mobile service tower on Space Launch Complex 2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The Gravity Probe B will launch a payload of four gyroscopes into low-Earth polar orbit to test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Once in orbit, for 18 months each gyroscopes spin axis will be monitored as it travels through local spacetime, observing and measuring these effects. The experiment was developed by Stanford University, Lockheed Martin and NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center. The targeted launch date is Dec. 6, 2003.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --- In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers prepare space shuttle Discovery's payload bay for payload installation. The launch of Discovery on its STS-124 mission is targeted for April 24. On the mission, Discovery will transport the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module - Pressurized Module and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System to the International Space Station.

NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster - Commercial, NEXT-C

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - This view from inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, shows the Boeing Delta II second stage as it reaches the top. The component will be reattached to the interstage adapter on the Delta II. The rocket is the launch vehicle for the Deep Impact spacecraft, scheduled for liftoff no earlier than Jan. 12. A NASA Discovery mission, Deep Impact will probe beneath the surface of Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when the comet is 83 million miles from Earth, and reveal the secrets of its interior. After releasing a 3- by 3-foot projectile to crash onto the surface, Deep Impacts flyby spacecraft will collect pictures and data of how the crater forms, measuring the craters depth and diameter, as well as the composition of the interior of the crater and any material thrown out, and determining the changes in natural outgassing produced by the impact. It will send the data back to Earth through the antennas of the Deep Spa

TELESCOPIO DE INVESTIGACION ESPACIAL. Location: OBSERVATORIO ASTRONOMICO. CALIFORNIA-MONTE PALOMARES.

Orion Spacecraft is prepared for Space Environment Testing at the Glenn Research Center, GRC Plum Brook Station, Space Environments Complex, SEC

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air force Station, Fla., the first half of the fairing is moved into place around the Deep Impact spacecraft. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the Delta II upper stage booster and forms an aerodynamically smooth nosecone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. Scheduled for liftoff Jan. 12, Deep Impact will probe beneath the surface of Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when the comet is 83 million miles from Earth. After releasing a 3- by 3-foot projectile to crash onto the surface, Deep Impacts flyby spacecraft will reveal the secrets of its interior by collecting pictures and data of how the crater forms, measuring the craters depth and diameter as well as the composition of the interior of the crater and any material thrown out, and determining the changes in natural outgassing produced by the impact. It will send the data back to Ea

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the second half of the fairing moves closer to the first half around NASA's Kepler spacecraft for encapsulation. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the rocket and forms an aerodynamically smooth nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. The liftoff of Kepler aboard the Delta II rocket is currently targeted for launch in a window extending 10:49 to 10:52 p.m. EST March 6 from Pad 17-B. Kepler is designed to survey more than 100,000 stars in our galaxy to determine the number of sun-like stars that have Earth-size and larger planets, including those that lie in a star's "habitable zone," a region where liquid water, and perhaps life, could exist. If these Earth-size worlds do exist around stars like our sun, Kepler is expected to be the first to find them and the first to measure how common they are.

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

Technological resources viewed during Secretary Gale Norton's tour of the Mount Graham International Observatory, near Safford, Arizona. During the visit, Secretary Norton discussed forest management issues relevant to the area, affected by the summer's massive Nuttall and Gibson forest fires

Orion Progress in high bay

A89564 U12P DISKO ELM FRONT-END EXPERIMENT JERRY CUDERMAN (Project Engineer) JUN 1 89 EG&G/NTS PHOTO LAB Publication Date: 6/1/1989 DISKO ELM; DISKO ELM TEST; EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER; EG&G; EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT & INSTRUMENTS; EQUIPMENT (SNL); FRONT-END EXPERIMENT; INSTRUMENTS & EQUIPMENT; NEVADA; NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; NUCLEAR TESTING; NUCLEAR TESTS; P-TUNNEL; TEST SITES; TUNNELS; UGT; UNDERGROUND; UNDERGROUND TESTING; WIRE & CABLES; WIRES; DISKO ELM-FRONT END EXPERIMENT historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

Glenn Research Center's Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility (formerly Plum Brook Station) in Ohio houses the worlds largest space simulation vacuum chamber where the Orion spacecraft, shown here on March 11, 2020, was rigorously tested for Artemis missions to the Moon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In its overhead passage down the Space Station Processing Facility, the U.S. Laboratory Destiny travels past the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. Both are elements in the construction of the International Space Station. The lab is being moved to the Launch Package Integration Stand (LPIS) for a weight and center of gravity determination. Destiny is the payload aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-98 to the Space Station. The lab is fitted with five system racks and will already have experiments installed inside for the flight. The launch is scheduled for January 2001

The vacuum chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, used for testing WFIRST and other coronagraphs.

ORION Project-(SPLASH) Structural Passive Landing Attenuation for Survivability of Human Crew (BTA) Boiler Plate Test Article Water Impact Test-P1T#2 Tested at the Hydro Impact Basin at the Landing and Impact Research Facility (Gantry)

Workers at Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carefully maneuver the Delta rocket fairing as it closes in on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. NASAs latest explorer carries three scientific instruments to map the chemical and mineralogical makeup of Mars: a thermal-emission imaging system, a gamma ray spectrometer and a Martian radiation environment experiment. The imaging system will map the planet with high-resolution thermal images and give scientists an increased level of detail to help them understand how the mineralogy of the planet relates to the land forms. In addition, Odyssey will serve as a communications relay for U.S. and international landers arriving at Mars in 2003/2004. The Mars Odyssey is scheduled for launch aboard a Delta II rocket April 7, 2001, at 11:02 a.m. EST

This is a photograph of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO), formerly Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), High Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA) integration at the X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The AXAF was renamed CXO in 1999. The CXO is the most sophisticated and the world's most powerful x-ray telescope ever built. It observes x-rays from high-energy regions of the universe, such as hot gas in the remnants of exploded stars. The HRMA, the heart of the telescope system, is contained in the cylindrical telescope portion of the observatory. Since high-energy x-rays would penetrate a normal mirror, special cylindrical mirrors were created. The two sets of four nested mirrors resemble tubes within tubes. Incoming x-rays graze off the highly polished mirror surface and are furneled to the instrument section for detection and study. MSFC's XRCF is the world's largest, most advanced laboratory for simulating x-ray emissions from dista

Secretary Gale Norton touring the Mount Graham International Observatory, near Safford, Arizona. During the visit, Secretary Norton discussed forest management issues relevant to the area, affected by the summer's massive Nuttall and Gibson forest fires

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Orion crew and service module stack for Exploration Flight Test-1 was lifted by crane out of the test cell and is being moved along the center aisle. Orion will be transferred to a mating device. A protective covering surrounds the crew module.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch later this year atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to an altitude of 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface. The two-orbit, four-hour flight test will help engineers evaluate the systems critical to crew safety including the h

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the second stage of the Boeing Delta II rocket is lowered into position for mating with the first stage. The rocket is the launch vehicle for the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft that will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. Flying as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets, the spacecraft will take the sharpest pictures yet of a nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. Launch of CONTOUR is scheduled for July 1, 2002

iss058e028142 (3/7/2019) --- View of the Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) during configuration of the SUBSA (Solidification Using Baffles in Sealed Ampoules) hardware in the MSG Work Volume in the Destiny Laboratory aboard the International Space Staion(ISS). SUBSA is a high-temperature furnace that can be used to study how microgravity affects the synthesis of semiconductor and scintillator crystals.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers monitor the placement of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) onto its transporter. The JEM was moved from the transporter for weighing and to measure its center of gravity. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency developed the laboratory at the Tsukuba Space Center near Tokyo. It is the first element, named "Kibo" (Hope), to be delivered to KSC. The JEM is Japan's primary contribution to the International Space Station. It will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments. The JEM is targeted for mission STS-124, to launch in early 2008.

A centrifuge sits inside of the 746th Test Squadron building at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, Oct. 27, 2022. The 746th TS is also known as the Central Inertial and GPS Test Facility and has been the Department of Defenses leading guidance and navigation systems testing facility for over 50 years.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The U.S. Lab, a component of the International Space Station, rests in a vertical position in the Operations and Checkout Building. The Lab, named Destiny, will undergo testing in the altitude chamber in the O&C. Destiny is scheduled to fly on mission STS-98 in early 2001. During the mission, the crew will install the Lab in the Space Station during a series of three space walks. The STS-98 mission will provide the Station with science research facilities and expand its power, life support and control capabilities. The U.S. Lab module continues a long tradition of microgravity materials research, first conducted by Skylab and later Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Destiny is expected to be a major feature in future research, providing facilities for biotechnology, fluid physics, combustion, and life sciences research

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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers oversee the placement of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) called Raffaello as a crane lowers it onto a workstand in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF). One of Italy's major contributions to the ISS program, the MPLM is a reusable logistics carrier and the primary delivery system used to resupply and return station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. Weighing nearly 4.5 tons, the Raffaello measures 21 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Raffaello will undergo testing. joining the first Italian-built MPLM, Leonardo, also in the SSPF. Raffaello is scheduled to be launched on mission STS-100 on July 27, 2000

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Pressurized Mating Adapter -3 (PMA-3) sits in the payload bay of the orbiter Discovery after being transported from the Space Station Processing Facility. A component of the International Space Station, the PMA-3 will fly on Shuttle mission STS-92, scheduled to launch Oct. 5. The mission will be the fifth flight to the Space Station, and the 100th Shuttle flight overall. PMA-3 provides shuttle docking port for solar array installation on flight 4A (mission STS-97 scheduled for Nov. 30), and Lab installation on flight 5A (mission STS-98, scheduled for Jan. 18, 2001)

S-IVB-505 and S-IVB-211, the flight version of the S-IVB stages, in the McDornell Douglas' S-IVB Assembly and Checkout Tower in Huntington Beach, California. As a part of the Marshall Space Flight Center `s building block approach to the Saturn vehicle development, the S-IVB stage, in its 200 series, was utilized as the Saturn IB launch vehicle's second stage, and, in its 500 series, the Saturn V's third stage. The S-IVB was powered by a single J-2 engine, initially capable of 200,000 pounds of thrust.

Workers oversee the mating of the second stage with the first stage of a Boeing Delta II rocket, which will launch the NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite. FUSE is NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer satellite developed by The Johns Hopkins University under contract to Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., to investigate the origin and evolution of the lightest elements in the universe hydrogen and deuterium. In addition, the FUSE satellite will examine the forces and process involved in the evolution of the galaxies, stars and planetary systems by investigating light in the far ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. FUSE is scheduled to launch June 23 at Launch Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) pressure module is lowered onto a work stand. A research laboratory, the pressurized module is the first element of the JEM, named "Kibo" (Hope), to be delivered to KSC. The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) developed the laboratory at the Tsukuba Space Center near Tokyo and is Japan's primary contribution to the Station. It will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments. The JEM also includes an exposed facility (platform) for space environment experiments, a robotic manipulator system, and two logistics modules. The various JEM components will be assembled in space over the course of three Shuttle missions.

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

View of EDV water container, in the Node 1. Photo was taken during Expedition 34.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- All of the payload elements on mission STS-109 are installed in Columbia's payload bay: Solar Array 3, a new Power Control Unit, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), Near Infrared Camera, Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) Cooling System, and New Outer Blanket Layer insulation. Four mission specialists will perform five scheduled spacewalks to complete system upgrades to the telescope with these components. The STS-109 crew includes Commander Scott D. Altman, Pilot Duane G. Carey, and Mission Specialists John M. Grunsfeld, Nancy J. Currie, James H. Newman, Richard M. Linnehan and Michael J. Massimino. Launch is scheduled for Feb. 28, 2002, at 6:48 a.m. EST (11:48 GMT). Photo by Carl Winebarger

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The U.S. Lab, a component of the International Space Station, rests in a vertical position in the Operations and Checkout Building. The Lab, named Destiny, will undergo testing in the altitude chamber in the O&C. Behind the Lab is the payload canister which transported it from the Space Station Processing Facility. Destiny is scheduled to fly on mission STS-98 in early 2001. During the mission, the crew will install the Lab in the Space Station during a series of three space walks. The STS-98 mission will provide the Station with science research facilities and expand its power, life support and control capabilities. The U.S. Lab module continues a long tradition of microgravity materials research, first conducted by Skylab and later Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Destiny is expected to be a major feature in future research, providing facilities for biotechnology, fluid physics, combustion, and life sciences research

ISS009-E-18531 (14 August 2004) --- Looking into the Progress 15 supply vehicle docked to aft port on the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station (ISS), this view shows the probe-and-cone mechanism on the hatch.

NASA's Space Optics Manufacturing Center has been working to expand our view of the universe via sophisticated new telescopes. The Optics Center's goal is to develop low-cost, advanced space optics technologies for the NASA program in the 21st century - including the long-term goal of imaging Earth-like planets in distant solar systems. To reduce the cost of mirror fabrication, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has developed replication techniques, the machinery, and materials to replicate electro-formed nickel mirrors. Optics replication uses reusable forms, called mandrels, to make telescope mirrors ready for final finishing. MSFC optical physicist Bill Jones monitors a device used to chill a mandrel, causing it to shrink and separate from the telescope mirror without deforming the mirror's precisely curved surface.

ISS030-E-241386 (22 April 2012) --- Photographed from the transfer compartment between the Zarya Functional Cargo Block (FGB) and the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station, Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov (left), Oleg Kononenko (right) and Anatoly Ivanishin, all Expedition 30 flight engineers, monitor data at the manual TORU docking system controls in Zvezda during approach and docking operations of the unpiloted ISS Progress 47 resupply vehicle. Progress 47 docked automatically to the Pirs Docking Compartment via the Kurs automated rendezvous system at 10:39 a.m. (EDT) on April 22, 2012.

This animated GIF shows the deployment of the Perseverance rover's remote sensing mast during a cold test in a space simulation chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The test took place in October 2019. Movie available at

At Marshall Space Flight Center, Skylab's Multiple Docking Adapter (MDA) flight article undergoes center-of-gravity testing. Developed and fabricated by MSFC, the MDA housed the control units for the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), Earth Resources Experiment Package (EREP), and the Zero-Gravity Material Processing Facility and provided a docking port for the Apollo Command Module.

Airbus - Orion-ESM 3 am 08.02.2022

France. Hautes Pyrenees. Observatory of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre. The coronograph telescope.

iss060e014594 (7/25/2019) ---Photo documentation during the preparation for the VECTION experiment in the Columbus module aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The objective of The Effect of Long Duration Hypogravity on the Perception of Self-Motion (VECTION) study is to determine to what extent an astronaut's ability to visually interpret motion, orientation, and distance may be disrupted in a microgravity environment, and how it may adapt, and how it may be changed upon return to Earth. Multiple experimental time points inflight and upon return to Earth allows for the adaptation and recovery process to be investigated.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, a component of the International Space Station, glides overhead other hardware while visitors watch from a window (right). On the floor, left to right, are two Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs), Raffaello (far left) and Leonardo, and a Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 (right). Destiny is being moved to a payload canister for transfer to the Operations and Checkout Building where it will be tested in the altitude chamber. Destiny is scheduled to fly on mission STS-98 in early 2001. During the mission, the crew will install the Lab in the Space Station during a series of three space walks. The STS-98 mission will provide the Station with science research facilities and expand its power, life support and control capabilities. The U.S. Lab module continues a long tradition of microgravity materials research, first conducted by Skylab and later Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Destiny is exp

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers complete the mating of the two fairing segments around NASA's Kepler spacecraft for encapsulation. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the rocket and forms an aerodynamically smooth nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. The liftoff of Kepler aboard the Delta II rocket is currently targeted for launch in a window extending 10:49 to 10:52 p.m. EST March 6 from Pad 17-B. Kepler is designed to survey more than 100,000 stars in our galaxy to determine the number of sun-like stars that have Earth-size and larger planets, including those that lie in a star's "habitable zone," a region where liquid water, and perhaps life, could exist. If these Earth-size worlds do exist around stars like our sun, Kepler is expected to be the first to find them and the first to measure how common they are.

Flight hardware inside the tank, with and without people

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