Spacecraft Assembly and Launch Preparation

Images of technicians working on the assembly and preparation of spacecraft and rockets, focused on design and encapsulation processes.

Members of the STS-97 crew look into Endeavours payload bay at some of the equipment that will be carried on the mission. On the left, pointing, is Mission Specialist Marc Garneau. Next to him (left to right) are Mission Specialist Carlos Noriega and Pilot Michael Bloomfield. At right center of the photo is the orbiter docking system (ODS). At left and below the ODS is the Canadian robotic arm that 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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers help guide the fairing as it moves closer to the Space Tracking and Surveillance System - Demonstrator spacecraft for encapsulation. The fairing is a two-part 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)

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a technician on the work stand (center) prepares the second stage of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket to be mated to the first stage, at left, 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 cli

Members of the STS-97 crew look into Endeavours payload bay at some of the equipment that will be carried on the mission. On the left, pointing, is Mission Specialist Marc Garneau. Next to him (left to right) are Mission Specialist Carlos Noriega and Pilot Michael Bloomfield. At right center of the photo is the orbiter docking system (ODS). At left and below the ODS is the Canadian robotic arm that 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. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the hatch on the Japanese Experiment Module, called Kibo, has been closed. The closing is in preparation for the transfer to a payload canister and the move to the launch pad. On the mission, space shuttle Discovery will transport the Kibo module and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System, or JEM-RMS, to complete the Kibo laboratory. The launch of Discovery is targeted for April 24.

At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 'back shell powered descent vehicle' configuration of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory is being rotated for final closeout actions.

Viewed from below, the Unity connecting module is moved into 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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Columbus Laboratory is positioned on a stand where it will be displayed to the media at a special showing. Columbus is the European Space Agency 's largest single contribution to the International Space Station. The laboratory module will expand the research facilities of the station, providing crew members and scientists around the world the ability to conduct a variety of life, physical and materials science experiments. The module is approximately 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 large racks of experiments. Columbus is scheduled to be transferred to Launch Pad 39A in early November, in preparation for its journey to the station. Columbus will fly aboard space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-122 mission, targeted for launch Dec. 6.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians, using an overhead crane, lift NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission aeroshell, (containing the compact car-sized rover Curiosity), for mating to the cruise stage. The cruise stage provides solar power, thrusters for navigation, and heat exchangers to the rover during its flight from Earth to Mars. The rover Curiosity has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the first half of the fairing is moved into place around the Phoenix Mars Lander for installation. Phoenix is targeted for launch on Aug. 3 aboard a Delta II rocket. 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 nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. 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. NASA/George Shelton

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Boeing technicians maneuver the Swift spacecraft into position to be lowered onto the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle for mating. Swift is scheduled to launch Nov. 17. The liftoff aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is targeted at the opening of a one-hour launch window beginning at 12 09 p.m. EST. A first-of-its-kind multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science, Swifts three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. Gamma-ray bursts are distant, yet fleeting explosions that appear to signal the births of black holes.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers help guide one section of the payload fairing into place around NASA's Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST. 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 nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the Universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our Universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. The launch date is targeted no earlier than June 3.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An overhead crane in the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility lowers the U.S. laboratory module, an element of the International Space Station, onto the workstand as KSC workers watch. The lab will undergo 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

BLDG. 4605 PLASMA ENVIRONMENT TEST LABORATORY. VACUUM CHAMBER OPEN WITH SAMPLE SETUP

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Space Station Processing Facility is filled with hardware, components for the International Space Station. Lined up (left to right) are the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules Raffaello and Leonardo and the Pressurized Mating Adapter-3 (PMA-3). Italy's major contributions to the ISS program, Raffaello and Leonardo are reusable logistics carriers to resupply and return station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. They are slated as payloads on missions STS-102 and STS-100, respectively. Dates have not yet been determined for the two missions. The PMA-3, once launched, will be mated to Node 1, a connecting passageway to the living and working areas of the Space Station. The primary purpose of PMA-3 is to serve as a Shuttle docking port through which crew members and equipment will transfer to the Space Station during later assembly missions. PMA-3 is scheduled as payload on mission STS-92, whose date for launch is not yet determined.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, processing of the International Space Station's Node 3, named Tranquility, nears completion. Its cupola, seen in this view, is covered and its hatch secured. Hatch closure follows the completion of preparations for the node's transport to the pad and is a significant milestone in launch processing activities. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission, Tranquility is a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the space station's life support systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. The module was built in Turi

Mars 2020 Perseverance spacecraft stacked inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF).

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the NASA payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers conduct solar array illumination on the NOAA-N Prime satellite. NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The satellite is scheduled to launch Feb. 4 aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft is suspended above the payload canister in the Multi-Payload Processing Facility at KSC. Spartan is one of the payloads for the STS-95 mission, scheduled to launch Oct. 29. Spartan is a solar physics spacecraft designed to perform remote sensing of the hot outer layers of the sun's atmosphere or corona. The objective of the observations is to investigate the mechanisms causing the heating of the solar corona and the acceleration of the solar wind which originates in the corona. Other research payloads include the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

Expandable Lunar Habitat (X-Hab).ILC Dover, under contract by NASA Langley Research Center, and in cooperation withNASA Johnson Space Center has designed and manufactured an expandable lunar habitat.This cylindrical habitat, or Expandable Lunar Habitat (X-Hab) is a hybrid system with twohard end caps and a deployable softgoods section in the center.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The second half of the fairing closes in around the Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER-2) on Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 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, with two launch opportunities each day during the launch period that closes on June 19.

Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS), a spacecraft docking mechanisms, Co-developed by American and Soviet engineers through a series of in-person meetings, letters and teleconferences, APAS-75 was initially planned to be used on an American mission to a Salyut space station which instead became the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The International Space Station's (ISS) Unity node, with Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA)-2 attached, awaits further processing by Boeing technicians in its workstand in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF). The Unity node is the first element of the ISS to be manufactured in the United States and is currently scheduled to lift off aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-88 later this year. Unity has two PMAs attached to it now that this mate is completed. PMAs are conical docking adapters which will allow the docking systems used by the Space Shuttle and by Russian modules to attach to the node's hatches and berthing mechanisms. Once in orbit, Unity, which has six hatches, will be mated with the already orbiting Control Module and will eventually provide attachment points for the U.S. laboratory module; Node 3; an early exterior framework or truss for the station; an airlock; and a multi-windowed cupola. The Control Module, or Functional Cargo B

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians observe the raising of an overhead crane. The crane was used to integrate the heat shield with NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission aeroshell, (containing the compact car-sized rover Curiosity). Earlier, the aeroshell was mated to the cruise stage, which provides solar power, thrusters for navigation, and heat exchangers to the rover during its flight from Earth to Mars. The rover Curiosity has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Fl

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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Operations and Checkout Building, the U.S. Lab reaches the open floor after being lifted out of the vacuum chamber where it was tested for leaks. The test was very successful. The 32,000-pound scientific research lab, named Destiny, is the first Space Station element to spend seven days in the renovated vacuum chamber. Destiny is scheduled to be launched on Shuttle mission STS-98, the 5A assembly mission, targeted for Jan. 18, 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,

SHELL BUCKLING KNOCKDOWN FACTOR (SBKF) PROJECT - COMPOSITE TEST ARTICLE, (CTA) 8.3 - 12/17/19- VIEW 1 OF 12

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

Engineers prepare the Mars 2020 spacecraft for a thermal vacuum (TVAC) test in the Space Simulator Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The image was taken on May 9, 2019.

At Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the two parts of the Delta rocket fairing enclose 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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Operations and Checkout Building's high bay, a crane lifts the Rotation Handling Fixture (RHF) and simulated module during a test. Under normal operation, the RHF will hold a pressurized module intended for the International Space Station, lifting it up and into an altitude chamber for leak testing. The chamber was recently reactivated after a 24-year hiatus. Originally, two chambers were built to test Apollo Program flight hardware. They were last used in 1975 during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. In 1997, in order to increase the probability of successful missions aboard the ISS, NASA decided to perform leak tests on ISS pressurized modules at the launch site. After installation of new vacuum pumping equipment and controls, a new control room, and a new rotation and handling fixture, the chamber again became operational in February 1999. The chamber, which is 33 feet in diameter and 50 feet tall, is constructed of stainless steel. The rotation han

NASA's Dawn spacecraft in thermal vacuum chamber.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers begin removing the protective cover surrounding the STEREO spacecraft. The spacecraft is being prepared for launch, scheduled for Oct. 25. STEREO stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and comprises two spacecraft that will launch in a piggyback mode, separating after reaching the appropriate orbit. The STEREO mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-dimension. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. The STEREO mission is managed by Goddard. The Applied Physics Laboratory designed and built the spacecraft. The laboratory will maintain command and control of the observatories throughout the mission, while NASA tracks and receives the data, determines the orbit of the satellites, and coordinates the science results.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On a workstand in the Space Station Processing Facility, KSC workers take a look at the U.S. laboratory module, an element of the International Space Station, after its protective cover has been removed. The lab will undergo 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

T & R Discovery, Right OMS Pod Removal

At Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the two parts of the Delta rocket fairing enclose 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

STS-93 Commander Eileen Collins poses at the foot of the Chandra X-ray Observatory during payload familiarization. Other members of the STS-93 crew who are at KSC are Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby and Mission Specialists Catherine G. Coleman and Michel Tognini of France, who represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Collins is the first woman to serve as a shuttle mission commander. She was the first woman pilot of a Space Shuttle, on mission STS-63, and also served as pilot on mission STS-84. The fifth member of the crew is Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley. Chandra is scheduled for launch July 9 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, on mission STS-93 . Formerly called the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, Chandra comprises three major elements: the spacecraft, the science instrument module (SIM), and 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

After being lifted off the transporter (lower right) in the Space Station Processing Facility, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) moves across the floor toward a workstand. The SRTM, which is the primary payload on mission STS-99, consists of a specially modified radar system that will fly onboard the Space Shuttle during the 11-day mission scheduled for launch in September 1999. The objective of this radar system is to obtain the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of the Earth. It will gather data that will result in the most accurate and complete topographic map of the Earth's surface that has ever been assembled. SRTM is an international project spearheaded by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency and NASA, with participation of the German Aerospace Center DLR. SRTM will be making use of a technique called radar interferometry, wherein two radar images are taken from slightly different locations. Differences between these images allow for the calcu

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In a processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the three stages of the Pegasus XL launch vehicle are seen immediately prior to installation of the vehicles wing. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus rocket will launch the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) into space. After the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on the Orbital Sciences L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Oceans Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit science.nasa.gov_missions_nustar_.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Space Station Processing Facility watch closely while the U.S. Lab Destiny is lowered onto 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

In the spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, workers prepare to remove the soft shipping cover from the Gravity Probe B experiment. Immediate processing includes setting up mechanical and electrical ground support equipment, making necessary connections and conditioning the spacecraft battery. 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 USMP mission series pioneered sophisticated telescience technology to control experiments in the open cargo bay of the space shuttle. At Kennedy Space Center, the system of trusses that supported the USMP-4 experiments was loaded into the cargo bay. The bay doors were closed during launch but were opened in orbit.

Encapsulated in its payload fairing, NASA's Parker Solar Probe is mated to a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 on Tuesday, July 31, 2018. The Parker Solar Probe is being prepared for a mission to 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.

An overview of the Space Station Processing Facility shows equipment and future payloads on Shuttle missions to the International Space Station. At left is a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello; at right another MPLM, Donatello. Windows on the wall at right give visitors on bus tours a look at operations during the day

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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers check out the U.S. Lab Destiny after it has been installed in Atlantis payload bay at the pad. Destiny, a key element in the construction of the International Space Station, is 28 feet long and weighs 16 tons. This research and command-andcontrol center is the most sophisticated and versatile space laboratory ever built. It will ultimately house a total of 23 experiment racks for crew support and scientific research. STS-98 is the seventh construction flight to the ISS. Launch of STS-98 is scheduled for Jan. 19 at 2:11 a.m. EST

In preparation for Space Shuttle Mission STS-87, the United States Microgravity Payload-4 undergoes final processing in the Space Station Processing Facility before its move to Launch Complex 39B. STS-87 will be the fourth flight of the United States Microgravity Payload and the Spartan-201 deployable satellite

Stacie Greene, an extravehicular activity trainer from Johnson Space Center, discusses the STS-90 Neurolab mission with Mission Specialist Richard Linnehan overlooking Columbia's payload bay. The crew of STS-90 participated in the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) in Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3. The CEIT gives astronauts an opportunity to get a hands-on look at the payloads with which they will be working on-orbit. Investigations during the STS-90 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. STS-90 is scheduled for launch on April 16 at 2:19 p.m. EDT

In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers on the floor walk along with the suspended Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello traveling overhead to the payload canister at right. Part of the payload on mission STS-100 to the International Space Station, Raffaello carries six system racks and two storage racks for the U.S. Lab. Launch of STS-100 is scheduled for April 19, 2001 at 2:41 p.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39A

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers release the cables around the Columbus module from the overhead crane. Columbus is the European Space Agency's research laboratory for the International Space Station. The module will be prepared for delivery to the space station on a future space shuttle mission. Columbus will expand the research facilities of the station and provide researchers with the ability to conduct numerous experiments in the area of life, physical and materials sciences.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 crew members get a close look at hardware in Discovery's payload bay. The crew includes Commander Pamela A. Melroy, Pilot George D. Zamka and Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Douglas H. Wheelock, Stephanie D. Wilson and Paolo A. Nespoli, who is a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the

Astronaut Ronald M. Sega stands beside the University of Houston's Wake Shield Facility before it undergoes a Modal Survey Test in the Vibration and Acoustic Test Facility Building 49, prior to being flown on space shuttle mission STS-60.

The U.S. Lab Destiny is ready to be moved from Atlantis payload bay into the Payload Changeout Room. After the move, Atlantis will roll back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to allow workers to conduct inspections, continuity checks and X-ray analysis on the 36 solid rocket booster cables located inside each boosters system tunnel. An extensive evaluation of NASAs SRB cable inventory revealed conductor damage in four (of about 200) cables on the shelf. Shuttle managers decided to prove the integrity of the system tunnel cables already on Atlantis

Inside the Vertical Processing Facility (VPF), workers check the overhead cable that will lift the Chandra X-ray Observatory out of its protective container. While in the VPF, the telescope will undergo final installation of associated electronic components; it will also be tested, fueled and mated with the Inertial Upper Stage booster. A set of integrated tests will follow. Chandra is scheduled for launch July 9 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, on mission STS-93 . Formerly called the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, Chandra comprises three major elements: the spacecraft, the science instrument module (SIM), and 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

Seen at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is the fairing (foreground) for the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. In the background is the third stage, under the clean room tent. The rocket is the launch vehicle for 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

Tiltrotor Aircraft, Transport Aircraft T-Cab moving into NASA Ames Vertical Motion Simulaotor (VMS) from I-Cab Fixed Base Area in bldg. N-243 using trolly.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside Orbital Sciences Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Pegasus XL launch vehicle is ready for mating with the Space Technology 5 (ST5) spacecraft. The ST5 contains three microsatellites with miniaturized redundant components and technologies. Each will validate New Millennium Program selected technologies, such as the Cold Gas Micro-Thruster and X-Band Transponder Communication System. After deployment from the Pegasus, the micro-satellites will be positioned in a “string of pearls” constellation that demonstrates the ability to position them to perform simultaneous multi-point measurements of the magnetic field using highly sensitive magnetometers. The data will help scientists understand and map the intensity and direction of the Earths magnetic field, its relation to space weather events, and affects on our planet. With such missions, NASA hopes to improve scientists ability to accurately forecast space weather and m

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians monitor the progress as a large crane lowers the right orbital maneuvering system, or OMS, pod onto space shuttle Atlantis. It is the last time an OMS pod will be installed on Atlantis. The OMS provided the shuttle with thrust for orbit insertion, rendezvous and deorbit, and could provide up to 1,000 pounds of propellant to the aft reaction control system.The OMS is housed in two independent pods located on each side of the shuttles aft fuselage. Each pod contains one OMS engine and the hardware needed to pressurize, store and distribute the propellants to perform the velocity maneuvers. Atlantis OMS pods were removed and sent to the test facility at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico to be cleaned of residual toxic propellant. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing of the space shuttle fleet. A gr

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a lifting device is secured to half of the Atlas V payload fairing for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. The fairing has been uncovered, and preparations are under way to clean it to meet NASA's planetary protection requirements. At left is the other half of the fairing, still uncovered.The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the impact of aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent. Although jettisoned once the spacecraft is outside the Earth's atmosphere, the fairing must be cleaned to the same exacting standards as the laboratory to avoid the possibility of contaminating it. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including the chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to loo

NASA's Aquarius/SAC-D observatory is moved into the thermal-vacuum chamber at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research.

Assembling activities of the Skylab cluster are shown in this photograph. The Orbital Workshop (OWS) was lowered for joining to aft skirt and placed over the thrust structure inside the assembly tower. The OWS provided living and working quarters for the Skylab crew and the thruster provided short-term attitude control of the Skylab. The Marshall Space Flight Center had responsibilities for the design and development of the Skylab hardware, and management of experiments.

This photograph is an interior view of the Orbital Workshop (OWS) upper level looking from the airlock hatch, showing the octagonal opening that separated the workshop's two levels. The trash airlock can be seen at center. The lower level of the OWS provided crew accommodations for sleeping, food preparation and consumption, hygiene, waste processing and disposal, and performance of certain experiments. The upper level consisted of a large work area and housed water storage tanks, a food freezer, storage vaults for film, scientific airlocks, mobility and stability experiment equipment, and other experimental equipment.

On Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the second stage of a Boeing Delta 7425-10 rocket is lifted into position as preparations to launch NASA's Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) on June 30 continue. 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. The probe is a product of Goddard Space Flight Center in partnership with Princeton University

The Neurolab payload for STS-90, scheduled to launch aboard the Shuttle Columbia from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on April 2, 1998, undergoes further processing in the Operations and Checkout Building at KSC. 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 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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians process the backshell for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). The spacecraft's backshell carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent and landing of MSL's rover, Curiosity.A United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 configuration will be used to loft MSL into space. Curiositys 10 science instruments are designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. MSL is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Nov. 25 with a window extending to Dec. 18 and arrival at Mars Aug. 2012.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers watch as the second half of the fairing moves toward the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR). The fairing is the outer cover that protects the spacecraft during launch. Below the spacecraft is the Delta II rocket, the launch vehicle. CONTOUR 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 them. Launch of CONTOUR is scheduled for July 1, 2002

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The remaining half-section of the Delta II payload fairing moves into place around NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2, in the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.The fairing will protect OCO-2 during launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, scheduled for 5:56 a.m. EDT on July 1. OCO-2 is NASAs first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earths climate. OCO-2 will provide a new tool for understanding the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural "sinks" that absorb carbon dioxide and help control its buildup. The observatory will measure the global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study their changes over time.

At Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians and engineers position NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. 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. The spacecraft 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. InSight is scheduled for liftoff May 5, 2018.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the NASA Kennedy Space Centers Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, one part of the Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket fairing to be placed around the New Horizons spacecraft is moved after being lifted from a stand. The fairing encapsulates the spacecraft to protect it during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. New Horizons will make the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon - a "double planet" and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. The mission will then visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune. SWAP is a solar wind and plasma spectrometer that measures atmospheric “escape rate” and will observe Plutos interaction with the solar wind. New Horizons is scheduled to launch in January 2006, swing past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February or March 2007, and reach Pluto and its moon, Charon, in July 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the transportation canister and protective cover have been removed from the STEREO spacecraft in preparation for launch. The scheduled launch date is Oct. 25. STEREO stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and comprises two spacecraft that will launch in a piggyback mode, separating after reaching the appropriate orbit. The STEREO mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-dimension. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. The STEREO mission is managed by Goddard. The Applied Physics Laboratory designed and built the spacecraft. The laboratory will maintain command and control of the observatories throughout the mission, while NASA tracks and receives the data, determines the orbit of the satellites, and coordinates the science results.

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Mars Perseverance rover is rotated to prepare for the Backshell-Powered Descent Vehicle and Entry Vehicle assemblies to be attached on May 4, 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.

Australia, New South Wales, Coonabarabran, Siding Spring Observatory, Astronomy and Astrophysics Anglo-Australian Telescope

jsc2020e044494 (10/1/2020) --- A preflight view of the Nanoracks Airlock. The Nanoracks Bishop Airlock (Nanoracks Airlock) is the first-ever commercially owned and operated airlock on the International Space Station. It provides a variety of capabilities including jettisoning of payloads such as Cubesats, deployment of external payloads, support for small exterior payloads and locker-sized internal payloads, recovery of external on-orbit replaceable units (ORUs), and the ability to move hardware outside in support of extravehicular activities (EVAs). It is approximately five times larger than the Japanense Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock so it can accommodate more and larger payloads. The Airlocks capabilities support many different types of scientific investigations.

Inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, from left, technicians Kenny Leidner, Diamond ScharSenstine, Russ Novak and Darlene Beville with ASRC Federal, inspect AVOCAT block bonding on the Artemis II heat shield on July 2, 2020. The heat shield is one of the most critical elements of Orion and will protect the capsule and astronauts during reentry through Earths atmosphere. Artemis II is the first crewed mission in a series of missions to the Moon and on to Mars. Artemis II will confirm all of the Orion spacecrafts systems operate as designed in the actual environment of deep space with astronauts aboard. As part of the Artemis Program, NASA will send the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024.

NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is attached to the Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sept. 10, 2019. The Pegasus XL rocket, attached beneath the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, will launch ICON from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Launch is scheduled for Oct. 9, 2019. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology and communications systems.

Workers inside the vacuum chamber in the Operations and Checkout Building watch as an overhead crane lowers the Joint Airlock Module inside. 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

DUAL ION SPECTROMETER (DIS) ENGINEERING TEST UNIT (ETU) AT THE LOW ENERGY ELECTRON AND ION FACILITY (LEEIF), NSSTC

This time-lapse (speeded up 28 times) shows NASA's Mars 2020 rover as it was rotated on a spin table in the clean room of the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Engineers were looking to establish the rover's center of gravity, or the point at which weight is evenly dispersed on all sides. The imagery was taken on Aug. 29, 2019. Movie available at

An Orbital Maneuvering System engine is vibration tested at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston on June 16, 2016, before shipment to the agencys White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, where it will be fired to qualify the engine for use on Orions service module. The vibration testing will help ensure the engine can withstand the loads induced by launch on the agencys Space Launch System rocket. This summer, another Orbital Maneuvering System engine will be tested at Johnson before it is supplied to ESA (European Space Agency) to integrate into Orion's service module, which will power, propel and cool Orion in space, and also provide consumables like air and water for future crews. ..ESA and its contractor Airbus Defence and Space are providing the service module for Artemis I. This Orbital Maneuvering System engine was used on the space shuttle to provide the thrust for orbital insertion, orbit circularization, orbit transfer, rendezvous, deorbit and abort situations and flew on 31

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Inside the NASA spacecraft processing hangar 1610 located on North Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-N) spacecraft is undergoing testing. The testing includes the Spacecraft Electrical Performance Test, battery conditioning, a Solar Array Illumination Telemetry Test, final instrument inspections and closeouts for flight. Launch of NOAA-N aboard the Boeing Delta II rocket is currently scheduled for May 11, 2005. NOAA-N is the fourth in the series of support dedicated microwave instruments for the generation of temperature, moisture, surface, and hydrological products in cloudy regions where visible and infrared (IR) instruments have decreased capability.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The inside of Atlantis' payload bay can be seen from inside the payload changeout room. The changeout room is the enclosed, environmentally controlled portion of the rotating service structure that supports cargo delivery to the pad and subsequent vertical installation into the orbiter payload bay. At the top of the photo is the orbital docking system. At bottom is the integrated cargo carrier - lite, holding three elements: a nitrogen tank assembly that is part of the external active thermal control system on the International Space Station, the European technology Exposure Facility composed of nine science instruments and an autonomous temperature measurement unit, and the SOLAR payload designed for sun observation. The Columbus Laboratory module will be installed in between. The lab module, built by the European Space Agency, also known as ESA, is approximately 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 large racks of experiments. Columbu

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers secure the attachment, or mating, of the Ares I-X forward segment to the forward center segment atop the aft assembly (aft segment and aft 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 Ares I-X flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 30.

The tunnel adapter (left) which will be flown on the STS-89 mission is being installed in the Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour's payload bay in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1. To the right is the Orbiter Docking System (ODS), with its distinctive red Russian-built Androgynous Peripheral Docking System (APDS). STS-89 will be the eighth U.S. docking mission with the Russian Mir space station. The nine-day space flight is scheduled for launch in mid-January 1998

The third stage of the Lockheed Martin Athena launch vehicle is placed atop the vehicles second stage at Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Station. Athena is scheduled to carry the Lunar Prospector spacecraft for an 18-month mission that will orbit the Earths moon to collect data from the lunar surface. Scientific experiments to be conducted by the Prospector include locating water ice that may exist near the lunar poles, gathering data to understand the evolution of the lunar highland crust and the lunar magnetic field, finding radon outgassing events, and describing the lunar gravity field by means of Doppler tracking. The launch is now scheduled for early-January 1998

High angle view of Apollo 1 Spacecraft 012 Command Module, looking toward -Z axis, during pre-shipping operations in south air lock of Systems Integration and Checkout Facility, North American Aviation, California, USA, NASA, August 24, 1966

Interior view of the Space Station Processing Facility

In Building 1555 on North Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians prepare the AIM spacecraft for integrated testing and a flight simulation. 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 climate change. AIM is scheduled to be mated to its launch vehicle, Orbital Sciences' Pegasus XL, during the second week of April, after which final inspections will be conducted. Launch is scheduled for April 25.

Boeings CST-100 Starliner prepares for electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic contamination (EMI/EMC) testing in a specialized test chamber at Boeings Space Environment Test Facility in El Segundo, Calif. These tests were the final part of Starliners environmental qualification test campaign. EMI/EMC testing ensures that Starliners systems will function properly in the orbital radiation environment and also not interfere with other electrical systems on the International Space Station. Once back in Boeings Starliner facilities at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this same vehicle will be prepared to fly Starliners first crew during the Crew Flight Test mission later this year. Boeings Crew Flight Test is part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program, which is working with Boeing to return human spaceflight launches to the space station from U.S. soil.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the backshell, a protective cover which carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent and landing, has been encapsulated over NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, Curiosity. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V-541 configuration will be used to loft MSL into space. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. MSL is scheduled to launch Nov. 25 with a window extending to Dec. 18 and arrival at Mars Aug. 2012.

USA, Washington, Hubble Space Telescope test model

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers prepare to encapsulate the Mars Exploration Rover-1 (MER-B) into its spacecraft fairing. The second of twin rovers being sent to Mars, it is equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow it 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 are not yet able to go. MER-B is scheduled to launch no earlier than June 28 at one of two available times, 11:56:16 p.m. EDT or 12:37:59 a.m. EDT.

The NATO Defense Satellite Communications System II satellite is moved into a altitude chamber for testing. Country: Unknown

NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, is in a clean room inside the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The spacecraft's protective heat shield is in view at right. InSight is scheduled for liftoff on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket 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. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,

Simulator for Apollo Rendezvous Lunar Excursion Module (LEM)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the second stage of a Boeing Delta 7425-10 rocket is lifted into position as preparations to launch NASA's Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) on June 30 continue. 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. The probe is a product of Goddard Space Flight Center in partnership with Princeton University

Managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and built by TRW, the second High Energy Astronomy Observatory was launched November 13, 1978. The observatory carried the largest X-ray telescope ever built and was renamed the Einstein Observatory after achieving orbit.

Testing the Applications Technology Satellite

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In this closeup view, the first of three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) is seen after installation on Discovery in the Orbiter Processing Facility. Discovery is the vehicle designated for the Return to Flight mission STS-114. Overall, an SSME weighs approximately 7,000 pounds. An SSME operates at greater temperature extremes than any mechanical system in common use today. The liquid hydrogen fuel is -423 degrees Fahrenheit, the second coldest liquid on Earth. When the hydrogen is burned with liquid oxygen, the temperature in the engine's combustion chamber reaches +6000 degrees Fahrenheit -- that's higher than the boiling point of Iron. The maximum equivalent horsepower developed by the three SSMEs is just over 37 million horsepower. The energy released by the three SSMEs is equivalent to the output of 23 Hoover Dams.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The U.S. laboratory module, an element of the International Space Station, is lifted by a crane from its canister in the Space Station Processing Facility. The lab will undergo 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

The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Observatory is lowered into the Space Environment Simulator (SES) thermal vacuuum chamber at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland on June 1st, 2023. PACE's unprecedented spectral coverage will provide the first-ever global measurements designed to identify phytoplankton community composition. The mission will make global ocean color measurements, using the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), to provide extended data records on ocean ecology and global biogeochemistry along with polarimetry measurements, using the Spectro-polarimeter for Planetary Exploration (SPEXone) and the Hyper Angular Research Polarimeter (HARP2) to provide extended data records on clouds and aerosols. The Earth-observing satellite mission, built at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, will continue and advance observations of global ocean color, biogeochemistry, and ecology, as well as the carbon cycle, aerosols and clouds.

of 4