Spacecraft Assembly and Testing

Pictures of various space modules and telescopes during assembly and testing phases at space centers, highlighting preparations for space missions.

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

Teams completed the welding of the Artemis III core stage liquid oxygen tank dome at the NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Crews moved the dome, which is the top of the tank. The dome was moved to an assembly area where it will be loaded into a robotic welder that will join it with the forward barrel to create half of the liquid oxygen tank. Later another barrel and dome will be added to complete the entire tank. The Space Launch System (SLS) core stage liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of super-cooled liquid propellant that serves as one of the propellants for the four RS-25 engines. The SLS core stage is made up of five unique elements: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and the engine section. The liquid oxygen and the liquid hydrogen tank will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASAs Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earths orbit

This image highlights the boat-tail structure in production for the core stage of NASAs Space Launch System rocket for Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASAs Artemis program at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility. The boat-tail joins with the engine section to comprise the lowest portion of the core stage. The structure is designed to protect the bottom end of the core stage and the RS-25 engines. Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rockets massive 212-foot-tall core stage — the largest stage NASA has ever built — and its twin solid rocket boosters will produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASAs Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earths orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASAs Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASAs backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar prog

T&R Endeavour Airlock Removal

Bios-Primat capsule was a technical device designed to accommodate monkeys during space flights.

Russian space officials, along with Expediton 11 crew members Commander Sergei Krikalev, Flight Engineer John Phillips and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori discuss the checkout of the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft during preparations for launch, Sunday, April 10, 2005, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Krikalev, Phillips and Vittori will launch April 15 on the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft to the International Space Station. Krikalev and Phillips will spend six months in space and greet the first Shuttle crew to fly in more than two years when it arrives at the station, while Vittori spends eight days on the station under a commercial contract between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency.

This scale model depicts the Materials Science Research Rack-1 (MSRR-1) being developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the European Space Agency (ESA) for placement in the Destiny laboratory module aboard the International Space Station. The rack is part of the plarned Materials Science Research Facility (MSRF) and is expected to include two furnace module inserts, a Quench Module Insert (being developed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center) to study directional solidification in rapidly cooled alloys and a Diffusion Module Insert (being developed by the European Space Agency) to study crystal growth, and a transparent furnace (being developed by NASA's Space Product Development program). Multi-user equipment in the rack is being developed under the auspices of NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR) and ESA. Key elements are labeled in other images (0101754, 0101829, 0101830, and TBD). This image is from a digital still camera; higher resolution is not a

The Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft is transported by railcar to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Monday, Oct. 8, 2007, in Kazakhstan for an October 10th launch date. The Soyuz will carry Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson, Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Malaysian spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor to the International Space Station. Whitson and Malenchenko will spend six months on the station. Shukor, who is flying under an agreement between Malaysia and the Russian Federal Space Agency, will return to Earth October 21 with two of the Expedition 15 crew members currently on the complex.

Apollo Contour Engine Model being tested in the NASA Lewis Research Center, Propulsion Systems Laboratory, PSL

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the hypergolic maintenance facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians monitor equipment during testing of the Ares I-X Roll Control System, or RoCS. The RoCS Servicing Simulation Test is to gather data that will be used to help certify the ground support equipment design and validate the servicing requirements and processes. The RoCS is part of the Interstage structure, the lowest axial segment of the Upper Stage Simulator. In an effort to reduce costs and meet the schedule, most of the ground support equipment that will be used for the RoCS servicing is of space shuttle heritage. This high-fidelity servicing simulation will provide confidence that servicing requirements can be met with the heritage system. At the same time, the test will gather process data that will be used to modify or refine the equipment and processes to be used for the actual flight element.

The SOFIA telescope team collected baseline operational measurements during several nights of characterization testing in March 2008 while the SOFIA 747SP aircraft that houses the German-built infrared telescope was parked on an unlit ramp next to its hangar at the NASA Dryden Flight Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. The primary celestial target was Polaris, the North Star. The activity provided the team with a working knowledge of how telescope operating systems interact and the experience of tracking celestial targets from the ground.

Artemis I Orion Return and De-Servicing. NASAs Artemis I Orion capsule is secured on a platform inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 6, 2023. Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:40 p.m. EST on Dec. 11, 2022. The spacecraft was secured inside the well deck of the USS Portland for the voyage to U.S. Naval Base Sand Diego, arriving on Dec. 13, 2022. Orion was offloaded and transported back to Kennedy for deservicing inside the MPPF. Orion launched atop the Space Launch System rocket on Nov. 16, 2022 at 1:47 a.m. EST from Kennedys Launch Complex 39B for a 25-day trip beyond the Moon and back. During the flight, Orion flew farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever flown, paving the way for human deep space exploration and demonstrating NASAs commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond.

In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1, STS-102 Mission Specialist Paul W. Richards (left) looks on while Pilot James W. Kelly; checks out equipment in Discoverys payload bay. Above them (left) are two GetAway Special canisters that contain experiments for the mission. Above them is the Canadian robotic arm, used to manipulate modules during the construction of the International Space Station. The crew is at KSC for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities. STS-102 is the 8th construction flight to the Space Station and will carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. STS-102 is scheduled for launch March 1, 2001. On that flight, Leonardo will be filled with equipment and supplies to outfit the U.S. laboratory module Destiny. The mission will also be carrying the Expedition Two crew to the Space Station, replacing the Expedition One crew who will return on Shuttle Discovery

jsc2019e062138 (9/23/2019) --- Preflight imagery of Confined Combustion in the MSG Ground Integration Unit. Confined Combustion examines the behavior of flame as it spreads in differently-shaped confined spaces in microgravity. Flame spread observations are translated into mathematical models for use in understanding the results and applying them to areas with different shapes. Image courtesy of: Chris Rogers

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers watch as the U.S. Laboratory Destiny, a component of the International Space Station, is lowered into 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 expected to be a major feature in future research, providing facilities for biotechnology, fluid physics, combustion, and life sciences research

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Teams with NASAs Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs integrate the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) for NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) atop the massive SLS core stage in the agencys Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 5, 2021. The ICPS is a liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen-based system that will fire its RL 10 engine to give the Orion spacecraft the big in-space push needed to fly tens of thousands of miles beyond the Moon. The next component to be stacked on top of ICPS will be the Orion stage adapter, which will connect the ICPS with the spacecraft. Through Artemis, NASA will send the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon. As the first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moo

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as a crane lowers a solid rocket motor (SRM) for mating to the first stage of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V will carry NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the upper level of the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers help maneuver the THEMIS spacecraft into place. They will next remove the protective cover before encapsulating and mating the spacecraft with the third stage of the Delta II rocket. THEMIS consists of five identical probes, the largest number of scientific satellites ever launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. The THEMIS mission is to investigate what causes auroras in the Earth's atmosphere to dramatically change from slowly shimmering waves of light to wildly shifting streaks of color. Discovering what causes auroras to change will provide scientists with important details on how the planet's magnetosphere works and the important Sun-Earth connection. THEMIS is scheduled to launch aboard a Delta II rocket on Feb. 15 during a window extending from 6:08 to 6:27 p.m.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The second stage of a Delta II rocket is lowered into positioned above a first stage at Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Next, it will be mated to the first stage in preparation for the launch of the Mars Exploration Rover-1 (MER-B) on June 25. NASAs twin Mars Exploration Rovers are 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 are not yet able to go. The launch of MER-2 (MER-A) is tentatively set for June 8.

In this photograph, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO) was installed and mated to the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) inside the Shuttle Columbia's cargo bay at the Kennedy Space Center. The CXO will help astronomers world-wide better understand the structure and evolution of the universe by studying powerful sources of x-rays such as exploding stars, matter falling into black holes, and other exotic celestial objects. X-ray astronomy can only be done from space because Earth's atmosphere blocks x-rays from reaching the surface. The Observatory provides images that are 50 times more detailed than previous x-ray missions. At more than 45 feet in length and weighing more than 5 tons, the CXO was carried into low-Earth orbit by the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-93 mission) on July 22, 1999. The Observatory was deployed from the Shuttle's cargo bay at 155 miles above the Earth. Two firings of an attached IUS rocket, and several firings of its own onboard rocket motors, after separating from the

KSC payload processing employees in Orbiter Processing Facility 1 prepare the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbias crew airlock and payload bay for the reinstallation of the Spacelab long transfer tunnel that leads from the airlock to the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module. The tunnel was taken out after the STS-83 mission to allow better access to the MSL-1 module during reservicing operations to prepare it for for the STS-94 mission. That space flight is now scheduled to lift off in early July. This was the first time that this type of payload was reserviced without removing it from the payload bay. This new procedure pioneers processing efforts for quick relaunch turnaround times for future payloads. The Spacelab module was scheduled to fly again with the full complement of STS-83 experiments after that mission was cut short due to a faulty fuel cell. During the scheduled 16-day STS-94 mission, the experiments will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities

Advanced Electric Propulsion Systems Contract, Technology Demonstration Unit, TDU-3 Checkout Test Hardware Installed in Vacuum Facility 5, VF-5

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colo., the impactor on the Deep Impact spacecraft is tested. 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 (impactor) 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. The impactor will separate from the flyby spacecraft 24 hours before it impacts the surface of Tempel 1's nucleus. The impactor delivers 19 Gigajoules (that's 4.8 tons of TNT) of kinetic energy to excavate the crater. This kinetic energy is generated by the combination of the mass of the impactor and its velocity when it impacts. To accomplish t

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) bay 2 during Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT), members of the STS-97 crew look over the Orbital Docking System (ODS) in Endeavours payload bay. At left, standing, is Mission Specialist Joe Tanner. At right is Mission Specialist Carlos Noriega, with his hands on the ODS. The others are workers in the OPF. The CEIT provides an opportunity for crew members to check equipment and facilities that will be on board the orbiter during their mission. The STS-97 mission will be the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. The payload includes a photovoltaic (PV) module, providing solar power to the Station. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 from KSC for the 10-day mission

NTS A871332 SANDIA NATIONAL LABS U12P MISSION CYBER FINAL BUTTON UP INSIDE TC-1 FRANK BIGGS / KECK (Project Engineer) NOV 24 87 EG&G/NTS PHOTO LAB Publication Date: 11/24/1987 EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER; EG&G; EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT & INSTRUMENTS; FINAL BUTTON UP INSIDE TC-1; FINAL BUTTON-UP; INSTRUMENTATION; INSTRUMENTS & EQUIPMENT; INSTRUMENTS AND EQUIPMENT; MISSION CYBER; NEVADA; NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; P-TUNNEL; PIPES; TC-1; 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.

S91-27781 (5 Nov 1990) --- STS-39 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, Infrared Background Signature Survey (IBSS) Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) II documented during preflight processing procedures. German Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB) technicians work on SPAS II cryostat (without insulation) and other elements at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, 11/05/90

Engineers from NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, remove samples on May 4, 2015, from Orion's heat shield which flew on Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in 2014. The heat shield protected the spacecraft from temperatures reaching 4000 degrees F. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

Rocket Motors on a NASA space vehicle

View of STS Discovery

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA's Kepler spacecraft is lowered toward the upper stage of the Delta II rocket. The spacecraft and the rocket will be mated for launch. The liftoff of Kepler is currently scheduled for 10:48 p.m. EST March 5. 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.

S122-E-008056 (13 February 2008) --- Closeup view of portal inside Columbus laboratory.

SATELITE INSTAR DE LA NASA. Location: CONSTRUCCIONES AERONAUTICAS-CASA. GETAFE. MADRID. SPANIEN.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The U.S. Lab, a component of the International Space Station, is lowered inside the three-story vacuum chamber in the Operations and Checkout Building. The 32,000-pound scientific research lab, named Destiny, is the first Space Station element to spend seven days in the renovated vacuum chamber for a leak test. 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, and life scienc

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- NASA_APOLLO-SOYUZ Fit checks were performed in an altitude chamber at KSC today between the Apollo spacecraft and the Docking Module to be used during the Apollo Soyuz Test Project.

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

ERNIE WRIGHT STANDS NEAR THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE MIRRORS AS THEY SIT JUST OUTSIDE THE TESTING CHAMBER IN THE XRAY CALIBRATION FACILITY AT MSFC

This photograph shows activities during assembly of the Skylab cluster at the Vehicle Assembly/Checkout building. The Saturn V S-IVB stage is shown at left, and right is the Orbital Workshop (OWS) being readied for mating to the thruster. The S-IVB stage was modified to house the OWS, which provided living and working quarters for the Skylab crews. The Marshall Space Flight Center had responsibilities for the design and development of the Skylab hardware, and management of experiments.

Astronomical observatory telescope indoor night sky

S94-40916 (5 July 1994) --- Workers in the Operations and Checkout Building are transporting the Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment (LITE-1) into the payload canister transporter for transfer to the Orbiter Processing Facility, where it will be installed into the cargo bay of the space shuttle Discovery. LITE-1, which will demonstrate the technology of a spaceborne Lidar instrument, is scheduled to fly on STS-64 later this year.

Teams with NASAs Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs integrate the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) for NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) atop the massive SLS core stage in the agencys Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 5, 2021. The ICPS is a liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen-based system that will fire its RL 10 engine to give the Orion spacecraft the big in-space push needed to fly tens of thousands of miles beyond the Moon. The next component to be stacked on top of ICPS will be the Orion stage adapter, which will connect the ICPS with the spacecraft. Through Artemis, NASA will send the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon. As the first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moo

Reconstruction of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing 2013.

Texas, Houston. Johnson Space Center. Full-Scale Mock-Ups Of Various Modules And Elements Of International Space Station.

ATK Solar Array Deployment Test at NASA Plum Brook Station Space Power Facility.

An instrument suite that will analyze the chemical ingredients in samples of Martian atmosphere, rocks and soil during the mission of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity, is shown here during assembly at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., in 2010.

View of STS Discovery

The Re-entry stage of the MGM-118A Peacekeeper weapons system undergoes testing in an Anechoic Chamber. Base: Vandenberg Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

NASA Glenn Research Center Vacuum Facilities - Vacuum Facility 3 (VF-3)

Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) parachuste test in the NASA Ames 80x120ft Subsonic Wind Tunnel at Moffett Field, Calif. (TR #22 - Phase 6) is the largest ever built to fly on an extraterrestrail mission. This image shows a duplicate qualification-test parachute inflated in a 80-mile-per-hour (36-meter-per-second) wind inside the test facility. It has 80 suspension lines, measures more that 50 meers (165 feet) in lenght, and opens to a diameter of nearly 16 meters (51 feet). Most the the orange and white fabric is nylon, though a small disk of heavier polyester is used near the vent in the apex of the canapy due to the higher stresses there. It is designed to survive deployment at Mach 2.2 in the Martian atmosphere, where it will generate up to 65,000 pounds of drag force.

SATELITE INSTAR DE LA NASA. Location: CONSTRUCCIONES AERONAUTICAS-CASA. GETAFE. MADRID. SPANIEN.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, Program Manager of the International Space Station (ISS) Randy Brinkley addresses the media before lowering the banner to unveil the name of "Destiny" given the U.S. Lab module, the centerpiece of scientific research on the ISS. With Brinkley on the stand are Center Director Roy Bridges (behind him on the left), and (the other side, left to right) STS-98 Commander Ken Cockrell, Pilot Mark Polansky, and Mission Specialist Marsha Ivins. The lab, which is behind them on a workstand, is scheduled to be launched on Space Shuttle Endeavour in early 2000. It will become the centerpiece of scientific research on the International Space Station. Polansky, Cockrel and Ivins are part of the five-member crew expected to be aboard. The Shuttle will spend six days docked to the station while the laboratory is attached and three space walks are conducted to complete its assembly. The laboratory will be launched with five equipmen

Astronomic observatory telescope inside a white dome

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) with telescope postition to the rear model prepares for testing in the NASA Ames Research Center 14ft Transonic Wind Tunnel. Test-208-1-14

A complete F-1 engine assembly is shown in this photograph. Designed and developed by Rocketdye under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, the engine measured 19-feet tall by 12.5 feet at the nozzle exit, and each engine produced a 1,500,000-pound thrust using liquid oxygen and kerosene as the propellant. A cluster of five F-1 engines was mounted on the Saturn V S-IC (first) stage and burned 15 tons of liquid oxygen and kerosene each second to produce 7,500,000 pounds of thrust.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Delta Operations Center, Jack Reynolds and Leslie Guzman (background) and other workers attach the nozzle for the RL-10 engine to the second stage of the Boeing Delta IV rocket. The Delta IV is the launch vehicle for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-N), scheduled to launch in April 2005 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. GOES-N is a weather satellite for NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The first in a series of three advanced weather satellites including GOES-O and GOES-P, the GOES-N will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. It will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric triggers of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements.

S66-53205 (1966) --- Mercury Atlas (MA-8) Sigma 7 capsule on display at the Johnson Space Center.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers on Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, complete mating of the Mars Exploration Rover 1 (MER-B), above, to the Delta rocket below. 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 can't yet go. MER-B is scheduled to launch June 26 at one of two available times, 12:27:31 a.m. EDT or 1:08:45 a.m. EDT.

Houston, USA, January 26, 2013: Astronaut training facility and detailed object closeups at Houston Space Center in Texas, USA, North America

The Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) flight terminal undergoes testing in a thermal vacuum chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to simulate the space environment.

NASA 60th Anniversary Public Tours / NASA 60th Anniversary Celebration at the Great Lakes Science Center

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - As seen on Google Maps, the massive F-1 engines of the Saturn V's first stage on display inside the Apollo/Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Each engine stands 19 feet tall with a diameter of more than 12 feet. The five engines on the first stage produced 7.5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. The Saturn V was used to launch NASA's Apollo missions to the moon which saw 12 astronauts land and work on the lunar surface. Google precisely mapped Kennedy Space Center and some of its historical facilities for the company's map page.

Workers in the Payload Changeout Room check the Payload Ground Handling Mechanism that will move the U.S. Lab Destiny out of Atlantis payload bay and into the PCR. 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

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians using an overhead crane, move the aeroshell, a component of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), back to a work stand after a spin and balance test. The aeroshell consists of the backshell which carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent and landing, and the spacecraft's heat shield.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. 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 Statio

View of the synchrotron or circular particle accelerator of a hadrontherapy center for cancer treatment.

Reportage in the National Oncology Particle Therapy Centre in Milan, Italy (The CNAO - Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica). Particle therapy is a state-of-the-art technique used to treat cancer. It consists of using hadrons, protons (proton therapy) and cabon ions (carbon-ion treatment) to irradiate tumours. It has two therapeutic purposes, a high ballistic accuracy which allows healthy tissue surrounding the tumour to be spared, and a greater efficiency at treating certain cancers. The CNAO is the only centre to own carbon-ion treatment technology in Europe. The synchrotron.

A730142 U12E H.E. IN DIMPLES GEO CURRY (Project Engineer) APRIL 10 73 EG&G/NTS PHOTO LAB Publication Date: 4/10/1973 EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER; EG&G; NEVADA; NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS; NUCLEAR TESTING; NUCLEAR TESTS; SHIELDS; SHIELDS (ARMOR); TEST SITES; UGT; UNDERGROUND TESTING; H.E. IN DIMPLES historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

Inside International Space Station - Hydrolab: Neutral Buoyancy Training Module for Space teams, Zvezdniy Gorodok, Russia

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board look at areas of interest on Space Shuttle Endeavour. In the center is Retired Navy Adm. Harold Gehman Jr., who is chairman of the board, looking up at the underside of Endeavour The board is visiting sites at KSC to become familiar with the Shuttle launch process and elements. The independent board is charged with determining what caused the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the loss of its seven-member crew on Feb. 1 during reentry.

Jet Propulsion Research Lab (JPL) workers use a borescope to verify the pressure relief device bellow's integrity on a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) that has been installed on the Cassini spacecraft in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The activity is part of the mechanical and electrical verification testing of RTGs during prelaunch processing. RTGs use heat from the natural decay of plutonium to generate electrical power. The three RTGs on Cassini will enable the spacecraft to operate far from the Sun where solar power systems are not feasible. They will provide electrical power to Cassini on it seven year trip to the Saturnian system and during its four year mission at Saturn.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Through the open panel of Deep Space 1 can be seen the rolled-up document (on the left) signed by the workers in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. Deep Space 1 is scheduled to fly on the Boeing Delta 7326 rocket to be launched in October. The first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program, Deep Space 1 is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. Onboard experiments include an ion propulsion engine and software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but will also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999

The Joint Airlock Module swings into position near the top of the Operations and Checkout Building to move toward the vacuum chamber at right. Workers alongside the chamber watch the airlocks progress. 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 currentl

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, Stephanie Stilson, NASA vehicle manager for Discovery, stands in front of a leading edge on the wing of Discovery. She is being filmed for a special feature on the KSC Web about the recent Orbiter Major Modification period on Discovery, which included inspection, modifications and reservicing of most systems onboard, plus installation of a Multifunction Electronic Display Subsystem (MEDS) - a state-of-the-art glass cockpit.” The orbiter is now being prepared for eventual launch on a future mission.

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

View of STS Discovery

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) workers examine the Huygens probe after removal from the Cassini spacecraft in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at KSC. The spacecraft was returned to the PHSF after damage to thermal insulation was discovered inside Huygens from an abnormally high flow of conditioned air. Internal inspection, insulation repair and a cleaning of the probe were required. Mission managers are targeting a mid-October launch date after Cassini returns to the pad and is once again placed atop its Titan IVB expendable launch vehicle at Launch Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Station

Mars Science Laboratory, MSL Flexible Canopy Test in the Glenn Research Center, 10x10 Supersonic Wind Tunnel

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - In a clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians perform a fillet and wing fit check on the Pegasus XL launch vehicle. 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/.

In this fish-eye view, the Chandra X-ray Observatory rests inside the payload bay of the orbiter Columbia. Chandra is the primary payload on mission STS-93, scheduled to launch no earlier than July 20 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. 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

Closest to the Artemis I spacecraft, Larry Price, at left, Lockheed Martin Orion program manager, talks with Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, third from left in front, during a tour of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 28, 2020. Orion spacecraft are being prepared for Artemis I and Artemis II. The Office of Management and Budget is working with the U.S. Congress to line up the necessary resources to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024.

View of STS Discovery

B732129 U12E TOP OF FAST GATES HOWELL (Project Engineer) APR 18 73 EG&G/NTS PHOTO LAB Publication Date: 4/18/1973 EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER; EG&G; FAST GATE; GATES; NEVADA; NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS; NUCLEAR TESTING; NUCLEAR TESTS; PIPES; TEST SITES; TUNNELS; UGT; UNDERGROUND TESTING; TOP OF FAST GATES historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - NOVEMBER 8: Museum of Soviet space exploration. Interior space station. November 8, 2009 in Moscow, Russia.

Astronomic observatory telescope inside a white dome

undefined. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

S92-46717 (November 1992) --- A front view of the improved waste collection system (IWCS) scheduled to fly aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-54 mission. Among the advantages the new IWCS is hoped to have over the current WCS are greater dependability, better hygiene, virtually unlimited capacity and more efficient preparation between Shuttle missions. Unlike the previous WCS, the improved version will not have to be removed from the spacecraft to be readied for the next flight.

A short during liftoff of Space Shuttle Columbia in July was traced to a wire in the payload bay with damaged insulation. As a result of that problem, NASA decided to inspect much of the wiring in all four Space Shuttles and make repairs as required. Two technicians at the back of the open bay are examining, repairing and protecting the wires onboard orbiter Endeavour as needed. The next Shuttle mission, STS-103, the Third Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission, is currently scheduled for launch no earlier than Nov. 19, 1999

STS-92 Mission Specialist William S. McArthur Jr. smiles for the camera during inspection of the payload (left) in Space Shuttle Discoverys payload bay. He and other crew members Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Pamela Ann Melroy and Mission Specialists Koichi Wakata of Japan, Leroy Chiao, Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff and Michael E. Lopez-Alegria are preparing for launch on Oct. 5, 2000. The mission is the fifth flight for the construction of the International Space Station. The payload includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1 and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter. During the 11-day mission, four extravehicular activities (EVAs), or space walks, are planned

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-104 crew poses in front of the Joint Airlock Module in the Space Station Processing Facility. Standing, left to right, are Pilot Charles Hobaugh, Mission Specialists James Reillly, Janet Kavandi and Michael Gernhardt, and Commander Steven Lindsey. They are at KSC to continue Crew Equipment Interface Test activities such as payload familiarization. The airlock is the primary payload on their mission, scheduled to launch no earlier than June 14, 2001, from Launch Pad 39B

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The second stage of a Delta II rocket is positioned above a first stage at the top of the launch tower on Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Next, it will be mated to the first stage in preparation for the launch of the Mars Exploration Rover-1 (MER-B) on June 25. NASAs twin Mars Exploration Rovers are 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 are not yet able to go. The launch of MER-2 (MER-A) is tentatively set for June 8.

In a Mars-like environment at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the fish-eye camera aboard the engineering model of NASA's InSight lander snapped this image of the actor Brad Pitt on Sept. 6, 2019. This picture, which has been white-balanced to remove the orange-red tint of the Mars lights in the room, was taken by the instrument context camera, bolted to the deck of the lander model. The InSight replica is located in JPL's In-Situ Instrument Laboratory and used for test purposes. Pitt visited JPL to learn about real space technology after filming his space-themed movie Ad Astra.

Inside the diffuser section of the supersonic wind tunnel at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee, (U.S. Air Force photo by Lance Cheung)

Intercontinental missile at the Titan Missile Museum, Green Valley, Tucson, Arizon, USA, North America

Earthquake, Mt. Mauna Kea, HI, October 26, 2006- The Keck observatory recorded movement of their telescopes by 2mm after the earthquake. This changed the observation points to distant galaxies rendering it useless for observation purposes. Adam DuBrowa/FEMA... Photographs Relating to Disasters and Emergency Management Programs, Activities, and Officials

MARS BALLOON INFLATION TEST IN THE SPACE POWER FACILITY SPF AT NASA PLUM BROOK STATION

View of STS Discovery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, Steve Thomas (left), host of the television series "This Old House," poses in front of the Joint Airlock module. Thomas and Norm Abram, master carpenter with "This Old House," are at KSC to film an episode of the series

Senior leaders with Kennedy Space Center in Florida, familiarize newly appointed officials from NASA Headquarters with the centers facilities during a tour on April 19, 2021. The group views Sierra Nevadas Large Inflatable Fabric Environment (LIFE) habitat inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay. The habitat is an expandable habitat. Expandable habitats have the benefit of greatly decreasing the amount of volume it takes to launch the habitat, which can then inflate once it is in space.

Reportage in the National Oncology Particle Therapy Centre in Milan, Italy (The CNAO - Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica). Particle therapy is a state-of-the-art technique used to treat cancer. It consists of using hadrons, protons (proton therapy) and cabon ions (carbon-ion treatment) to irradiate tumours. It has two therapeutic purposes, a high ballistic accuracy which allows healthy tissue surrounding the tumour to be spared, and a greater efficiency at treating certain cancers. The CNAO is the only centre to own carbon-ion treatment technology in Europe.

At Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander has been mated 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.

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