Spacecraft Development and Testing

Images capturing space engineers working on sophisticated spacecraft at NASA facilities, highlighting technology and teamwork in a clean, professional environment.

Workers remove the plastic cover from NOAAs Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR, in the high bay of Building 1 at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. DSCOVR is a partnership between NOAA, NASA and the U.S. Air Force. DSCOVR will maintain the nation's real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of NOAA's space weather alerts and forecasts. Launch is currently scheduled for January 2015 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 v 1.1 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane lifts the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment, or MULE, carrier from a mobile platform to move it to another stand in the high bay. The MULE is part of the payload for the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125. The MULE carrier will join the Flight Support System, the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier and the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where the Hubble payload is being prepared for launch. The Relative Navigation Sensors and the New Outer Blanket Layers will be on the MULE. The payload is scheduled to go to Launch Pad 39A in mid-September to be installed into Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 at 1:34 a.m. EDT.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech, workers check the Dawn spacecraft after testing the deployment of its more than 32-foot-long solar panels on one side. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn is scheduled to launch June 30 aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers from Lockheed Martin attach an overhead crane onto the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The spacecraft is being moved to the spin balance machine for testing. In late July, the MRO will be transported to the Vertical Installation Facility. It will join the Atlas V for the final phase of launch preparations. The spacecraft is then scheduled to undergo a functional test, and a final week of integrated testing and closeouts. The MRO was built by Lockheed Martin for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It is the next major step in Mars exploration and scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a window opening Aug. 10. The MRO is an important next step in fulfilling NASAs vision of space exploration and ultimately sending human explorers to Mars and beyond.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an overhead crane is moved toward the Kibo Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, or ELM-ES. The crane will transfer the ES to the payload canister that will transport it to Launch Pad 39A. The ELM-ES is one of the final components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory for the International Space Station. It can provide payload storage space and can carry up to three payloads at launch. The canister will deliver the ELM-ES and other elements to Launch Pad 39A for installation in space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay. The STS-127 mission is targeted for launch June 13.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --In Space Systems International's Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians prepare to test the second solar array after integration to the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft.Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to fundamental climate processes on its three-year mission.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In Bldg. 1610 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers help guide a second-row segment of a transportation canister toward the NOAA-N Prime spacecraft for installation. 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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an overhead crane is used to lift the Flight Support System, or FSS, carrier with the Soft Capture Mechanism from the workstand. The FSS will be placed in the payload canister and delivered with other carriers to Launch Pad 39A for installation in space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis' 11-day STS-125 mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is targeted for launch May 12. It will include five spacewalks in which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida complete rotation tests on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, known as Curiosity. Here, the wheels undergo deployment testing.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.

In a clean room inside the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Ball Aerospace technicians conduct a final cleaning and inspection of the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) on NASAs National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. NPP is targeted to launch Oct. 28 from Space Launch Complex-2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility near NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to install protective thermal blankets around the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A. NASAs RBSP mission will help us understand the suns influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earths radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earths Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Launch is targeted for Aug. 23.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Astrotech payload processing facility, General Dynamics technicians keep watch as NASA's Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is moved toward a work stand (at left) in the facility. There GLAST will undergo a complete checkout of the scientific instruments aboard. The telescope will launch aboard a Delta II rocket May 16 from Launch Pad 17-B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A powerful space observatory, the GLAST will explore the most extreme environments in the universe, and answer questions about supermassive black hole systems, pulsars and the origin of cosmic rays. It also will study the mystery of powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts.

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, former NASA astronaut Dan Tani, who now is senior director of Missions and Cargo Operations for Orbital ATK in Dulles, Virginia, participates in a press interview. In the background is the Cygnus spacecraft scheduled to deliver hardware and supplies to the International Space Station on the upcoming Orbital ATK Commercial Resupply Services-6 mission.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Hazardous Processing Facility at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., workers prepare the crane and scale that will be used to weigh the Kepler spacecraft, in the background at right. 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. The liftoff of Kepler aboard a Delta II rocket is currently targeted for 10:48 p.m. EST March 5 from Space Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility near NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to place Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A on a spin test stand. During the spin test, the spacecraft is turned at a rate of 55 rpm to ensure that it is properly balanced.NASAs RBSP mission will help us understand the suns influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earths radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earths Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Launch is targeted for Aug. 23.

At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers remove NOAA's Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) from its shipping container. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

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

At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers keep a watchful eye on NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) as it is positioned on a work stand. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

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

Members of the news media had the opportunity to view the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft before it was enclosed in its payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They also heard from representatives from Orbital ATK, United Launch Alliance and the International Space Station Office at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 19, 2017. CYGNUS will deliver 7,600 of pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station.

Workers at Hangar AE, Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), check NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite after moving it from the scaffolding behind it. FUSE was developed by The Johns Hopkins University under contract to Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., to investigate the origin and evolution of the lightest elements in the universe hydrogen and deuterium. In addition, the FUSE satellite will examine the forces and process involved in the evolution of the galaxies, stars and planetary systems by investigating light in the far ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The satellite is targeted for launch June 23 from Launch Pad 17A, CCAS, aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility near NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians deploy one of four solar panels on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A. Deploying these arrays is standard procedure to ensure they work properly on Earth before they head into space. NASAs RBSP mission will help us understand the suns influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earths radiation belts on various scales of space and time. As the spacecraft orbits Earth, the panels will continuously face the sun to provide constant power to its instruments.RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earths Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Launch is targeted for Aug. 23.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians dressed in clean-room suits line up the middle back shell tile panel for installation on the Orion crew module. Preparations are underway for Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch later this year atop a Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to an altitude of 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface. The two-orbit, four-hour flight test will help engineers evaluate the systems critical to crew safety including the heat shield, parachute system and launch abort system.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians line up the middle back shell tile panel for installation on the Orion crew module. Preparations are underway for Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch later this year atop a Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to an altitude of 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface. The two-orbit, four-hour flight test will help engineers evaluate the systems critical to crew safety including the heat shield, parachute system and launch abort system.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility near NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A for a spin test. During the spin test, the spacecraft is turned at a rate of 55 rpm to ensure that it is properly balanced.NASAs RBSP mission will help us understand the suns influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earths radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earths Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Launch is targeted for Aug. 23.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, an overhead crane moves NASAs MESSENGER spacecraft toward a work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

In the Spacecraft Assembly & Encapsulation Facility -2, the solar array from the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter is moved toward a workstand. This will give workers access to other components of the spacecraft and allow inspection of the array. The Mars Odyssey carries three science instruments: the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The GRS is a rebuild of the instrument lost with the Mars Observer mission. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment as related to the radiation-related risk to human explorers. The Mars Odyssey Orbiter is scheduled for launch on April 7, 2001,

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft is lifted clear from its shipping crate. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. 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 in late summer.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, workers from Lockheed Martin prepare the high-gain antenna for installation on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), in the background. After solar array installation, the MRO will be transported to the Vertical Installation Facility in late July. It will join the Atlas V for the final phase of launch preparations. The spacecraft is then scheduled to undergo a functional test, and a final week of integrated testing and closeouts. The MRO was built by Lockheed Martin for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It is the next major step in Mars exploration and scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a window opening Aug. 10. The MRO is an important next step in fulfilling NASAs vision of space exploration and ultimately sending human explorers to Mars and beyond.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., workers prepare one of the STEREO observatories that will be lifted and moved. It will be mated to the other observatory, in the background, for launch. STEREO, which stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-dimension. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. STEREO is expected to lift off aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 31.

Workers remove the plastic cover from NOAAs Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR, in the high bay of Building 1 at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. DSCOVR is a partnership between NOAA, NASA and the U.S. Air Force. DSCOVR will maintain the nation's real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of NOAA's space weather alerts and forecasts. Launch is currently scheduled for January 2015 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 v 1.1 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., watch closely as the MESSENGER spacecraft is lowered toward the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below for mating. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) is scheduled to launch Aug. 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. It will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

The optics module of the James Webb Space Telescope's primary imager, the Near Infrared Camera, arrived at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., on Saturday, July 27, 2013. In this photo, Lockheed Martin engineers attach a lift sling to the NIRCam instrument.

Inside the high bay of the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians attach NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) to the payload direct mate adapter, on Aug. 24, 2018. The satellite is being prepared for its scheduled launch from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg on the final United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS). ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, are changing in a warming climate.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Inside an environmental enclosure at Vandenberg Air Force Base's processing facility in California, technicians check the interface of NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, with its Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. The spacecraft is secured inside the turnover rotation fixture used to rotate it into a horizontal position. The uniting of the spacecraft with the rocket is a major milestone in prelaunch preparations.After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Oceans Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers cut away portions of the protective covering surrounding one of NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft in the clean room at Astrotech, a payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft arrived on May 3 and will now undergo final preparations and testing for launch. Liftoff will occur aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the summer. STEREO consists of two spacecraft whose mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-D. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Swift spacecraft, fully encased inside the payload transfer canister, is lifted onto a transport vehicle for a trip to the launch pad. The launch of the Swift observatory, a NASA spacecraft to pinpoint the location of gamma-ray bursts, is scheduled for Nov. 17 from Pad 17-A on CCAFS. 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. Gamma-ray bursts are distant, yet fleeting explosions that appear to signal the births of black holes. They are the most powerful explosions known in the universe, emitting more than 100 billion times the energy that the Sun emits in a year. Yet they last only from a few milliseconds to a few minutes, never to appear in the same spot again.

CAPE CANAVERAL, FIa. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, astronaut Michael Foreman (left) checks part of the cover on the flexible hose rotary coupler that will fly on the STS-126 mission Nov. 14. Although not associated with the mission, Foreman is an EVA branch crew member providing expertise for hardware going on the International Space Station. On the STS-126 mission, space shuttle Endeavour will deliver a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module to the International Space Station.

The shipping container is lifted off the GOES-R spacecraft inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida near NASAs Kennedy Space Center.GOES-R will be the first satellite in a series of next-generation NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. The spacecraft is to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in November.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Vertical Processing Facility take a close look at the Axial Science Instrument Protective Enclosure (ASIPE), which will house the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), part of the STS-109 flight hardware for maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The hardware is installed on four principle payload carriers. The STS-109 launch aboard Columbia is targeted for Feb. 14, 2002, and will be the 108th flight in the Space Shuttle program

At Astrotech, Titusville, Fla., workers look over the GOES-M satellite after removal of its protective cover. The GOES-M provides weather imagery and quantitative sounding data used to support weather forecasting, severe storm tracking and meteorological research. The satellite will undergo testing at Astrotech before its scheduled launch July 12 on an Atlas-IIA booster, Centaur upper stage from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is rotated to a vertical position in the clean room of Building AE today following its arrival from the Lockheed Martin plant in Sunnyvale, Calif. Final preparations for its launch aboard a Delta II rocket will now commence. SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space between wavelengths of 3 and 180 microns (1 micron is one-millionth of a meter). Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed from the ground. Consisting of an 0.85-meter telescope and three cryogenically cooled science instruments, SIRTF is one of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched. Its highly sensitive instruments will give a unique view of the Universe and peer into regions of space that are hidden from optical telescopes on the ground or orbiting telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope. SIRTF is scheduled for launch April 15 at 4:34:07 a.m. E

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - At the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, spacecraft technicians carefully lower an environmental covering over NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, to protect it from contamination during its move to Space Launch Complex 2.WISE will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects which will be catalogued and provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Dec. 9. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/wise.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base's Astrotech processing facility in California, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, spacecraft is being lifted from a work stand. The satellite will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects, which will be catalogued, providing a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. Launch is scheduled no earlier than Dec. 7.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers at SPACEHAB gather to watch STS-102 Mission Specialist Andrew S.W. Thomas work on the Early Ammonia Servicer. Thomas and other crew members are at SPACEHAB to get acquainted with tools and equipment they will be using on their mission to the International Space Station. The second spacewalk of the mission will require the crew to transfer the Early Ammonia Servicer to the P6 truss. STS-102 is the 8th construction flight to the International Space Station and will carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. 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. STS-102 is scheduled for launch March 8, 2001

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility near NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians lower Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A onto a spin test stand. During the spin test, the spacecraft is turned at a rate of 55 rpm to ensure that it is properly balanced.NASAs RBSP mission will help us understand the suns influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earths radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earths Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Launch is targeted for Aug. 23.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The payload fairing for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft arrives at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center prepare to lift the bagged Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, onto a dolly for further processing.SDO is the first space weather research network mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information about changes in the sun's magnetic field and insight into how they affect Earth. Liftoff on an Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2010.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - STS-125 crew members conduct equipment and procedure familiarization on parts of the payload in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for their mission to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Space shuttle Atlantis' 11-day flight is targeted for launch May 12 and will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians have begun the process to stow the power-generating solar arrays for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft.MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, workers observe the movement of the crane holding the Flight Support System carrier with the Soft Capture Mechanism. It will be installed in the payload canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39A. The carrier is one of four associated with the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. At the pad, all the carriers will be loaded into space shuttle Atlantis payload bay. Launch of Atlantis is targeted for Oct. 10.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers begin unfolding the solar array panels on the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft. The deployment of the panels is part of the pre-launch testing under way. 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. Phoenix is scheduled to launch Aug. 3.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers in the Multi-Purpose Processing Facility at KSC lift the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft to move it to a workstand. SORCE arrived at Kennedy Space Center Oct. 26 to begin final processing. SORCE is equipped with four instruments that will measure variations in solar radiation much more accurately than anything now in use and observe some of the spectral properties of solar radiation for the first time. With data from NASA's SORCE mission, researchers should be able to follow how the Sun affects our climate now and in the future. The SORCE project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The instruments on the SORCE spacecraft are built by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). Launch of SORCE aboard a Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled for mid-December 2002. Launch site is Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians at Astrotech's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. watch vigilantly as NASA's Juno spacecraft is tested for center of gravity, weighing and balancing on the rotation stand.Juno is scheduled to launch aboard United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Inside an environmental enclosure at Vandenberg Air Force Base's processing facility in California, technicians remove the remaining half of the C-plate from the point of interface of NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, spacecraft and its Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. The C-plate protected the spacecraft during mating operations. The uniting of the spacecraft with the rocket is a major milestone in prelaunch preparations.After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Oceans Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, engineers and technicians place NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft to an Atlas V payload adaptor in preparation for launch. The TDRS-L spacecraft is the second of three new satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for NASA by expanding the lifespan of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System TDRSS fleet, which consists of eight satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft provide tracking, telemetry, command and high bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. TDRS-L has a high-performance solar panel designed for more spacecraft power to meet the growing S-band communications requirements. TDRSS is one of NASA Space Communication and Navigations SCaN three networks providing space communications to NASAs missi

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians have begun the process to stow the power-generating solar arrays for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft.MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail.

RBSP - Spacecraft Probe B Solar Array Attachment

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS, is being prepared for backlight inspection and cleaning in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The FGS is part of the payload for the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, STS-125, aboard space shuttle Atlantis. An FGS consists of a large structure housing a collection of mirrors, lenses, servos, prisms, beam splitters and photomultiplier tubes. There are three fine guidance sensors on Hubble located at 90-degree intervals around the circumference of the telescope. Along with the gyroscopes, the optical sensors are a key component of Hubbles highly complex but extraordinarily effective “pointing control system.” Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8.

The Solar Orbiter spacecraft is lifted and moved by crane from a work stand for mating to the payload adapter inside Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida on Jan. 16, 2020. Solar Orbiter is an international cooperative mission between ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA. The mission aims to study the Sun, its outer atmosphere and solar wind. The spacecraft will provide the first images of the Suns poles. NASAs Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. The spacecraft has been developed by Airbus Defence and Space. Solar Orbiter will launch in February 2020 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Payload Handling Servicing Facility, the Phoenix spacecraft is upside down during rotation. The Phoenix mission is the first project in NASA's first openly competed program of Mars Scout missions. 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 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. It will serve as NASA's first exploration of a potential modern habitat on Mars and open the door to a renewed search for carbon-bearing compounds,

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers monitor NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) as it is lowered onto a handling dolly.The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactiv

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers cover with plastic the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello in preparation for the expected impact of Hurricane Frances on Saturday. Other modules and equipment are being covered as well. Workers also have powered down the Space Shuttle orbiters, closed their payload bay doors and stowed the landing gear. They are also taking precautions against flooding by moving spacecraft hardware off the ground and sandbagging facilities. The SSPF can withstand sustained winds of 110 mph and wind gusts up to 132 mph. The Orbiter Processing Facility is constructed of concrete and steel and was designed to withstand winds of 105 mph. The Vehicle Assembly Building is constructed of concrete and steel and was designed to withstand winds of 125 mph. Other payload and flight hardware support facilities can endure winds of 110 mph. Launch pads and the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility can withstand 125-mph winds.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians lower the overhead crane onto NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, spacecraft. The spacecraft is being prepared for its move to the Hazardous Processing Facility for fueling. The 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. A launch date is still to be determined.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., the GOES-N satellite begins rotation. Since its arrival on March 11, the satellite has been undergoing final testing by Boeing Satellite Systems of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) are sponsored by the NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GOES-N is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2) with a 3-burn second stage operation. Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. GOES-N is the first in the next series of GOES satellites, N-P. The multi-mission GOES series N-P will be a vital contributor to weather, solar and space operations and science. The GOES N-P series will aid activities ranging from severe storm warnings to resour

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech, workers prepare the Dawn spacecraft before test deploying its large solar panels on one side. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn is scheduled to launch June 30 aboard a Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers help maneuver the Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) onto a stand prior to its being returned to the vendor for repair. The faulty CMG was removed from the International Space Station and replaced with a new one on mission STS-114 in August. A control moment gyroscope is an actuator used to apply very high attitude-control torques to agile spacecraft. The Space Station uses four massive control moment gyroscopes to maintain the Stations orientation in space.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., workers guide one of the STEREO observatories as it is lowered toward the other observatory. They will be mated for launch. STEREO, which stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-dimension. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. STEREO is expected to lift off aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 31.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At SPACEHAB, STS-102 Mission Specialist Andrew S.W. Thomas checks out the Early Ammonia Servicer under the watchful eyes of workers in the facility. Thomas and other crew members are at SPACEHAB to get acquainted with tools and equipment they will be using on their mission to the International Space Station. The second spacewalk of the mission will require the crew to transfer the Early Ammonia Servicer to the P6 truss. STS-102 is the 8th construction flight to the Space Station and will carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. 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. STS-102 is scheduled for launch March 8, 2001

At Astrotech Space Operations, the media are dressed in clean room, or bunny, suits to photograph the integrated THEMIS spacecraft. THEMIS consists of five identical probes, the largest number of scientific satellites ever launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. This unique constellation of satellites will resolve the tantalizing mystery of what causes the spectacular sudden brightening of the aurora borealis and aurora australis - the fiery skies over the Earth's northern and southern polar regions. THEMIS is scheduled to launch Feb. 15 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians move the base of the shipping container holding the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. WFC3 is part of the payload on the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, STS-125, targeted for launch Oct. 8.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., an engineer monitors the movement, or gimbaling, of the high-gain antenna on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO. All of the spacecraft science instruments are being tested in their last major evaluation before launch. SDO is the first space weather research network mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information about changes in the sun's magnetic field and insight into how they affect Earth. In preparation for launch, engineers will perform a battery of comprehensive tests to ensure SDO can withstand the stresses and vibrations of the launch itself, as well as what it will encounter in the space environment after launch. Liftoff on an Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Dec. 4.

Operations are underway to weigh NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, spacecraft in the clean room of the Astrotech payload processing facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The weighing of a spacecraft is standard procedure during prelaunch processing. SMAP will launch on a Delta II 7320 configuration vehicle featuring a United Launch Alliance first stage booster powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, strap-on solid rocket motors. Once on station in Earth orbit, SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that built the observatory and its radar instrument also is responsible for SMAP project management and mission operations. Launch from Space Launch Complex 2 is targeted for Jan. 29, 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers appear to adjust the platform holding the second Mars Exploration Rover, MER-1. It will undergo prelaunch testing, including deployment of the lander petals, the rover's solar arrays, camera mast and camera. While at KSC, each of the rovers, their aeroshells and landers will undergo a full mission simulation. After spin balance testing, each spacecraft will be mated to a solid propellant upper stage booster that will propel the spacecraft out of Earth orbit. Approximately 10 days before launch they will be transported to the launch pad for mating with their respective Boeing Delta II rockets. The rovers will serve as robotic geologists to seek answers about the evolution of Mars, particularly for a history of water. The rovers are identical to each other, and will land at different regions of Mars. Launch of the MER-1 is scheduled for May 30. MER-2 will follow June 25.

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Engineers and technicians use a crane to lift the Orbital ATK OA-7 Cygnus spacecraft's service module from its shipping container. Scheduled to launch on March 19, 2017, the Orbital ATK OA-7 mission will lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station will deliver thousands of pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials that improve life on Earth and drive progress toward future space exploration.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - Inside the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the CALIPSO spacecraft is being fitted with a crane to lift and move the satellite for mating with the Lower Delta Payload Attach Fitting (LDPAF), which contains the CloudSat satellite. The PAF is the interface between the spacecraft and the second stage of the rocket. CALIPSO stands for Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation. CALIPSO and CloudSat are highly complementary satellites that will provide never-before-seen 3-D perspectives of how clouds and aerosols form, evolve, and affect weather and climate. CALIPSO and CloudSat will fly in formation with three other satellites in the A-train constellation to enhance understanding of our climate system. Launch of CALIPSO_CloudSat aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for 3 01 a.m. PDT Sept. 29.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Technicians use flashlights to conduct a meticulous inspection of one of NASA's twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes. The spacecraft is secured to a work stand inside the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, mission will help us understand the suns influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earths radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers inspect NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) after it was positioned on a work stand. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., the STEREO spacecraft "A" is guided away from its stand for transfer to a tilt table, behind it. On the table, the observatory will be tilted down so that technicians can perform the final comprehensive performance test of the instruments, verifying the instrument is fully functional before flight. After a rotation, this configuration also allows deployment tests to be done on the solar arrays. STEREO stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory. The STEREO mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-dimension. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. STEREO is expected to lift off aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket on July 22.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility near NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to perform a magnetic swing test on Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A. The magnetic swing test is performed to characterize the magnetic signature of the spacecraft so that when it is taking measurements with its sensors in space scientists can subtract out background noise from the spacecraft itself. NASAs RBSP mission will help us understand the suns influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earths radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earths Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Launch is targeted for Aug. 23.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Multi-Purpose Processing Facility at KSC, the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft is rotated from a vertical to horizontal position on a workstand. SORCE arrived at Kennedy Space Center Oct. 26 to begin final processing. SORCE is equipped with four instruments that will measure variations in solar radiation much more accurately than anything now in use and observe some of the spectral properties of solar radiation for the first time. With data from NASA's SORCE mission, researchers should be able to follow how the Sun affects our climate now and in the future. The SORCE project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The instruments on the SORCE spacecraft are built by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). Launch of SORCE aboard a Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled for mid-December 2002. Launch site is Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

Workers (at left) at Astrotech, Titusville, Fla., observe the inside of the solar panel on the GOES-M satellite. The GOES-M provides weather imagery and quantitative sounding data used to support weather forecasting, severe storm tracking and meteorological research. The satellite is scheduled to launch July 12 on an Atlas-IIA booster, Centaur upper stage from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Technicians attach a solar array with its associated science boom to the Radiation Belt Storm Probe B at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla. NASA's RBSP mission will help us understand the sun's influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earth's radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff is targeted for Aug. 23, 2012.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - At the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, spacecraft technicians have covered the top of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, with an environmental covering to protect it from contamination during its move to Space Launch Complex 2.WISE will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects which will be catalogued and provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Dec. 9. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/wise.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technicians attaches the middle back shell tile panel onto the Orion crew module. Preparations are underway for Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1.Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch later this year atop a Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to an altitude of 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface. The two-orbit, four-hour flight test will help engineers evaluate the systems critical to crew safety including the heat shield, parachute system and launch abort system.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare for a battery charge-discharge unit to be lifted by crane from a work stand. The unit will be installed on an EXPRESS Logistics Carrier for flight. The carrier is part of the STS-129 payload on space shuttle Atlantis, which will deliver to the International Space Station two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. STS-129 is targeted to launch Nov. 12.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Technicians attach a solar array with its associated science boom to the Radiation Belt Storm Probe B at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla. NASA's RBSP mission will help us understand the sun's influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earth's radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff is targeted for Aug. 23, 2012.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center move the Hubble vertical platform toward the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier for the Hubble Space Telescope, to which it will be mated. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. SLIC is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, and the Flight Support System, or FSS, have also arrived at Kennedy. The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in early August. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope sc

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, workers prepare to move NASAs MESSENGER spacecraft onto a test stand using an overhead crane. There, employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will begin final processing for launch, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket no earlier than July 30 on a six-year mission to study the planet Mercury.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility guide the Mars Exploration Rover 1 (MER-1) as it is lowered onto the lander base petal for installation. The MER Mission consists of two identical rovers, landing at different regions of Mars, designed to cover roughly 110 yards each Martian day over various terrain. Each rover will carry five scientific instruments that will allow it to search for evidence of liquid water that may have been present in the planet's past. The first rover has a launch window opening June 5, and the second rover a window opening June 25. The rovers will be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) spacecraft is slowly lowered into place in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

Inside a clean room in Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians begin to install the first half of the Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL payload fairing around NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) on Aug. 22, 2018. ICON is being prepared for its launch on the Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached beneath the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. Launch is scheduled for Oct. 26, from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 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, communications systems and society.

At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers keep a watchful eye on NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) as it is moved to a work stand. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

JPSS-2 Spacecraft Mate to Spacecraft Adapter. Technicians assist as a crane is used to lower the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-2) onto the spacecraft adapter inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Oct. 4, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series. It is scheduled to lift off from VSFB on Nov. 1 from Space Launch Complex-3. JPSS-2, which will be renamed NOAA-21 after reaching orbit, will join a constellation of JPSS satellites that orbit from the North to the South pole, circling Earth 14 times a day and providing a full view of the entire globe twice daily.

GOES-P UNBAGGING & ROTATION

In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, technicians and engineers deploy the magnetometer boom on NASA's Parker Solar Probe. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, technicians position the the Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) science rack for installation into the Multi-Purpose Logisitics Module Leonardo. Leonardo will fly on Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-121. The MELFI will provide cooling and storage for scientific experiment samples and perishable materials in four insulated containers, known as dewars, with independently selectable temperatures of -80 degrees Celsius, -26 degrees Celsius, and +4 degrees Celsius. MELFI will also be used to transport samples to and from the Station. MELFI is provided as laboratory support equipment by the European Space Agency. STS-121 is the second Return to Flight mission to the International Space Station. The launch window extends from Sept. 9 through Sept. 24.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER-2) is moved to a spin table. 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 cant yet go. The MER-2 is scheduled to launch June 5 from Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

At Astrotech Space Operations, technicians guide one of the THEMIS probes into position on the probe carrier. When all five probes are in place, the carrier will undergo spin-balance testing. THEMIS consists of five identical probes, the largest number of scientific satellites ever launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. This unique constellation of satellites will resolve the tantalizing mystery of what causes the spectacular sudden brightening of the aurora borealis and aurora australis - the fiery skies over the Earth's northern and southern polar regions. THEMIS is scheduled to launch Feb. 15 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

RBSP, B Canister removal, unbagging, into workstand, final solar panels into work stands

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