Spacecraft Preparation and Assembly

Technicians work on assembling components of spacecraft, including engines and fairings, in industrial facilities, showcasing teamwork and advanced technology in space exploration.

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) primary mirror being coated in the Ames N-211 Vacuum Chamber.

In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2, technicians on a Hyster forklift maneuver space shuttle main engine no. 3 into place on Endeavour. Each space shuttle main engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 6,700 pounds, and is 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. The orbiter is scheduled for mission STS-118, targeted for launch on June 28. The mission will be the 22nd flight to the International Space Station, carrying another starboard array, S5, for installation.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The second stage, port booster and spacecraft adapter, the remaining stages for the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy boosters for NASAs upcoming Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1, mission with the Orion spacecraft, have been transported in their containers to the Horizontal Integration Facility, or HIF, at Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for uncrating. The segments arrived by barge at the U.S. Army Outpost wharf at Port Canaveral.At the HIF, all three booster stages will be processed and checked out before being moved to the nearby launch pad and hoisted into position. The spacecraft adapter will connect Orion to the ULA Delta IV, and also will connect Orion to NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, on its first mission in 2017. During the EFT-1 mission, Orion will travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. The data gathered during the flight will influence design deci

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - A section of the fairing for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, is lifted from its shipping container in the NASA Building 836 high bay at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fairing will protect OCO-2 during launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 in July. OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In this closeup, workers can be seen attaching one segment of a large crane around Atlantis to raise it off the transporter into a vertical position. Once it is raised, Atlantis will be lifted into high bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Then the orbiter will be lowered and mated with the external tank and solid rocket boosters already stacked on the mobile launcher platform. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 28. During its 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the STS-115 crew of six astronauts will install the Port 3/4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a solid rocket motor, or SRM, for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, the OCO-2 mission, rests on a storage chock where it will be kept until needed. The SRMs will be attached to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket slated to launch the OCO-2 spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 2 in July. OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

STS-132 ATLANTIS - HEAT SHIELD INSTALLATION

Work continues on the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion crew module in the Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) at Kennedy Space Center on March 21, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Workers prepare to remove sections of the fairing for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, from its shipping container in the NASA Building 836 high bay at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fairing will protect OCO-2 during launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 in July. OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) primary mirror being coated in the Ames N-211 Vacuum Chamber.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane is attached to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC. The crane will move the SLIC to the payload canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39A. The SLIC is one of four carriers 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.

Workers remove the securing straps from the second of two Northrop Grumman-manufactured aft exit cones to arrive for the Space Launch Systems solid rocket boosters inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 9, 2019. The right aft exit cone was shipped from Promontory, Utah. It will be checked out and prepared for the Artemis I uncrewed test flight. The aft exit cones sit at the bottommost part of the twin boosters. The cones help provide added thrust for the boosters, while protecting the aft skirts from the thermal environment during launch.

THE ORION HEAT SHIELD, WHICH WAS AT NASAS MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER FROM MARCH-MAY 2015 FOR ENGINEERING AND ANALYSIS, IS READIED FOR DEPARTURE AT THE END OF ITS STAY. THE HEAT SHIELDS ABLATED SURFACE MATERIAL WAS REMOVED AT MARSHALL FOR ANALYSIS, USING THE CENTERS STATE-OF-THE-ART SEVEN-AXIS MILLING MACHINE. IT NEXT WILL GO TO NASAS LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER FOR WATER-IMPACT TESTING. NASAS JOHNSON SPACE CENTER LEADS THE ORION PROGRAM FOR NASA.

T&R POST SHUTTLE ERA EQUIPMENT (CRANES, ETC.) LOADED TO PEGASUS BARGE AWAITING FOR DEPARTURE TO STENNIS

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building, a worker checks the cable attached from the framework around external tank No. 117 to the overhead crane. The tank is suspended vertically above the transfer aisle before being lifted into the checkout cell in high bay 2 for processing. ET-117 arrived aboard the Pegasus barge after its voyage around the Florida Peninsula from the Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. The tank is slated for mission STS-118, which is targeted for launch in early August.

MATING OF THE MULTI-PURPOSE CREW VEHICLE STAGE ADAPTER (MSA) WITH ITS DIAPHRAGM IN BLDG. 4708. DECEMBER 20, 2014.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The shipping container is lifted away from the fairing for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, in the NASA Building 836 high bay at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fairing will protect OCO-2 during launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 in July. OCO-2 will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and provide scientists with a better idea of the chemical compound's impacts on climate change. Scientists will analyze this data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important atmospheric gas.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians lift a heat shield to one of the work platforms for installation around one of space shuttle Endeavours replica shuttle main engines.The work is part of Transition and Retirement of the remaining space shuttles, Endeavour and Atlantis. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. Endeavour was the last space shuttle added to NASAs orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers get ready to attach cables to the ballast for installation in the Ares I-X segments. These ballast assemblies will be installed in the upper stage 1 and 7 segments and will mimic the mass of the fuel. Their total weight is approximately 160,000 pounds. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ares I is the essential core of a safe, reliable, cost-effective space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. Ares I may also use its 25-ton payload capacity to deliver resources and supplies to the International Space Station, or to "park" payloads in orbit for retrieval by other spacecraft bound for the moon or other destinations. The Ares I-X is targeted for launch in July 2009.

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) Compliance and Quality Department Head Amy Morgan, left, discusses the environmental impacts of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul operations with Secretary Elizabeth Biser of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, second from left, during Bisers recent visit to FRCE. Biser learned more about the commands operations and toured the facility, with an emphasis on the work FRCE does to protect the environment, the workforce and the surrounding community.

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) Compliance and Quality Department Head Amy Morgan, left, discusses the environmental impacts of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul operations with Secretary Elizabeth Biser of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, second from left, during Bisers recent visit to FRCE. Biser learned more about the commands operations and toured the facility, with an emphasis on the work FRCE does to protect the environment, the workforce and the surrounding community.

THE ORION HEAT SHIELD, WHICH WAS AT NASAS MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER FROM MARCH-MAY 2015 FOR ENGINEERING AND ANALYSIS, IS READIED FOR DEPARTURE AT THE END OF ITS STAY. THE HEAT SHIELDS ABLATED SURFACE MATERIAL WAS REMOVED AT MARSHALL FOR ANALYSIS, USING THE CENTERS STATE-OF-THE-ART SEVEN-AXIS MILLING MACHINE. IT NEXT WILL GO TO NASAS LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER FOR WATER-IMPACT TESTING. NASAS JOHNSON SPACE CENTER LEADS THE ORION PROGRAM FOR NASA.

230405-N-IX644-1026 IONIAN SEA (April 5, 2023) Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Tekel Dunn, assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), directs crane movements in the hangar bay, April 5, 2023. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., allied, and partner interests.

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

Technicians at Textron in Wimington, MA, inspect the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion heat shield after a cold soak test on Nov. 22, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- United Space Alliance (USA) technicians Mike Williams (left), Pearl Richardson (center) and R. Justin Hopmann get ready to lift the thermal blanket insulation into Discoverys nose cap, which is under a protective cover and seated above on a work stand. The work is being done in a low bay area outside the Orbiter Processing Facility. Discovery is the orbiter named as the vehicle for Return to Flight with mission STS-114.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Delta Operations Center on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., technicians Duane Miller (left) and Ed Wagner (right) help guide the Delta second stage nozzle for a Boeing Delta IV launch vehicle away from its shipping container. The nozzle is being moved to another site on the floor for inspection. The Delta IV is scheduled to launch the GOES-N satellite in May 2005. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites are sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). GOES-N is the first in the next series of GOES satellites, N-P. The multimission 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 resource management and advances in science.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians assist with removal of the large crane that was used to lift and move the right orbital maneuvering system OMS pod for installation on space shuttle Endeavour. The OMS pod underwent complete deservicing and cleaning at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, part of the transition and retirement processing of each shuttle. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions.

SHELL BUCKLE KNOCKDOWN FACTOR (SBKF) COMPOSITE BARREL EPOXY POUR

Technicians watch as the mated Thrust Reaction Structure and the Guidance Control Assembly for the Orion Program's Ascent Abort-2 flight test are prepared for breakover, or flipping, during practice, or pathfinder activities, June 22, 2018, inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility high bay at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Many pathfinding tests are being done to the flight hardware in preparation for the April 2019 flight test.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers ensure the safe removal of a Rudder Speed Brake Actuator from the orbiter Atlantis. This and three other actuators are being shipped to the vendor for inspection. An actuator is a motor that moves the tail rudder back and forth to help steer it during landing and brake its speed. The vertical tail consists of a structural fin surface made of aluminum, the Rudder Speed Brake surface, a tip and a lower trailing edge. The rudder splits into two halves to serve as a speed brake. The vertical tail and Rudder Speed Brake are covered with a reusable thermal protection system. Atlantis is undergoing maintenance and inspection in the Orbiter Processing Facility for a future mission.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building, workers work on the rim around the nose cap of external tank number 119, the tank designated for mission STS-121. The cap was removed in order to install a new gaseous oxygen vent valve underneath. Vapors are created prior to launch as the liquid oxygen in the external tank boils off. At the forward end of each external tank propellant tank is a vent and relief valve that can be opened before launch for venting or by excessive tank pressure for relief. The vent function is available only before launch. Mission STS-121 to the International Space Station is scheduled for launch in July.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Centers Orbiter Processing Facility, bay 3, Don Nielen (left) and Dick Logsdon, both with United Space Alliance, prepare the equipment to be used for thermography of Discoverys nose cone. Thermography uses high-intensity light to heat specific areas, which are then immediately scanned with an infrared camera. As the area cools, internal flaws are revealed. Discovery has been identified as the orbiter to fly on mission STS-121.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers raise the overhead crane that will be attached to the shipping container that covers NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, spacecraft. 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. 10.

Interior View of Orbiter Processing Facility 3

Workers in the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility get a new Space Shuttle main engine (block 2 engine) ready to move to the Orbiter Processing Facility. The engine will be installed for its first flight on the orbiter Atlantis, on mission STS-104. The Block II Main Engine configuration is manufactured by Boeing Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, Calif., and includes a new Pratt & Whitney high-pressure fuel turbo pump. Engine improvements are managed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Each Space Shuttle Main Engine is 14 feet (4.3 meters) long, weighs about 7,000 pounds (3,175 kilograms), and is 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) in diameter at the end of the nozzle

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The first stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta II is hoisted into place at NASA's Space Launch Complex-2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Seen here in red is the Rocketdyne engine that will help loft the rocket off the pad. The rocket will carry NASA's National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite into space.NPP will be positioned 512 miles above the Earth's surface and will orbit about 16 times each day to observe nearly the entire globe. The NPP mission for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is to measure Earth's atmospheric and sea surface temperatures, humidity sounding, land and ocean biological activity, and cloud and aerosol properties.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Turn Basin in the Launch Complex 39 area of NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle main engine (SSME) ground support equipment is stowed away inside the Pegasus barge, ready for transport for delivery to Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss. Since being delivered to NASA in 1999, Pegasus sailed 41 times and transported 31 shuttle external fuel tanks from Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans to Kennedy.The barge will leave Kennedy, perhaps for the final time. Both the barge and shuttle equipment will remain in storage until their specific future uses are determined. The SSMEs themselves will be transported to Stennis separately for use with the agencys new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System. The work is part of the Space Shuttle Programs transition and retirement processing.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the Space Station Processing Facility, workers prepare to remove the lid of a container holding the Mobile Base System (MBS). The MBS is part of the Canadian Space Agencys Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), which is part of the payload on mission STS-100 to the International Space Station

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - Technicians perform a fit check on an Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket as the launcher is processed for the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph mission known as IRIS. The technicians are attaching the portion of the Pegasus that joins the wing to the fuselage, a piece called a fillet.

ARES 7 AXIS MILLING EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES.

Technicians for AeroVironment, Inc., jack up a pressure tank to the wing of the Helios Prototype solar-electric flying wing. The tank carries pressurized hydrogen to fuel an experimental fuel cell system that powered the aircraft at night during an almost two-day long-endurance flight demonstration in the summer of 2003.

Workers remove the protective cover from the first Northrop Grumman aft exit cone to arrive for the Space Launch Systems solid rocket boosters inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 4, 2019. The aft exit cone was shipped from Promontory, Utah. It will be checked out and prepared for the Artemis I uncrewed test flight. The aft exit cones sit at the bottommost part of the twin boosters. They are attached to the aft skirts, which contain the booster separation motors. The exit cones help to protect the aft skirts during launch.

VANDENBERG AFB, California - NASA's SMAP spacecraft is positioned atop a Delta II rocket at Space Launch Complex-2 for launch. For more, go to www.nasa.gov/smap

A820636 U12N DIAMOND ACE A-BOX & PIPE STRING STATLER, BOB APR 13 82 EG&G/NTS PHOTO LAB Publication Date: 4/13/1982 A-BOX & PIPE STRING; DIAMOND ACE TEST; EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER; EG&G; INSTRUMENTS & EQUIPMENT; MALE; MEN; MEN (ADD MALE MODIFIER); NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS; NUCLEAR TESTING; NUCLEAR TESTS; PIPE STRING; PIPES; PULLING; STATLER, BOB; TEST SITES; TESTING; U12N DIAMOND ACE; UGT; UNDERGROUND TESTING; WEAPON EFFECTS; WEAPONS RELATED; WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY; U12N DIAMOND ACE - PIPE STRING historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the forward skirt extension of the Ares I-X first stage is moved. The extension will house new, larger parachutes. The three main parachutes each have a 150-foot diameter, compared to the shuttle booster main parachutes, which are 136 feet across.

Pegasus/Nustar, Fin Installation on the Aft End of Stage 1

Teams peform Orion Parachute Test Vehicle (PTV) loading operations on July 22, 2013 in preparation for the July 24 parachute drop test at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

Workers assist with removal of the shipping container cover from the second Northrop Grumman-manufactured aft exit cone to arrive for the Space Launch Systems solid rocket boosters inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 9, 2019. The right aft exit cone was shipped from Promontory, Utah. It will be checked out and prepared for the Artemis I uncrewed test flight. The aft exit cones sit at the bottommost part of the twin boosters. The cones help provide added thrust for the boosters, while protecting the aft skirts from the thermal environment during launch.

ENGINEERS FROM AMES RESEARCH CENTER AND MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER REMOVE AVCOAT SEGMENTS FROM THE SURFACE OF THE ORION HEAT SHIELD, THE PROTECTIVE SHELL DESIGNED TO HELP THE NEXT GENERATION CREW MODULE WITHSTAND THE HEAT OF ATMOSPHERIC REENTRY. THE HEAT SHIELD FLEW TO SPACE DURING THE EFT-1 FULL SCALL FLIGHT TEST OF ORION IN DECEMBER 2014

. Viper Egress Test

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- - A member of the Columbia Reconstruction Project Team examines a piece of Columbia debris on a table in the KSC RLV Hangar. The team is attempting to identify the debris and reconstruct the orbiter as part of the investigation into the accident that caused the destruction of Columbia and loss of its crew as it returned to Earth on mission STS-107.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Jeff Huie of Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne watches as the last of the space shuttle main engines disappears into a transportation canister in the Orbiter Processing Facility-3 engine shop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The engine was packed for shipment to NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The first two groups of engines were shipped from Kennedy to Stennis in November 2011 and January 2012, and the remaining engines are scheduled to depart on April 9. Altogether, 15 shuttle-era engines will be stored at Stennis for reuse on NASAs Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, under development.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board look at equipment in the Orbiter Processing Facility used during Shuttle preparation. Third from right is Retired Navy Adm. Harold Gehman Jr., who is chairman of the board. 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers secure the nose cap of the orbiter Atlantis for its transfer to a stand. The cap was removed for routine inspection. The nose cap is made of reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC), which has an operating range of minus 250° F to about 3,000° F.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Workers prepare to lift the canister containing the interstage adapter, or ISA, for NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, or SMAP, from its transportation trailer in the high bay of the Building 836 hangar on south Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket will loft SMAP into orbit from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 2. The ISA connects the Delta II first and second stages and encloses the second stage engine and thrust section. The spacecraft will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. These measurements will be used to enhance understanding of processes that link the water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capabilities of weather and climate prediction models. The data returned also will be used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flood prediction and drought monitoring capabilities. Launch is scheduled for November 20

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) primary mirror being moved into N-211, readied and move into the Ames Vacuum Chamber for the coating process.

Interior View of Orbiter Processing Facility 3

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A crane moves the airlock from the cargo bay of space shuttle Atlantis to a waiting trailer in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The airlock was the connecting point between the shuttle and International Space Station. It was removed as part of the ongoing work to prepare the shuttles for public display. The shuttle is being prepared for display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

NASA, Boeing Complete Barrel Sections for future SLS Exploration Upper Stage Structural Test Article. These images and videos show technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans examining and lifting midbody barrels for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) structural test article of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in May 2023.The barrel sections make up the body, or main structure, of the future in-space propulsion stage for the mega rocket. The Exploration Upper Stage will be used on the second configuration of the SLS rocket, known as Block 1B, and will provide in-space propulsion to send astronauts in NASAs Orion spacecraft and heavy cargo on a precise trajectory to the Moon. Beginning with Artemis IV, EUS will replace the interim cryogenic propulsion stage for the Block 1 configuration of SLS. It has larger propellant tanks and four RL10 engines, enabling SLS to launch 40% more cargo to the Moon along with crew. EUS flight hardware is in early production at Michoud

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Workers prepare to remove the airlock from the cargo bay of space shuttle Atlantis in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The airlock was the connecting point between the shuttle and International Space Station. It was removed as part of the ongoing work to prepare the shuttles for public display. The shuttle is being prepared for display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

T&R/Atlantis, Window #4 installation and Inspection

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers remove the reinforced-carbon carbon, or RCC, panels from the wing leading edge on space shuttle Atlantis. The structural edge of the wing (area of red and green behind the panels) will undergo spar corrosion inspection to verify the structural integrity of the wing. The RCC panels will be placed in protective coverings until the inspection is complete. Atlantis will make the 31st flight to the International Space Station for the STS-129 mission, targeted for launch on Nov. 12.

Interior View of Orbiter Processing Facility 3

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1, workers are installing a new window in Atlantis. The orbiter is being processed for launch in late August on mission STS-115. It will carry a truss and other key components on the Space Shuttle Program's 19th mission to the International Space Station.

Workers guide a segment of the Canadian Space Agency's (CSA) Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) past the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module in the Space Station Processing Facility at KSC. The segment joins two others for a campaign of prelaunch processing activities. CSA's first contribution to the International Space Station (ISS), the SSRMS is the primary means of transferring payloads between the orbiter payload bay and the ISS for assembly. The 56-foot-long robotic arm includes two 12-foot booms joined by a hinge. Seven joints on the arm allow highly flexible and precise movement. Latching End Effectors are mounted on each end of the arm for grappling. Video cameras mounted on the booms and end effectors will give astronauts maximum visibility for operations and maintenance tasks on the ISS. The SSRMS is scheduled to be launched aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-100, currently planned for July 2000

Elements for the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion pressure vessel are prepared for welding at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Sept. 7, 2011. Orions pressure vessel is underlying frame of the crew module that will provide an air-tight, habitable space for astronauts on future missions to the Moon. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

. The engine that will power NASAs quiet supersonic X-59 in flight is installed, marking a major milestone in the experimental aircrafts journey toward first flight. The installation of the F414-GE-100 engine at Lockheed Martins Skunk Works facility brings the vehicle close to the completion of its assembly.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The P5 truss finally arrives at the Space Station Processing Facility after its arrival at the Shuttle Landing Facility and a brief detour to the Spaceport Florida hangar to get out of the rain. The P5 is scheduled for delivery to the International Space Station on mission 12A.1 in April 2003.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the forward skirt extension of the Ares I-X first stage is moved to a work stand. The extension will house new, larger parachutes. The three main parachutes each have a 150-foot diameter, compared to the shuttle booster main parachutes, which are 136 feet across.

SDO MOVE TO TRANSPORTER

The left hand aft skirt for NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is moved inside the Booster Fabrication Facility at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The aft skirt arrived from the Hangar AF facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The space shuttle-era aft skirt, was inspected, resurfaced, primed and painted for use on the left hand booster of the SLS rocket for Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1). NASA is preparing for EM-1, deep-space missions, and the journey to Mars.

Technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility move a piece of the engine section of NASAs Space Launch System rocket for Artemis III in preparation for its next step in production. This hardware is the first large piece manufactured for the Artemis III mission and makes up the lowest portion of the 212-foot-tall core stage. When complete, the engine section will house the four RS-25 engines and include vital systems for mounting, controlling and delivering fuel from the propellant tanks to the rockets engines. Together with its four RS-25 engines and its twin solid rocket boosters, it 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 explora

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians install a new bearing on crawler-transporter 2 in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Modifications underway on the crawler are designed to ensure its ability to transport launch vehicles currently under development, such as the agencys Space Launch System, to the launch pad. Present modifications represent a redesign and upgrade to the roller bearings and assemblies originally installed on the crawler. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform carrying the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and 39B.

Congressman Mo Brooks visits MSFC to view Orion Stage Adapter flight hardware in bldg. 4708 and Robotic Tape Laying and Additive Manufacturing Facility in bldg. 4707.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers begin uncovering the Long Spacer (LS), the second and final piece of the S6 Integrated Truss Segment. Both the LS and the S6 Integrated Equipment Assembly (IEA) will undergo inspections and verifications tests to prepare them for flight to the International Space Station in early 2004. Although separate for now, the two segments will be integrated and fly as one on mission STS-119. Together the two pieces weigh 26,000 pounds and measure 45 feet long. The S6 is the 11th and final piece of the Station's Integrated Truss Structure, which will measure more than 300 feet in all. .

The Orion Lockheed Martin team continues fabricating and assembling composite structures for the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion service module and launch abort system at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Feb. 5, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

The Orion crew module recovery fixture has been loaded into the well deck of the USS Anchorage at Naval Base San Diego in California. The equipment will be used during recovery of the Orion crew module after its first flight test. Before launch of Orion on a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA, Lockheed Martin and U.S. Navy personnel will head out to sea in the USS Anchorage and the USNS Salvor, a salvage ship, and wait for splashdown of the Orion crew module in the Pacific Ocean. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program will lead the recovery efforts. 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 flight test of Orion is scheduled to launch in December atop a United Launch Alliance D

Technicians with Orbital ATK assist as a crane lowers the left-hand forward skirt for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket boosters onto a stand inside the Hangar AF facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The forward skirt was transported from booster prime contractor Orbital ATK in Promontory, Utah. The forward skirt will be staged in Hangar AF where refurbishment will continue. It will be inspected and prepared for use on the left-hand solid rocket booster for Exploration Mission 1. NASA's Orion spacecraft will fly atop the SLS rocket on its first uncrewed flight test.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers roll the environmentally controlled shipping container enclosing NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) through the door of the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California.The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip which began Jan. 24 from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va. The spacecraft will be removed from the shipping container in the airlock and transferred 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

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Workers align the nozzle with the second stage of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in the Horizontal Processing Facility at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.The Delta II will be used to loft NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, or SMAP, into orbit. The spacecraft will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. These measurements will be used to enhance understanding of processes that link the water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capabilities of weather and climate prediction models. The data returned also will be used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flood prediction and drought monitoring capabilities. Launch is scheduled for November 2014.

Sailors assigned to USS Gerald R. Fords (CVN 78) deck department engage an anchor chain stopper in the focsle during a precision anchoring evolution, April 20, 2022. Ford is underway in the Atlantic Ocean conducting carrier qualifications and strike group integration as part of the ships tailored basic phase prior to operational deployment.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Ares I-X roll control system module, comprising two modules and four thrusters, is being prepared for a fit check on the Ares I-X rocket upper stage simulator. The hardware is in high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The system is designed to perform a 90-degree roll after the rocket clears the launch tower, preventing a roll during flight and maintaining the orientation of the rocket until separation of the upper and first stages. The system module will return to earth and splash down; it will not be recovered. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ares I-X is targeted for launch in summer of 2009.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians prepare a heat shield for installation around space shuttle Endeavours replica shuttle main engines.The work is part of Transition and Retirement of the remaining space shuttles, Endeavour and Atlantis. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. Endeavour was the last space shuttle added to NASAs orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions.

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) primary mirror being moved into N-211, readied and move into the Ames Vacuum Chamber for the coating process.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In bay 3 of the Orbiter Processing Facility, United Space Alliance technicians make final adjustments on space shuttle Discovery's starboard landing gear. The components were removed in order to replace a hydraulic seal in the right main-gear strut. Engineers determined an observed leak of hydraulic fluid in the main landing gear strut exceeded specification and could not be reduced to an acceptable rate. Thus, the leaky seal and three other seals were replaced. Prior to discovery of the leak, the vehicle had been scheduled to roll over Sept. 19 from the OPF to the Vehicle Assembly Building. A new rollover date will be set for Discovery, which is targeted for launch on Oct. 23.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers attach the overhead crane onto the shipping container to remove it from around NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, spacecraft. 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. 10.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers remove the cover from the frustum, the last newly manufactured section of the Ares I-X test rocket. Resembling a giant funnel, the frustum's function is to transition the primary flight loads from the rocket's upper stage to the first stage. The frustum is located between the forward skirt extension and the upper stage of the Ares I-X. Weighing in at approximately 13,000 pounds, the 10-foot-long section is composed of two aluminum rings attached to a truncated conic section. The large diameter of the cone is 18 feet and the small diameter is 12 feet. The cone is 1.25 inches thick. The frustum will be integrated with the forward skirt and forward skirt extension, which already are in the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility. That will complete the forward assembly. The assembly then will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking operations, which are scheduled to begin

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Workers lower an Ares IX upper stage segments ballast assembly onto the floor of high bay 4 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, part of the preparations for the test of the Ares IX rocket. These ballast assemblies will be installed in the upper stage 1 and 7 segments and will mimic the mass of the fuel. Their total weight is approximately 160,000 pounds. The test launch of the Ares IX in 2009 will be the first designed to determine the flight-worthiness of the Ares I rocket. Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low-Earth orbit. The Ares I first stage will be a five-segment solid rocket booster based on the four-segment design used for the space shuttle. Ares Is fifth booster segment allows the launch vehicle to lift more weight and reach a higher altitude before the first stage separates from the upper stage, which ignites in midflight to propel the Orion spacecraft to E

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the RLV Hangar, members of the Columbia Reconstruction Project team place recovered Thermal Protection System (TPS) tile on a tabletop mock-up of the wing of Columbia. Shipped from Barksdale Air Force Base, Shreveport, La., more than 70,000 items, weighing 78,000 pounds, about 36 percent of the Shuttle by weight, have been delivered to KSC for use in the mishap investigation. Ground teams have completed 78 percent of their primary search area, and airborne crews finished 80 percent of their assigned area. Search teams have completed 98 percent of the underwater searches in Lake Nacogdoches and Toledo Bend Reservoir.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Workers align the second stage of the Delta II rocket for NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, or SMAP, on the rocket's first stage in the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.Operations are underway to install the second stage atop the rocket's first stage. 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. These measurements will be used to enhance understanding of processes that link the water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capabilities of weather and climate prediction models. SMAP data also will be used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flo

Pegasus/Nustar, Arival for the Aft Skirt & Fins, Installation of the Aft Skirt to the Aft End of Stage 1

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Doug Buford (top), with the Aft Engine shop, along with another worker, removes a heat shield on one of Columbia's engines. After small cracks were discovered on the LH2 Main Propulsion System (MPS) flow liners in two other orbiters, program managers decided to move forward with inspections on Columbia before clearing it for flight on STS-107. After removal of the heat shields, the three main engines will be removed. Inspections of the flow liners will follow. The July 19 launch of Columbia on STS-107 has been delayed a few weeks

British royalty visits Ames; Prince Andrew, Duke of York on tour of VMS

Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) engine mechanics Travis Barclay, left, and Mark Schexnayder work on the depots first disassembly of a T408 engine, which powers the CH-53K King Stallion helicopter. Maintenance, repair and overhaul of the Marine Corps new heavy-lift helicopter and its components will soon represent a significant portion of FRCEs operations.

STS-132 ATLANTIS - RCC PANEL REMOVAL

Elbe Aircraft Works

A800361 U12N MINERS IRON DAC ASSEMBLY WEYDERT (Project Engineer) FEB 7 80 EG&G/NTS PHOTO LAB Publication Date: 2/7/1980 DAC; DAC ASSEMBLY; DACS; DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM; EDGERTON, GERMESHAUSEN & GRIER; EG&G; EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT & INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS & EQUIPMENT; INSTRUMENTS AND EQUIPMENT; MALE; MEN; MEN (ADD MALE MODIFIER); MINERS IRON; N-TUNNEL; NEVADA; NEVADA TEST SITE; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS; TEST SITES; TUNNELS; TUNNELS BY USAGE; UGT; UNDERGROUND; UNDERGROUND TESTING; WEAPONS EFFECTS historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.

T&R Endeavour OMS Pod Mate Test for Smithsonian Operations

of 2