CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, more equipment for the STSS Demonstrator SV-2 spacecraft is offloaded from the U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft. The spacecraft will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla.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.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, more equipment for the STSS Demonstrator SV-2 spacecraft is offloaded from the U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft. The spacecraft will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla.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.
SuperStock offers millions of photos, videos, and stock assets to creatives around the world. This image of CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, more equipment for the STSS Demonstrator SV-2 spacecraft is offloaded from the U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft. The spacecraft will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla.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. by Piemags/PL Photography Limited is available for licensing today.

Visually Similar More from Spacecraft Launch Operations story

RM
6145-45227245
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster that will launch the Solar Orbiter spacecraft is removed from the companys Rocketship vessel upon its arrival at Floridas Port Canaveral on Nov. 21, 2019. Once offloaded, the booster was transported to the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Solar Orbiter is a European Space Agency mission with strong NASA participation. The mission aims to study the Sun, its outer atmosphere and solar winds. The spacecraft will provide the first images of the Suns poles. NASAs Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Liftoff is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2020, from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard the ULA Atlas V rocket.
RM
6145-44971514
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket first and second stages arrive at to the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center, or ASOC, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. There, the launch vehicle will begin processing for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft to the Red Planet. 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.
RM
6145-44636294
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After arriving at the Payload Hazardous Service Facility airlock, the protective cover is removed from one of the fairing halves for the Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V is the launch vehicle for the New Horizons spacecraft. The fairing will encapsulate the spacecraft to protect it during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. New Horizons is designed to make the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon - a "double planet" and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. The mission will then visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune. New Horizons is scheduled to launch in January 2006, swing past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February or March 2007, and reach Pluto and its moon, Charon, in July 2015.
RM
6145-45056045
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Orion boilerplate test vehicle has been secured in the crew module recovery cradle and raised up at a warehouse at the Naval Base San Diego in California. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, Lockheed Martin and U.S. Navy are evaluating the hardware and processes for preparing the Orion crew module for Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1, for overland transport from the naval base to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.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
RM
6145-45071994
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Orion crew module, stacked atop its service module, is transported into the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will be fueled ahead of its December flight. The spacecraft for Exploration Flight Test-1 was moved out of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay.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 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to an altitude of 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface. The two-orbit, four-hour flight test will help engineers evaluate the systems critical to crew safety including the heat shield, par
RM
6145-45139953
Preparations are underway to offload the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy common booster core from the company's Mariner ship at Port Canaveral in Florida. The Delta IV Heavy will launch NASA's upcoming Parker Solar Probe mission. 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. Liftoff atop the Delta IV Heavy rocket is scheduled to take place from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 37 in summer 2018.
RM
6145-44597461
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Mars Exploration Rover 1 (MER-B) arrives at Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be mated with the Delta rocket for launch. The second of twin rovers being sent to Mars, it is equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow it to have a human-like, 3D view of the terrain. Each rover could travel as far as 100 meters in one day to act as Mars scientists' eyes and hands, exploring an environment where humans can't yet go. MER-B is scheduled to launch June 26 at one of two available times, 12:27:31 a.m. EDT or 1:08:45 a.m. EDT.
RM
6145-44854764
STS-134 Payload Canister from CRF to VAB
RM
6145-44899499
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The tail cone that will cover space shuttle Endeavours replica shuttle main engines arrives at Orbiter Processing Facility-2, or OPF-2, from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside OPF-2, the tail cone will be installed on Endeavour.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.
RM
6145-45009847
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, technicians guide the final solid rocket motor (SRM) off a trailer. The motor will be mated to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket which will carry NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. MSL is scheduled to launch Nov. 25 with a window extending to Dec. 18 and arrival at Mars Aug. 2012.
RM
6145-44985226
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the heat shield for the agency's Orion spacecraft is being offloaded from the Super Guppy aircraft. The largest of its kind ever built, the heat shield is planned for installation on the Orion crew module in March of next year. The Orion spacecraft is scheduled to make its first unpiloted flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1 EFT-1, in September 2014.The Orion spacecraft is designed to meet requirements for traveling beyond low-Earth orbit. The spacecraft will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry crews to space, sustain the astronauts during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space.
RM
6145-44971509
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket first and second stages arrive at to the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center, or ASOC, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. There, the launch vehicle will begin processing for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft to the Red Planet. 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.
RM
6145-45204721
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V booster that will be used for Boeings Crew Flight Test (CFT) nears the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 5, 2019. The ULA Atlas V rocket will launch Starliner and its crew, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Nicole Mann and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson, to the International Space Station for NASAs Commercial Crew Program. Inside the ASOC, the booster will await the start of operations for its missions. The CFT will demonstrate Starliner and Atlas Vs ability to safely carry crew to and from the orbiting laboratory.
RM
6145-44985228
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the heat shield for the agency's Orion spacecraft is being offloaded from the Super Guppy aircraft. The largest of its kind ever built, the heat shield is planned for installation on the Orion crew module in March of next year. The Orion spacecraft is scheduled to make its first unpiloted flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1 EFT-1, in September 2014.The Orion spacecraft is designed to meet requirements for traveling beyond low-Earth orbit. The spacecraft will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry crews to space, sustain the astronauts during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space.
RM
6145-44596111
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER-2), inside the transport canister, will be lifted up the launch tower on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be mated to the Delta II rocket for launch. MER-2 is one of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers designed to study the history of water on Mars. These robotic geologists are equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow them to have a human-like, 3D view of the terrain. Each rover could travel as far as 100 meters in one day to act as Mars scientists' eyes and hands, exploring an environment where humans can't yet go. MER-2 is scheduled to launch no earlier than June 8 as MER-A.
RM
6145-58964709
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) spacecraft arrives at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MAP will be lifted up the gantry for final testing and installation of the payload fairing. Launch of MAP via a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for June 30. The launch will place MAP into a lunar-assisted trajectory to the Sun-Earth for a 27-month mission. The probe will measure small fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation to an accuracy of one millionth of a degree. These measurements should reveal the size, matter content, age, geometry and fate of the universe. They will also reveal the primordial structure that grew to form galaxies and will test ideas about the origins of these primordial structures
RM
6145-58962434
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The first and second stages of the Boeing Delta IV rocket moves out of the Horizontal Integration Facility, where they were mated, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket is being transferred to the launch pad for further build-up and mating with the GOES-N satellite. Launch of the GOES-N is scheduled for May 4. The satellite is the first of three for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. GOES-N will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric triggers of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements. NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center is responsible for development of the satellite and testing of the spacecraft and its instruments.
RM
6145-44594470
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the second half of the fairing for the Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER-2/MER-A) is raised to a vertical position for its lift up the launch tower. The fairing will be installed around the payload for protection during launch. The MER Mission consists of two identical rovers 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. Identical to each other, the rovers will land at different regions of Mars. Launch date for MER-A is scheduled for June 5.
RM
6145-44913184
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A Centaur stage arrives the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center, or ASOC, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to begin processing. The Centaur will be part of a launch vehicle that will boost the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K, or TDRS-K, into Earth orbit atop an Atlas V rocket. Lift off is scheduled for 11:57 p.m. on Dec. 13, 2012 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral.The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services.
RM
6145-44596073
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a solid rocket booster is raised off its transporter to lift it to vertical. It will be mated to the Delta II rocket for the Mars Exploration Rover 1 (MER-1) launch June 25. NASAs twin Mars Exploration Rovers are designed to study the history of water on Mars. These robotic geologists are equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow them to have a human-like, 3D view of the terrain. Each rover could travel as far as 100 meters in one day to act as Mars scientists' eyes and hands, exploring an environment where humans cant yet go. MER-2 (MER-A) will launch June 5.
RM
6145-44788843
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, enclosed in a transportation canister, arrives at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.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 is scheduled for Dec. 9. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/wise.
Image - Royalty Free Editorial
Royalty-Free Standard Editorial licenses are granted for worldwide, non-exclusive and perpetual NON-COMMERCIAL uses, unless specifically noted otherwise. All Royalty-Free transactions are final. The Royalty-Free Standard Editorial license has no limitations and covers up to 15 users.
  • $50.00 Low335 X 500
  • $150.00 Med502 X 750
  • $250.00 High2008 X 3000
Order a Framed Print
Looking for a license?
Click here, and we'll help you find it! Questions? Just ask!
DETAILS
Image Number: 6145-44761231Royalty FreeCredit Line:Piemags/PL Photography Limited/SuperStockCollection:PL Photography LimitedStory:Spacecraft Launch OperationsContributor:PiemagsModel Release:NoProperty Release:NoResolution:2008×3000
C-17
STSS|