CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Progress is being made on construction of the new lightning towers on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New sections are being added with the help of a giant crane. Three new lightning towers on the pad will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Progress is being made on construction of the new lightning towers on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New sections are being added with the help of a giant crane. Three new lightning towers on the pad will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle.
SuperStock offers millions of photos, videos, and stock assets to creatives around the world. This image of CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Progress is being made on construction of the new lightning towers on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New sections are being added with the help of a giant crane. Three new lightning towers on the pad will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. Pad 39B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including the Ares I-X test flight that is targeted for July 2009. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I rocket compared to the space shuttle. by Piemags/PL Photography Limited is available for licensing today.

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Artemis I Prelaunch. NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as preparations for launch continue, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agencys deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than Nov. 16 at 1:04 a.m. EST.
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As a Falcon 9 rocket stands ready for liftoff at the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. The rocket will boost a Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 5:55 p.m. EDT. On its 11th commercial resupply services mission to the space station, Dragon will bring up 6,000 pounds of supplies, such as the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER, instrument to study the extraordinary physics of neutron stars.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Daybreak at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida reveals the rotating service structure rolled back from around the Constellation Program's 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket for launch.The transfer of the pad from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program took place May 31. Modifications made to the pad include the removal of shuttle unique subsystems, such as the orbiter access arm and a section of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, and the installation of three 600-foot lightning towers, access platforms, environmental control systems and a vehicle stabilization system. The data returned from more than 700 sensors throughout the rocket will be used to refine the design of future launch vehicles and bring NASA one step closer to reaching its exploration goals. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 27.
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Artemis I Rollout for Launch. NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, standing atop the mobile launcher, arrive at Launch Pad 39B at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 4, 2022, ahead of the uncrewed Artemis I launch. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASAs SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and is scheduled to launch Monday, Nov. 14. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orions heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. During the flight, Orion will launch atop the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever flown, paving the way for human deep space exploration and demonstrating our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond.
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On May 18, 2022, Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket roll out from the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Starliner will launch on the Atlas V for Boeings Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) for NASAs Commercial Crew Program at 6:54 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 19. OFT-2 is an important uncrewed flight test designed to test the end-to-end capabilities of the system tohelp the agency certify Starliner to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, catenary wires are being suspended from the lighting masts on the lightning towers. The catenary wire system under development for the Constellation Programs next-generation vehicles will significantly increase the shielding level, providing better protection, and further separate the electrical current from vital launch hardware. The system will help avoid delays to the launch schedule by collecting more information on the strike for analysis by launch managers.
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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off at 11:11 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module on the company's seventh commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Cygnus will deliver 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station.
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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket, carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T), lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on March 1, 2022. Liftoff was at 4:38 p.m. EST. GOES-T is the third satellite in the GOES-R series that will continue to help meteorologists observe and predict local weather events that affect public safety. GOES-T will be renamed GOES-18 once it reaches geostationary orbit. GOES-18 will go into operational service as GOES West to provide critical data for the U.S. West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, and the Pacific Ocean. The launch was managed by NASAs Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Americas multi-user spaceport.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A, space shuttle Endeavour sits poised for launch after technicians replaced the Load Control Assembly-2 (LCA-2) in its aft section.Located in Endeavour's aft avionics bay 5, the LCA-2, which distributes power to nine shuttle systems, is believed to have caused fuel line heaters for Endeavour's auxiliary power unit-1 (APU-1) to fail April 29 during the first launch attempt for the STS-134 mission and has been replaced. Systems will be retested before the launch is rescheduled. STS-134 will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the International Space Station. The mission also will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour.
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An aerial view of Launch Complex 39B with Exploration Ground Systems mobile launcher for the Artemis 1 mission on the pad. The mobile launcher, atop crawler-transporter 2, made its final solo trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building on June 27, 2018, and arrived on the surface of pad B on June 28, 2019, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mobile launcher will remain at the pad over the summer, undergoing final testing and checkouts. Its next roll to the pad will be with the agencys Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1.
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen after being raised into a vertical position on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Feb. 28, 2019 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Demo-1 mission will be the first launch of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft and space system designed for humans as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The mission, currently targeted for a 2:49am launch on March 2, will serve as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the 197-foot-tall United Launch Alliance Atlas V-551 launch vehicle carrying NASA's Juno spacecraft has arrived on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41. On Kennedy Space Center property, at right, is Launch Pad 39A, which supported the last space shuttle launch in July.Liftoff is planned during a launch window which extends from 11:34 a.m. to 12:43 p.m. EDT on 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. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The Juno mission is part of the New Frontiers Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the s
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NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 39B as preparations for launch continue, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs Artemis I flight test is the first integrated test of the agencys deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket, and supporting ground systems. Launch of the uncrewed flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 29 at 8:33 a.m. ET.
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NASA/SpaceX CRS-26 Liftoff. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon cargo spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 26, 2022, on the companys 26th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 2:20 p.m. EST. Dragon will deliver more than 7,700 pounds of cargo, including a variety of NASA investigations, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the next pair of ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs). The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
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As a Falcon 9 rocket stands ready for liftoff at the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. The rocket will boost a Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:31 p.m. EDT. On its 12th commercial resupply services mission to the space station, Dragon will bring up more than 6,400 pounds of supplies. The historic launch site now is operated by SpaceX under a property agreement signed with NASA.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, Falcon 9 rocket is in position for a wet dress rehearsal at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. During the rehearsal, the rocket will be fully fueled and launch controllers will perform a countdown demonstration. The rehearsal is in preparation for the company's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS, mission to the International Space Station aboard the Dragon capsule. The SpaceX CRS contract with NASA provides for 12 cargo resupply missions to the station through 2015, the first of which is targeted to launch in October 2012.SpaceX became the first private company to berth a spacecraft with the space station in 2012 during its final demonstration flight under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, program managed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the United Launch Alliance, or ULA, Atlas V rocket carrying NASAs twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, rolled out of the ULA Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at 1:59 p.m. EDT heading to the launch pad. The Atlas V rocket had been rolled back to the facility on August 26 to ensure the launch vehicle and RBSP spacecraft were secured and protected from inclement weather caused by Tropical Storm Isaac. RBSP will explore changes in Earth's space environment caused by the sun -- known as "space weather" -- that can disable satellites, create power-grid failures and disrupt GPS service. The mission also will provide data on the fundamental radiation and particle acceleration processes throughout the universe. The launch is rescheduled for 4:05 a.m. EDT on Aug. 30, pending approval from the range.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The mobile service tower, or gantry, in the foreground at Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, is scheduled for demolition. The tall lightning towers around it will remain. This mammoth structure, with its cavernous clean room, was used for the final spacecraft launch preparations for NASAs Cassini spacecraft, currently orbiting Saturn. The launch occurred on Oct. 15, 1997, aboard an Air Force Titan IV-Centaur rocket. The facilities at the pad are being dismantled to make room for the construction of launch pad access and servicing facilities for the new Falcon rockets to be launched by Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, launch pad 39A looks much like it did after the liftoff of STS-135, the final space shuttle mission, on July 8, 2011. The mobile launcher platform remains in place next to the fixed service structure and rotating service structure. During the shuttle program, water was stored in the 290-foot-high, 300,000 gallon tank on the right. Water was released just prior to the main engine ignition and flows by gravity to special outlets on the platform to protect the orbiter and its payloads from being damaged by acoustical energy reflected from the platform during liftoff. Both launch pad 39A and 39B pad 39A was originally built for the Apollo/Saturn V rockets that launched American astronauts on their historic journeys to the moon and later modified to support the 30-year shuttle program.
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the companys Crew Dragon attached, stands at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Launch Complex 39A on Jan. 3, 2019. The rocket will undergo checkouts prior to the liftoff of Demo-1, the inaugural flight of one of the spacecraft designed to take NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. NASA has worked with SpaceX and Boeing in developing Commercial Crew Program spacecraft to facilitate new human spaceflight systems launching from U.S. soil with the goal of safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit destinations such as the space station.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch NOAAs Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR, awaits liftoff at 6:10 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 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.
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Image Number: 6145-44748637Royalty FreeCredit Line:Piemags/PL Photography Limited/SuperStockCollection:PL Photography LimitedStory:Rocket Launch Pads and PreparationsContributor:PiemagsModel Release:NoProperty Release:NoResolution:3000×2008
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