CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center check the Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS, as it is lifted from its stand. The sensor will be moved to the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier or ORUC, for installation. 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.” The ORUC is one of three carriers that are being prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, STS-125, on space shuttle

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center check the Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS, as it is lifted from its stand. The sensor will be moved to the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier or ORUC, for installation. 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.” The ORUC is one of three carriers that are being prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, STS-125, on space shuttle
SuperStock offers millions of photos, videos, and stock assets to creatives around the world. This image of CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center check the Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS, as it is lifted from its stand. The sensor will be moved to the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier or ORUC, for installation. 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.” The ORUC is one of three carriers that are being prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, STS-125, on space shuttle by Piemags/PL Photography Limited is available for licensing today.

Visually Similar More from Spacecraft Preparation and Launch story

RM
6145-44652434
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the hazardous processing facility at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., technicians check Observatory A before lifting onto a scale for weight measurements. The observatory is one of two in the STEREO spacecraft and later will be fueled. 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 no earlier than Aug. 1.
RM
6145-44755205
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians check the alignment of the GOES-O satellite onto a special stand for loading of its oxidizer and hydrazine propellants. The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O was developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The GOES satellites continuously provide observations of 60 percent of the Earth including the continental United States, providing weather monitoring and forecast operations as well as a continuous and reliable stream of environmental information and severe weather warnings. Once in orbit, GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. The GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 37 no earlier than May 12 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle.
RM
6145-45081307
Workers deploy the solar arrays on NOAAs Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR, in the Building 1 high bay 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 targeted for early 2015 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 v 1.1 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
RM
6145-45081306
Workers deploy the solar arrays on NOAAs Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft, or DSCOVR, in the Building 1 high bay 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 targeted for early 2015 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 v 1.1 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
RM
6145-45144691
NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System-1, or JPSS-1, remains wrapped in a protective covering after removal from its shipping container at the Astrotech Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The spacecraft is being prepared for its upcoming liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex-2W. JPSS-1 is the first in a series four next-generation environmental satellites in a collaborative program between NOAA and NASA.
RM
6145-45060444
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Preparations are underway to attach NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2, to the payload attach system inside a clean room in the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for July 1, 2014, from Space Launch Complex 2. The observatory 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.
RM
6145-58961674
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. Inside the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers check the Upper Delta Payload Attach Fitting (UDPAF) holding the CALIPSO spacecraft. CALIPSO will be mated with the Lower Delta Payload Attach Fitting (LDPAF) that 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.
RM
6145-44862461
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, are atop test stands in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8.The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.
RM
6145-45148436
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.
RM
6145-44775487
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , technicians get ready to remove the overhead crane from the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft. 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.
RM
6145-44592102
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The cruise stage for one of the Mars Exploration Rovers is rotated for processing. Once functional testing and mission simulation of the flight elements is complete, the elements will be integrated for flight. There are two rovers, identical to each other, and each will land at different regions of Mars. They are 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 May 30, and the second rover a window opening June 25.
RM
6145-44652435
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the hazardous processing facility at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., technicians begin attaching an overhead crane to Observatory A of the STEREO spacecraft. The observatory will be lifted onto a scale for weight measurements and later will be fueled. 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 no earlier than Aug. 1.
RM
6145-44618877
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., work on the back side of the MESSENGER spacecraft, mating it with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below. The white panel seen here is the heat-resistant, ceramic cloth sunshade that will enable MESSENGER to operate at room temperature. 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.
RM
6145-44796677
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., workers secure NASA's GOES-P meteorological satellite, covered in a protective bag, on a Ransome table on which it will be rotated for further testing.GOES-P, the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, was developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. GOES-P is designed to watch for storm development and observed current weather conditions on Earth. Launch of GOES-P is targeted for no earlier than Feb. 25, 2010, from Launch Complex 37 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket.
RM
6145-44772714
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Engineers at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., lower the high-gain antenna on the Solar Dynamics Observatory to gain access to the battery compartment for installation of the flight battery. 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 its anticipated November 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.
RM
6145-44699887
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 lifted and begins moving toward the work stand in the foreground. 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.
RM
6145-44898180
TITUSVILLE, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. near NASAs Kennedy Space Center, technicians use a crane to lift the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A for stacking atop RBSP B.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 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.
RM
6145-44775897
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., the Solar Dynamics Observatory is lifted from the work stand under the guidance of technicians. The spacecraft is being moved onto a Ransome table that will allow it to be rotated in various directions for access to different areas of the spacecraft. 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 its anticipated November 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.
RM
6145-44617880
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers at Astrotech Space Operations hazardous processing facility help guide the MESSENGER spacecraft onto a work stand. MESSENGER is being prepared for loading the spacecrafts complement of hypergolic propellants. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., bound for Mercury. The spacecraft is expected to reach orbit around Mercury in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
RM
6145-44752798
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians move the test stand with the GOES-O satellite. The satellite will undergo final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems. The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O was developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. The GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch April 28 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle. Once in orbit, GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. GOES-O will be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. GOES-O carries an advanced attitude control system using star trackers with spacecraft optical bench Imager and Sounder mountings that provide enhanced instrument pointing performance for improved image navigation and registr
RM
6145-44919671
VANDENBERG AFB, Calif.-- Technicians use a crane to move NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM, satellite at the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.The Landsat Data Continuity Mission LDCM is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government. The Landsat Program provides repetitive acquisition of high resolution multispectral data of the Earth's surface on a global basis. The data from the Landsat spacecraft constitute the longest record of the Earth's continental surfaces as seen from space. It is a record unmatched in quality, detail, coverage, and value. Launch is planned for Feb. 11, 2013.
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 Low500 X 335
  • $150.00 Med750 X 502
  • $250.00 High3000 X 2008
Order a Framed Print
Looking for a license?
Click here, and we'll help you find it! Questions? Just ask!
DETAILS
Image Number: 6145-44717017Royalty FreeCredit Line:Piemags/PL Photography Limited/SuperStockCollection:PL Photography LimitedStory:Spacecraft Preparation and LaunchContributor:PiemagsModel Release:NoProperty Release:NoResolution:3000×2008
Fgs
HST|
ORUC|