CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Visitors to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida are given the opportunity to compare a space shuttle, NASAs last human spacecraft, and a full-scale test version of NASA's new Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the agencys next generation human spacecraft. Shuttle Discovery, at left, is scheduled to depart from Kennedy in April for permanent display in the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. NASAs Orion spacecraft, under development, will take astronauts farther into space than ever before. Public tours inside the VAB are being offered regularly through Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, the concessionaire managing the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Visitors to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida are given the opportunity to compare a space shuttle, NASAs last human spacecraft, and a full-scale test version of NASA's new Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the agencys next generation human spacecraft. Shuttle Discovery, at left, is scheduled to depart from Kennedy in April for permanent display in the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. NASAs Orion spacecraft, under development, will take astronauts farther into space than ever before. Public tours inside the VAB are being offered regularly through Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, the concessionaire managing the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
SuperStock offers millions of photos, videos, and stock assets to creatives around the world. This image of CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Visitors to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida are given the opportunity to compare a space shuttle, NASAs last human spacecraft, and a full-scale test version of NASA's new Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the agencys next generation human spacecraft. Shuttle Discovery, at left, is scheduled to depart from Kennedy in April for permanent display in the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. NASAs Orion spacecraft, under development, will take astronauts farther into space than ever before. Public tours inside the VAB are being offered regularly through Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, the concessionaire managing the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. by Piemags/PL Photography Limited is available for licensing today.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo is installed in the payload canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39A. Leonardo is part of space shuttle Endeavour's payload on the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. At the pad, the payload canister will release its cargo into the Payload Changeout Room. Later, the payload will be installed in space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay. The module contains supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware. Endeavour is targeted for launch on Nov. 14.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The SPACEHAB payload arrived at Launch Pad 39A this morning and was installed in the Payload Changeout Room. Final preparations for liftoff of the STS-89 mission are under way. Endeavour and its crew of seven are targeted for a Jan. 22 launch. STS-89 will be the eighth Shuttle docking with the Russian Space Station Mir as part of Phase 1 of the International Space Station program. Mission Specialist Andy Thomas, Ph.D., will succeed Mission Specialist David Wolf, M.D., as the last NASA astronaut scheduled for a long-duration stay aboard Mir
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A closeup of the replacement weather Doppler radar being installed in a remote field located west of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tower is 100 feet high; the radome is 22 feet in diameter, the antenna 14 feet in diameter. It rotates at 6 rpm. The structure can withstand 130 mph winds. It is undergoing initial testing and expected to become operational in the summer. The weather radar is essential in issuing lightning and other severe weather warnings and vital in evaluating lightning launch commit criteria for space shuttle and rocket launches.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the fairing acoustic protection (FAP) system lines the inside of the Atlas V payload fairing for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. This half of the fairing has been uncovered during preparations to clean it to meet NASA's planetary protection requirements. The FAP protects the payload by dampening the sound created by the rocket during liftoff.The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the impact of aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent. Although jettisoned once the spacecraft is outside the Earth's atmosphere, the fairing must be cleaned to the same exacting standards as the laboratory to avoid the possibility of contaminating it. 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 the chemical ingredi
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, construction crews prepare to remove 16,000 square feet of plastic shrink-wrap from the space shuttle Atlantis. The spacecraft was enclosed in the plastic shrink-wrap since November of last year to protect the artifact from dust and debris during construction of the 90,000-square-foot facility. Last November, the space shuttle Atlantis made its historic final journey to its new home, traveling 10 miles from the Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building to the spaceport's visitor complex. The new $100 million 'Space Shuttle Atlantis' facility will include interactive exhibits that tell the story of the 30-year Space Shuttle Program and highlights the future of space exploration. The 'Space Shuttle Atlantis' exhibit scheduled to open June 29, 2013.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, guests participate in an early viewing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and other exhibits inside the 90,000-square-foot facility.The new $100 million facility will include interactive exhibits that tell the story of the 30-year Space Shuttle Program and highlight the future of space exploration. The "Space Shuttle Atlantis" exhibit is scheduled to open June 29, 2013.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, construction crews begin removing 16,000 square feet of plastic shrink-wrap from the space shuttle Atlantis. The spacecraft was enclosed in the plastic shrink-wrap since November of last year to protect the artifact from dust and debris during construction of the 90,000-square-foot facility. Last November, the space shuttle Atlantis made its historic final journey to its new home, traveling 10 miles from the Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building to the spaceport's visitor complex. The new $100 million 'Space Shuttle Atlantis' facility will include interactive exhibits that tell the story of the 30-year Space Shuttle Program and highlights the future of space exploration. The 'Space Shuttle Atlantis' exhibit scheduled to open June 29, 2013.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane moves the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, known as Dextre, to the payload canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39A. Dextre is a sophisticated dual-armed robot, which is part of Canada's contribution to the International Space Station. Along with Canadarm2, which is called the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, and a moveable work platform called the Mobile Base System, these three elements form a robotic system called the Mobile Servicing System. The three components have been designed to work together or independently. Dextre is part of the payload on space shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 mission, targeted for launch March 11. Photo courtesy of The Boeing Company
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The orbiter Discovery is being lowered into high bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building toward the external tank below. The orbiter will be stacked with the tank and solid rocket boosters already installed on the mobile launcher platform. Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39B no earlier than Nov. 7 for mission STS-116. The mission is No. 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. The launch window for mission STS-116 opens Dec. 7.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this overhead image shows the Space Shuttle Program's last external fuel tank, ET-122, after it was delivered to the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).The tank traveled 900 miles by sea, carried in the Pegasus Barge, from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Once inside the VAB, it eventually will be attached to space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station targeted to launch Feb. 2011. STS-134 currently is scheduled to be the last mission in the shuttle program. The tank, which is the largest element of the space shuttle stack, was damaged during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and restored to flight configuration by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company employees.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Node 1, the first U.S. element for the International Space Station, and attached Pressurized Mating Adapter-1 continue with prelaunch preparation activities at KSC's Space Station Processing Facility. Node 1 is a connecting passageway to the living and working areas of the space station. The node and PMA-1 are being removed from the element rotation stand, or test stand, where they underwent an interim weight and center of gravity determination. (The final determination is planned to be performed prior to transporting Node 1 to the launch pad.) Now the node is being moved to the Shuttle payload transportation canister, where the doors will be closed for a two-week leak check. Node 1 is scheduled to fly on STS-88
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Image Number: 6145-44880514Royalty FreeCredit Line:Piemags/PL Photography Limited/SuperStockCollection:PL Photography LimitedStory:Spacecraft and Testing FacilitiesContributor:PiemagsModel Release:NoProperty Release:NoResolution:3000×625