KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister moves past NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to Launch Pad 39B. Inside are the payloads for mission STS-121: the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station; the lightweight multi-purpose experiment support structure carrier; and the integrated cargo carrier, with the mobile transporter reel assembly and a spare pump module. The payload will be transferred from the canister to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay at the pad. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 from Launch Pad 39B in a window that opens July 1 and extends to July 19.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister moves past NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to Launch Pad 39B. Inside are the payloads for mission STS-121: the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station; the lightweight multi-purpose experiment support structure carrier; and the integrated cargo carrier, with the mobile transporter reel assembly and a spare pump module. The payload will be transferred from the canister to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay at the pad. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 from Launch Pad 39B in a window that opens July 1 and extends to July 19.
SuperStock offers millions of photos, videos, and stock assets to creatives around the world. This image of KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister moves past NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to Launch Pad 39B. Inside are the payloads for mission STS-121: the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station; the lightweight multi-purpose experiment support structure carrier; and the integrated cargo carrier, with the mobile transporter reel assembly and a spare pump module. The payload will be transferred from the canister to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay at the pad. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 from Launch Pad 39B in a window that opens July 1 and extends to July 19. by Piemags/PL Photography Limited is available for licensing today.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the canister with space shuttle Atlantis HST payload inside rolls past the Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Control Center, behind it. The payload comprises four carriers holding various equipment for the mission. The hardware will be transported back to Kennedys Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where it will be stored until a new target launch date can be set for Atlantis STS-125 mission in 2009. Atlantis October target launch date was delayed after a device on board Hubble used in the storage and transmission of science data to Earth shut down on Sept. 27. Replacing the broken device will be added to Atlantis servicing mission to the telescope.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Atlantis (background, right) approaches the doors of the Vehicle Assembly Building (left) on its way back from Launch Pad 39A. Atlantis has rolled back to the VAB so that workers can conduct inspections, make continuity checks and conduct X-ray analysis on the 36 solid rocket booster cables located inside each boosters system tunnel. An extensive evaluation of NASAs SRB cable inventory revealed conductor damage in four (of about 200) cables on the shelf. Shuttle managers decided to prove the integrity of the system tunnel cables already on Atlantis before launching Jan. 19. The launch has been rescheduled no earlier than Feb. 6
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister passes NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Control Center on its way to Launch Pad 39B. Inside are the payloads for mission STS-121: the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station; the lightweight multi-purpose experiment support structure carrier; and the integrated cargo carrier, with the mobile transporter reel assembly and a spare pump module. The payload will be transferred from the canister to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay at the pad. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 from Launch Pad 39B in a window that opens July 1 and extends to July 19.
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NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida was used to assemble and house American-crewed launch vehicles from 1968 to 2011. AT 3,684,883 cubic meters, it is one of the largest buildings in the world by volume. Inside the facility, High Bay 3 is being upgraded and modified to support processing of the agency's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Looking from the Press Site across the Turn Basin at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, the American flag appears to salute Space Shuttle Discovery as she marks a major milestone for Return to Flight, rolling out to Launch Pad 39B. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building, behind the flag, was at 2 04 p.m. EDT. The Shuttle sits atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, which is moved by the Crawler-Transporter underneath. The Crawler is 20 feet high, 131 feet long and 114 feet wide. It moves on eight tracks, each containing 57 shoes, or cleats, weighing one ton each. Loaded with the Space Shuttle, the Crawler can move at a maximum speed of approximately 1 mile an hour. A leveling system in the Crawler keeps the Shuttle vertical while negotiating the 5 percent grade leading to the top of the launch pad. Launch of Discovery on its Return to Flight mission, STS-114, is targeted for May 15 with a launch window that extends to June 3. During its 12-day mission, Disc
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the canister with space shuttle Atlantis HST payload inside rolls past the Vehicle Assembly Building, behind it. The payload comprises four carriers holding various equipment for the mission. The hardware will be transported back to Kennedys Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where it will be stored until a new target launch date can be set for Atlantis STS-125 mission in 2009. Atlantis October target launch date was delayed after a device on board Hubble used in the storage and transmission of science data to Earth shut down on Sept. 27. Replacing the broken device will be added to Atlantis servicing mission to the telescope.
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After its journey from NASAs Stennis Space Center in Mississippi aboard the Pegasus barge, the mighty Space Launch System (SLS) core stage arrives at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 27, 2021. In view is the iconic countdown clock at the NASA News Center, commonly referred to as the Press Site. The core stage is the final piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at the spaceport and will be offloaded and moved to Kennedys Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher with the completed stack of solid rocket boosters ahead of the Artemis I launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payload canister with the Hubble Space Telescope equipment passes the Vehicle Assembly Building and Launch Control Center (left) as it heads for Launch Pad 39A. On the pad, the Hubble equipment will be transferred to space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis' 11-day STS-125 mission to service Hubble is targeted for launch May 12. The flight will include five spacewalks in which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Under a darkening sky, the payload canister containing the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre, slowly moves past the Vehicle Assembly Building toward Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. At the pad the payload will be transferred to the payload changeout room, part of the rotating service structure. The changeout room is the enclosed, environmentally controlled portion of the rotating service structure that supports cargo delivery to the pad and subsequent vertical installation into an orbiter's payload bay. The payload will be installed into Endeavour for launch on the STS-123 mission targeted for March 11.
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After completing its journey from NASAs Stennis Space Center in Mississippi aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) and lead contractor Jacobs transport the massive Space Launch System (SLS) core stage to Kennedy Space Centers Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on April 29, 2021 in this aerial view. Once inside the VAB, it will be prepared for integration with the completed stack of solid rocket boosters atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis I launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon.
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Enclosed in its payload fairing, NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-M) passes the Vehicle assembly Building at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its way to the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. TDRS-M will be stacked atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V Centaur upper stage. It will be the latest spacecraft destined for the agency's constellation of communications satellites that allows nearly continuous contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. Liftoff atop the ULA Atlas V rocket is scheduled to take place from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 on Aug. 18, 2017.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Italian-built module, U.S. Node 2, moves past the Vehicle Assembly Building as it is transferred to the Space Station Processing Facility. The second of three connecting modules on the International Space Station, Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab and provides attach locations for the Japanese laboratory, European laboratory, the Centrifuge Accommodation Module and, later, Multipurpose Logistics Modules. It will provide the primary docking location for the Shuttle when a pressurized mating adapter is attached to Node 2. Installation of the module will complete the U.S. Core of the ISS. Node 2 is the designated payload for mission STS-120. No orbiter or launch date has been determined yet.
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The parking area at the NASA News Center is filled with media vehicles and guest buses in anticipation of the liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The demonstration flight will be a significant milestone for the world's premier multi-user spaceport. In 2014, NASA signed a property agreement with SpaceX for the use and operation of the center's pad 39A, where the company has launched Falcon 9 rockets and is preparing for the first Falcon Heavy. NASA also has Space Act Agreements in place with partners, such as SpaceX, to provide services needed to process and launch rockets and spacecraft.
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At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency's Orion spacecraft passes the spaceport's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building as it is transported to Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After arrival at the launch pad, United Launch Alliance engineers and technicians will lift Orion and mount it atop its Delta IV Heavy rocket. 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 Dec. 4, 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket, and in 2018 on NASAs Space Launch System rocket.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Seen across the water of the Launch Complex 39 turn basin, a crawler-transporter, carrying Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) number 3 with a set of twin solid rocket boosters bolted atop, crawls out of the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building during the second engineering analysis vibration test on the crawler and MLP. The crawler is moving at various speeds up to 1 mph in an effort to achieve vibration data gathering goals as it leaves the VAB, travels toward Launch Pad 39A and then returns. The boosters are braced at the top for stability. The primary purpose of these rollout tests is to gather data to develop future maintenance requirements on the transport equipment and the flight hardware. Various parts of the MLP and crawler transporter have been instrumented with vibration data collection equipment.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Dozens of storks are roused from the ground near the Vehicle Assembly Building after the Space Shuttle Atlantis has moved out. The Shuttle has been in the VAB undergoing tests on the solid rocket booster cables. A prior extensive evaluation of NASAs SRB cable inventory on the shelf revealed conductor damage in four (of about 200) cables. Shuttle managers decided to prove the integrity of the system tunnel cables already on Atlantis, causing return of the Shuttle to the VAB a week ago. The Shuttle rolled back to Launch Pad 39A to get ready for launch on Feb. 7 at 6:11 p.m. EST
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STS-131 LMC Support Structure Carrier Lift & Installation in Canister
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Viewed from across the turn basin at Launch Complex 39 area, Space Shuttle Endeavour leaves the Vehicle Assembly Building high bay 3 (open door) atop a Mobile Launcher Platform and begins rolling to Launch Pad 39A via a crawler-transporter. The combined height of the Shuttle, MLP and transporter is 235.2 ft. (71.6 m). Once at the pad, routine launch pad validations will commence, verifying all vehicle and facility interfaces. Endeavour is expected to lift off on mission STS-100 on April 19, carrying the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello and the Canadian robotic arm, SSRMS, to the International Space Station
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- From across the turn basin can be seen Space Shuttle Atlantis approaching the Vehicle Assembly Building (at left). Atlantis is rolling back to the VAB from Launch Pad 39A. In the VAB workers will conduct inspections, make continuity checks and conduct X-ray analysis on the 36 solid rocket booster cables located inside each boosters external system tunnel. An extensive evaluation of NASAs SRB cable inventory revealed conductor damage in four (of about 200) cables on the shelf. Shuttle managers decided to prove the integrity of the system tunnel cables already on Atlantis before launching. The launch has been rescheduled no earlier than Feb. 6
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The right-hand orbital maneuvering system pod is driven past the Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 for installation on the orbiter Endeavour. The orbital maneuvering system/reaction control system left- and right-hand pods are attached to the upper aft fuselage left and right sides. Each pod is fabricated primarily of graphite epoxy composite and aluminum. Each pod is 21.8 feet long and 11.37 feet wide at its aft end and 8.41 feet wide at its forward end, with a surface area of approximately 435 square feet. The orbiter is being prepared for its first launch in just over four years. The vehicle has undergone an extensive modification period, including the addition of all of the return-to-flight safety upgrades added to both Discovery and Atlantis. Endeavour is targeted for launch of mission STS-118 on June 28.
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