VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In Bldg. 1610 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the NOAA-N Prime spacecraft is encased inside a transportation canister. NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The satellite is scheduled to launch Feb. 4 aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In Bldg. 1610 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the NOAA-N Prime spacecraft is encased inside a transportation canister. NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The satellite is scheduled to launch Feb. 4 aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
SuperStock offers millions of photos, videos, and stock assets to creatives around the world. This image of VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In Bldg. 1610 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the NOAA-N Prime spacecraft is encased inside a transportation canister. NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The satellite is scheduled to launch Feb. 4 aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base. by Piemags/PL Photography Limited is available for licensing today.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Enclosed in its payload fairing, NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, is being lifted for placement atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41. Liftoff for the TDRS-K is planned for January 30, 2013. 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.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians monitor the progress as space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay doors close around the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module (MPLM) payload for Atlantis' STS-135 mission to the International Space Station.Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are slated to lift off on July 8, taking with them the MPLM packed with supplies and spare parts to the station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program.
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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At NASAs Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians attach a crane to a solid rocket motor that will be lifted and attached to the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. The Delta II will carry NASAs National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite into space. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. NPP is targeted to launch Oct. 25.
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The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Floridas Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Nov. 21, 2019. Starliner will be secured atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for Boeings Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station for NASAs Commercial Crew Program. The spacecraft rolled out from Boeings Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center earlier in the day.
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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Workers lower the interstage adapter, or ISA, for NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, or SMAP, toward a flight hardware cradle in the high bay of the Building 836 hangar on south Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket will loft SMAP into orbit from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 2. The ISA connects the Delta II first and second stages and encloses the second stage engine and thrust section. The spacecraft will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. These measurements will be used to enhance understanding of processes that link the water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capabilities of weather and climate prediction models. The data returned also will be used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flood prediction and drought monitoring capabilities. Launch is scheduled for November 2014.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Workers on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare the Constellation Program's 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket for launch. The rotating service structure and the arms of the vehicle stabilization system will be moved from around the rocket for liftoff.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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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers begin maneuvering the STEREO spacecraft into the mobile service tower. Once in the tower, STEREO will be mated with its launch vehicle, a Boeing Delta II rocket. STEREO stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and comprises two spacecraft. 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. The STEREO mission is managed by Goddard Space Flight Center. The Applied Physics Laboratory designed and built the spacecraft. The laboratory will maintain command and control of the observatories throughout the mission, while NASA tracks and receives the data, determines the orbit of the satellites, and coordinates the science results. STEREO is expected to lift off Oct. 25.
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The Orion ground test vehicle is prepared for the Launch Abort Vehicle Configuration Test at Lockheed Martin's facilities in Denver on Sept. 14, 2011. For this test, the vehicle was covered with fillets and ogive panels that resemble the vehicle's launch configuration. The spacecraft underwent testing at sound pressure levels that emulate those experienced at launch and in the event an abort is needed to carry the crew to safety away from a potential problem on the launch pad or during ascent. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.
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VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. - A Centaur upper stage is lifted onto the first stage booster of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V at the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. in preparation for the launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission. 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. 2013.
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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The second solid rocket motor, or SRM, for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, is lifted into the mobile service tower next to the Delta II first stage at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Operations are underway to attach the Delta II rocket's three SRMs, known as graphite epoxy motors, to its first stage. OCO-2 is scheduled to launch into a polar Earth orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II 7320-10C rocket in July. Once in orbit, OCO-2 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.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X segments 6 and 7 are moved toward a stand. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ares I is the essential core of a safe, reliable, cost-effective space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. Ares I may also use its 25-ton payload capacity to deliver resources and supplies to the International Space Station, or to "park" payloads in orbit for retrieval by other spacecraft bound for the moon or other destinations. The Ares I-X is targeted for launch in July 2009.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In high bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Atlantis is lowered onto the mobile launcher platform alongside the external tank and solid rocket boosters already secured there. On this mission, Atlantis will deliver the Columbus module to the International Space Station. The European Space Agency's largest contribution to the station, Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony. The module is approximately 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 large racks of experiments. The laboratory will expand the research facilities aboard the station, providing crew members and scientists from around the world the ability to conduct a variety of experiments in the physical, materials and life sciences. Mission STS-122 is targeted for launch on Dec. 6.
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The abort motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) is secured on a work stand inside the Launch Abort System Facility on Aug. 28, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This motor will be used for flight during a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. The abort motor is what will activate to pull the Orion crew module away during the event of an emergency during ascent. AA-2 will launch from Space Launch Complex 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and contractors from Jacob's and Northrup
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., the top of the canister is lifted over NASA's Kepler spacecraft where it will be attached to the lower segments. The canister surrounding Kepler provides protection during the spacecraft's transport to the pad. The liftoff of Kepler aboard a Delta II rocket is currently targeted for 10:48 p.m. EST March 5 from Pad 17-B. Kepler is designed to survey more than 100,000 stars in our galaxy to determine the number of sun-like stars that have Earth-size and larger planets, including those that lie in a star's "habitable zone," a region where liquid water, and perhaps life, could exist. If these Earth-size worlds do exist around stars like our sun, Kepler is expected to be the first to find them and the first to measure how common they are.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 37, United Launch Alliance engineers and technicians mate the agency's Orion spacecraft to 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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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41, cranes are attached to the Centaur upper stage in order to raise it to vertical. It will be lifted into the Vertical Integration Facility for installation onto the Atlas V first stage, already in the tower. The Atlas V/Centaur is the launch vehicle for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS. LCROSS and LRO are the first missions in NASA's plan to return humans to the moon and begin establishing a lunar outpost by 2020.
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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket begins its rollout from the Vehicle Integration Facility to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch vehicle will send the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) to a geostationary position over the U.S. GOES-R is the first satellite in a series of next-generation NOAA GOES satellites.
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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The NOAA-N Prime satellite, enclosed in a canister for travel, is lifted alongside the mobile service tower on Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In the tower, the satellite will be encapsulated and installed on the launch vehicle, a Delta II rocket. NOAA-N Prime is the latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The satellite is scheduled to launch Feb. 4 aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
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In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Monday, July 16, 2018, technicians and engineers encapsulate NASA's Parker Solar Probe in its payload fairing. The spacecraft is mated to its third stage, built and tested by Northrup Grumman in Chandler, Arizona. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 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.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Vertical Integration Facility at Launch Complex 41, a crane is positioned to support stacking of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will boost the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft into orbit.TDRS-L is the second of three next-generation satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop an Atlas V rocket in January 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay service to missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station.
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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Half of the fairing for NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, or OCO-2, is lifted into a vertical position at Space Launch Complex 2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Operations are underway to hoist this section of the fairing into the Delta II launcher's environmental enclosure, or clean room, at the top of the tower. The fairing will protect OCO-2 during launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 in July. 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.
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