At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a technician on the work stand (center) prepares the second stage of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket to be mated to the first stage, at left, for the launch of NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, spacecraft. AIM is the seventh Small Explorers mission under NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics and astrophysics. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global cli

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a technician on the work stand (center) prepares the second stage of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket to be mated to the first stage, at left, for the launch of NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, spacecraft. AIM is the seventh Small Explorers mission under NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics and astrophysics. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global cli
SuperStock offers millions of photos, videos, and stock assets to creatives around the world. This image of At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a technician on the work stand (center) prepares the second stage of the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket to be mated to the first stage, at left, for the launch of NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, spacecraft. AIM is the seventh Small Explorers mission under NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space within heliophysics and astrophysics. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global cli by Piemags/PL Photography Limited is available for licensing today.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers help guide the fairing as it moves closer to the Space Tracking and Surveillance System - Demonstrator spacecraft for encapsulation. The fairing is a two-part molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the rocket and forms an aerodynamically smooth nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. STSS Demo is a space-based sensor component of a layered Ballistic Missile Defense System designed for the overall mission of detection, tracking and discriminating ballistic missiles. 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 between 8 and 8:58 a.m. EDT Sept. 18. Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4934 (09-22-09)
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Members of the STS-97 crew look into Endeavours payload bay at some of the equipment that will be carried on the mission. On the left, pointing, is Mission Specialist Marc Garneau. Next to him (left to right) are Mission Specialist Carlos Noriega and Pilot Michael Bloomfield. At right center of the photo is the orbiter docking system (ODS). At left and below the ODS is the Canadian robotic arm that will be used during spacewalks on the mission to install solar arrays. Each more than 100 feet long, the arrays will capture energy from the sun and convert it to power for the Station. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:06 p.m. EST
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the hatch on the Japanese Experiment Module, called Kibo, has been closed. The closing is in preparation for the transfer to a payload canister and the move to the launch pad. On the mission, space shuttle Discovery will transport the Kibo module and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System, or JEM-RMS, to complete the Kibo laboratory. The launch of Discovery is targeted for April 24.
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At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 'back shell powered descent vehicle' configuration of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory is being rotated for final closeout actions.
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Viewed from below, the Unity connecting module is moved into the payload bay of the orbiter Endeavour at Launch Pad 39A. Part of the International Space Station (ISS), Unity is scheduled for launch Dec. 3, 1998, on Mission STS-88. The Unity is a connecting passageway to the living and working areas of ISS. While on orbit, the flight crew will deploy Unity from the payload bay and attach it to the Russian-built Zarya control module which will be in orbit at that time
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Columbus Laboratory is positioned on a stand where it will be displayed to the media at a special showing. Columbus is the European Space Agency 's largest single contribution to the International Space Station. The laboratory module will expand the research facilities of the station, providing crew members and scientists around the world the ability to conduct a variety of life, physical and materials science experiments. The module is approximately 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 large racks of experiments. Columbus is scheduled to be transferred to Launch Pad 39A in early November, in preparation for its journey to the station. Columbus will fly aboard space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-122 mission, targeted for launch Dec. 6.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians, using an overhead crane, lift NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission aeroshell, (containing the compact car-sized rover Curiosity), for mating to the cruise stage. The cruise stage provides solar power, thrusters for navigation, and heat exchangers to the rover during its flight from Earth to Mars. The rover Curiosity has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rovers spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the first half of the fairing is moved into place around the Phoenix Mars Lander for installation. Phoenix is targeted for launch on Aug. 3 aboard a Delta II rocket. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the Delta II upper stage booster and forms an aerodynamically smooth nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar, permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing on Mars is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil. NASA/George Shelton
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Boeing technicians maneuver the Swift spacecraft into position to be lowered onto the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle for mating. Swift is scheduled to launch Nov. 17. The liftoff aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is targeted at the opening of a one-hour launch window beginning at 12 09 p.m. EST. A first-of-its-kind multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science, Swifts three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. Gamma-ray bursts are distant, yet fleeting explosions that appear to signal the births of black holes.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers help guide one section of the payload fairing into place around NASA's Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST. The fairing is a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the Delta II upper stage booster and forms an aerodynamically smooth nose cone, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the Universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our Universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. The launch date is targeted no earlier than June 3.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An overhead crane in the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility lowers the U.S. laboratory module, an element of the International Space Station, onto the workstand as KSC workers watch. The lab will undergo pre-launch preparations before its launch aboard the Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-98. The laboratory comprises three cylindrical sections with two end cones. Each end-cone contains a hatch opening for entering and exiting the lab. The lab will provide a shirtsleeve environment for research in the areas of life science, microgravity science, Earth science and space science. Designated Flight 5A, this mission is targeted for launch in early 2000
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, processing of the International Space Station's Node 3, named Tranquility, nears completion. Its cupola, seen in this view, is covered and its hatch secured. Hatch closure follows the completion of preparations for the node's transport to the pad and is a significant milestone in launch processing activities. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission, Tranquility is a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the space station's life support systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. The module was built in Turi
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Expandable Lunar Habitat (X-Hab).ILC Dover, under contract by NASA Langley Research Center, and in cooperation withNASA Johnson Space Center has designed and manufactured an expandable lunar habitat.This cylindrical habitat, or Expandable Lunar Habitat (X-Hab) is a hybrid system with twohard end caps and a deployable softgoods section in the center.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The second half of the fairing closes in around the Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER-2) on Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MER-2 is one of NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers designed to study the history of water on Mars. These robotic geologists are equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow them to have a human-like, 3D view of the terrain. Each rover could travel as far as 100 meters in one day to act as Mars scientists' eyes and hands, exploring an environment where humans can't yet go. MER-2 is scheduled to launch no earlier than June 8 as MER-A, with two launch opportunities each day during the launch period that closes on June 19.
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Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS), a spacecraft docking mechanisms, Co-developed by American and Soviet engineers through a series of in-person meetings, letters and teleconferences, APAS-75 was initially planned to be used on an American mission to a Salyut space station which instead became the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
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Image Number: 6145-44669453Royalty FreeCredit Line:Piemags/PL Photography Limited/SuperStockCollection:PL Photography LimitedStory:Spacecraft Assembly and Launch PreparationContributor:PiemagsModel Release:NoProperty Release:NoResolution:3000×1968
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Pegasus XL|