Rocket Launch Operations

Images of rocket assembly and testing at a launch pad with workers preparing various components for space missions.

Space shuttle Challenger disaster. Grey-brown smoke on the right side of the Solid Rocket Booster, in highlighted circle, was the first visible sign a joint breach occurred. Jan. 28, 1986.

Workers on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, watch as a third solid rocket booster is lifted up the gantry between two others. They will be mated with a Delta 7925 rocket for launch April 7, 2001. The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, containing three science instruments THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

Workers on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, watch as a third solid rocket booster is lifted up the gantry between two others. They will be mated with a Delta 7925 rocket for launch April 7, 2001. The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, containing three science instruments: THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

This photograph was taken at the Orbiter Enterprise installation, in its liftoff configuration, into the Marshall Space Flight Center Dynamic Test Stand for a Mated Vertical Ground Vibration Test (MVGVT).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the transportation canister and protective cover have been removed from the STEREO spacecraft in preparation for launch. The scheduled launch date is Oct. 25. STEREO stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and comprises two spacecraft that will launch in a piggyback mode, separating after reaching the appropriate orbit. 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. 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The U.S. Lab, a component of the International Space Station, is centered over the three-story vacuum chamber in which the Lab will be placed. The 32,000-pound scientific research lab, named Destiny, is the first Space Station element to spend seven days in the renovated vacuum chamber for a leak test. Destiny is scheduled to be launched on Shuttle mission STS-98, the 5A assembly mission, targeted for Jan. 18, 2001. During the mission, the crew will install the Lab in the Space Station during a series of three space walks. The STS-98 mission will provide the Station with science research facilities and expand its power, life support and control capabilities. The U.S. Lab module continues a long tradition of microgravity materials research, first conducted by Skylab and later Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Destiny is expected to be a major feature in future research, providing facilities for biotechnology, fluid physics, combustion, and life sciences resear

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. On Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) arrives at the upper level of the Vertical Integration Facility. The RTG will be installed on the New Horizons spacecraft encapsulated inside the fairing, at left. Designed and integrated at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., New Horizons will launch on a nine-and-a-half-year voyage to Pluto. Typical of RTG-based systems, as on past outer-planet missions, New Horizons does not have a battery for storing power. At the start of the mission, the RTG, which provides power through the natural radioactive decay of plutonium dioxide fuel, will supply approximately 240 watts (at 30 volts of direct current) - the spacecraft’s shunt regulator unit maintains a steady input from the RTG and dissipates power the spacecraft cannot use at a given time. By July 2015 (the earliest Pluto encounter date) that supply de

In the Integration Building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft stands at the ready March 6 prior to its encapsulation into the nose fairing of the Soyuz booster rocket. Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos will launch on March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov.

Space shuttle Challenger disaster. Grey-brown smoke on the right side of the Solid Rocket Booster, in highlighted circle, was the first visible sign a joint breach occurred. Jan. 28, 1986.

S67-15704 (3 Jan. 1967) --- Transfer of Apollo Spacecraft 012 Command/Service Module (CSM) for mating with the Saturn Lunar Module (LM) Adapter No.05 in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building. Spacecraft 012 will be flown on the Apollo/Saturn 1 (204) mission.

SPLASH BTA Phase 2 Vertical Tests 9: Documentation of preparation, set up and results of full scale BTA (Boilerplate Test Article) vertical drop test series performed in 2012 at the LaRC Hydro Impact Basin (HIB)

A third solid rocket booster is lifted up the gantry between two others on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. They will be mated with a Delta 7925 rocket for launch April 7, 2001. The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, containing three science instruments: THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

S69-32370 (11 April 1969) --- Interior view of the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Manned Spacecraft Operations Building showing Apollo Spacecraft 107 Command and Service Modules (CSM) being moved from work stand 134 for mating to Spacecraft Lunar Module Adapter (SLA) 14. S/C 107 is scheduled to be flown on the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission.

Part of the fairing that will cover the Mars Odyssey Orbiter during launch reaches the top of the gantry at Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter is scheduled for launch on a Delta rocket April 7, 2001. Mars Odyssey contains three science instruments: THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A technician looks at the STS-90 Neurolab payload as it is moved from its test stand in KSC's Operations and Checkout Building. Investigations during the Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Specifically, experiments will study the adaptation of the vestibular system, the central nervous system, and the pathways that control the ability to sense location in the absence of gravity, as well as the effect of microgravity on a developing nervous system. The crew of STS-90, slated for launch in April, will include Commander Richard Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Mission Specialists Richard Linnehan, Dafydd (Dave) Williams, M.D., and Kathryn (Kay) Hire, and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey, M.D., and James Pawelczyk, Ph.D

MSL - Atlas 2nd Stage Move Lift & Stacking

S69-19190 (31 Jan. 1969) --- Interior view of the Kennedy Space Center's Manned Spacecraft Operations Building showing Apollo Spacecraft 106/Command/Service Module being moved to integrated work stand number one for mating to Spacecraft Lunar Module Adapter (SLA) 13. Spacecraft 106 will be flown on the Apollo 10 (Lunar Module 4/Saturn 505) space mission.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Inside the gantry on the SLC-2 launch pad, the second stage of a Delta II rocket is lowered for mating with the first stage, below. The Delta II will launch the Aqua-EOS satellite. Aqua is one of a series of spacebased platforms that are central to NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE), a long-term study of the scope, dynamics and implications of global change. The Aqua program is composed of Aqua and other spacecraft (including Terra and Aura) and a data distribution system (ESDIS, and Mission Operations Center Implementation Team). Flying in an orbit that covers the globe every 16 days, Aqua will provide a six-year chronology of the planet and its processes. Comprehensive measurements taken by its onboard instruments will allow multidisciplinary teams of scientists and researchers from North and South America, Asia, Australia and Europe to assess long-term change, identify its human and natural causes and advance the development of models for long-term f

ISS026-E-031342 (2 March 2011) --- The nose and forward cabin of the docked space shuttle Discovery (STS-133) are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 26 crew member.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, the Joint Airlock Module is moved closer to the payload canister. The airlock will be installed in the payload bay of Atlantis for mission STS-104 to the International Space Station. The airlock is a pressurized flight element consisting of two cylindrical chambers attached end-to-end by a connecting bulkhead and hatch. Once installed and activated, the Airlock becomes the primary path for spacewalk entry to and departure from the Space Station for U.S. spacesuits, which are known as Extravehicular Mobility Units, or EMUs. In addition, the Joint Airlock is designed to support the Russian Orlan spacesuit for EVA activity. STS-104 is scheduled for launch June 14 from Launch Pad 39B

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Engineers and technicians prepare NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander for a free flight test at a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 96-second test began at 4:21 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over the flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, sensors surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering 1,300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the ALHAT field. Project Morpheus tests NASAs ALHAT, and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces.The landing

BOEING DELTA 4 SHROUD SEPARATION TEST IN SPACE POWER FACILITY AT NASA PLUM BROOK STATION

Teams lift the first stage of the Apollo 8 Saturn V rocket inside the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 1, 1968, and prepare to place it atop the mobile launcher. Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to successfully orbit the Moon and return to Earth, setting the stage for Apollo 11 - the first crewed lunar landing. Apollo 8 launched on Dec. 21, 1968, and the crew members consisted of Frank Borman, William A. Anders, and James A. Lovell Jr.

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.

Trip to Maryland, New York Florida: Visit to Cape Canaveral, 10:10AM. Senator George Smathers of Florida and President John F. Kennedy at Pad B, Complex 37, Cape Canaveral, Florida, where they were briefed on the Saturn rocket.

This photograph shows the Saturn V S-II (second) stage being hoisted at the S-II-A2 test stand at the Mississippi Test Facility (MTF). When the Saturn V booster stage (S-IC) burns out and drops away, power for the Saturn will be provided by the 82-foot-long and 33-foot-diameter S-II stage. Developed by the Space Division of North American Aviation under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center, the stage utilized five J-2 engines, each producing 200,000 pounds of thrust. The engines used liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants. Static test of ground test versions of the S-II stage were conducted at North American Aviation's Santa Susana, California test site. All flight stages were tested at the Mississippi Test Facility, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. MTF was renamed to the National Space Technology Laboratory (NSTL) in 1974 and later to the Sternis Space Center in May 1988.

In the Integration Building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft is ready for encapsulation into the nose fairing of the Soyuz booster rocket March 6. Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos will launch on March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov.

jsc2018e025517 - In the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the upper stage of a Soyuz booster rocket is seen in a vertical position March 14 for final testing after the Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft was encapsulated into the booster. Expedition 55 crewmembers Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold of NASA and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos will launch in the Soyuz March 21 for a five-month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov.

At Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a crane is used to lift NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander for mating atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. The spacecraft will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planets deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. InSight is scheduled for liftoff May 5, 2018.

USA, Washington, Skylab Orbital Workshop flight model

Artemis Departure Media Event

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In High Bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X upper stage simulator service module/service adapter segment (foreground) is being prepared for its move to a stand. Other segments are placed and stacked on the floor around it. 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. The Ares I-X is targeted for launch in July 2009.

At Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander is positioned atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. The spacecraft will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planets deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. InSight is scheduled for liftoff May 5, 2018.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The fairing closes around the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) spacecraft at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MAP is scheduled for launch on June 30 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. The launch will place MAP into a lunar-assisted trajectory to the Sun-Earth for a 27-month mission. The probe will measure small fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation to an accuracy of one millionth of a degree. These measurements should reveal the size, matter content, age, geometry and fate of the universe. They will also reveal the primordial structure that grew to form galaxies and will test ideas about the origins of these primordial structures. The MAP instrument will be continuously shaded from the Sun, Earth, and Moon by the spacecraft

ISS011-E-11015 (28 July 2005) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery's cargo bay and Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM) payload as seen from the International Space Station (ISS) just prior to docking earlier today.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The U.S. Lab, after successfully completing a leak test inside a vacuum chamber in the Operations and Checkout Building, is lifted up and away from the chamber. A rotation and handling fixture holds the Lab. The 32,000-pound scientific research lab, named Destiny, is the first Space Station element to spend seven days in the renovated vacuum chamber. Destiny is scheduled to be launched on Shuttle mission STS-98, the 5A assembly mission, targeted for Jan. 18, 2001. During the mission, the crew will install the Lab in the Space Station during a series of three space walks. The STS-98 mission will provide the Station with science research facilities and expand its power, life support and control capabilities. The U.S. Lab module continues a long tradition of microgravity materials research, first conducted by Skylab and later Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Destiny is expected to be a major feature in future research, providing facilities for biotechnology, fl

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Lights surrounding Launch Pad 39A create shadows from Space Shuttle Discovery after rollback of the Rotating Service Structure. Seen extending to the orbiter is the orbiter access arm, ending at the White Room, an environmental chamber that mates with the orbiter and allows personnel to enter the crew compartment. On mission STS-105, Discovery will be transporting the Expedition Three crew and several payloads and scientific experiments to the ISS, including the Early Ammonia Servicer (EAS) tank. The EAS, which will support the thermal control subsystems until a permanent system is activated, will be attached to the Station during two spacewalks. The three-member Expedition Two crew will be returning to Earth aboard Discovery after a five-month stay on the Station. Launch is scheduled for 5 38 p.m. EDT Aug. 9

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The two halves of the fairing come together 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, 2003, as MER-A, with two launch opportunities each day during the launch period that closes on June 19.

The Mercury Friendship 7, the spacecraft that John Glenn made the first manned orbital flight, in the Smithsonian Institution

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. In front of the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers attach an overhead crane to the Phoenix Mars Lander. The lander will be lifted up into the tower for mating to the Delta II launch vehicle. Launch of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is scheduled for Aug. 3. There are two instantaneous launch times, 5:35:18 and 6:11:24 a.m. EDT. 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

In the Integration Building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the upper stage of the Soyuz booster rocket is rotated back to a vertical position March 6 after the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft was encapsulated into the boosters nose fairing. Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos will launch on March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov.

The first stage of a Boeing Delta rocket is lifted vertically up the gantry on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, scheduled for launch April 7, 2001. Mars Odyssey contains three science instruments: THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the first half of the fairing is moved into place around NASA's Kepler spacecraft, atop the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. The fairing is a 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. The liftoff of Kepler aboard the Delta II rocket is currently targeted for launch in a window extending 10:49 to 10:52 p.m. EST March 6 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.

Workers at Launch Complex 17 Pad A, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) encapsulate the Geomagnetic Tail (GEOTAIL) spacecraft (upper) and attached payload Assist Module-D upper stage (lower) in the protective payload fairing. GEOTAIL project was designed to study the effects of Earth's magnetic field. The solar wind draws the Earth's magnetic field into a long tail on the night side of the Earth and stores energy in the stretched field lines of the magnetotail. During active periods, the tail couples with the near-Earth magnetosphere, sometimes releasing energy stored in the tail and activating auroras in the polar ionosphere. GEOTAIL measures the flow of energy and its transformation in the magnetotail and will help clarify the mechanisms that control the imput, transport, storage, release, and conversion of mass, momentum, and energy in the magnetotail.

Workers erect the first stage of a Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle-2 (LMLV-2) at Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. The Lunar Prospector spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard the LMLV-2 in October for an 18-month mission that will orbit the Earths Moon to collect data from the lunar surface. Designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, the Lunar Prospector will map the Moons surface composition and possible polar ice deposits, measure magnetic and gravity fields, and study lunar outgassing events

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the second stage of the Delta II launch vehicle for NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is suspended in front of the mobile service tower while workers place protective panels around the nozzle. The second stage will be lifted into the mobile service tower and mated with the Delta's first stage. Phoenix is scheduled to launch Aug. 3. 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.

Seen from below, NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is in position in the aeroshell that will protect the rover on its way to the Red Planet. To the right of the middle wheel is the plaque that commemorates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and pays tribute to the perseverance of healthcare workers around the world. Featuring a snake-entwined rod to symbolize healing and medicine, the plaque was attached to the rover in May 2020 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, one of two containers with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) equipment is rolled toward the ramp of the Air Force C-17 cargo plane. The MRO is being moved to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The MRO was built by Lockheed Martin for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It is the next major step in Mars exploration and scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a window opening Aug. 10. The MRO carries six primary instruments the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, Context Camera, Mars Color Imager, Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, Mars Climate Sounder and Shallow Radar. By 2007, the MRO will begin a series of global mapping, regional survey and targeted observations from a near-polar, low-altitude Mars orbit. It will observe the atmosphere and surface of Mars while probing its shallow subsurface as part of a follow the water strategy.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A Centaur upper stage is hoisted at Launch Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Station for mating with the Titan IV expendable launch vehicle that will propel the Cassini spacecraft and the European Space Agency's Huygens probe to Saturn and its moon Titan. Cassini will explore Saturn, its rings and moons for four years. The Huygens probe, designed and developed for the European Space Agency (ESA), will be deployed from the orbiter to study the clouds, atmosphere and surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The orbiter was designed and assembled at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. The Cassini mission is targeted for an October 6 launch to begin its 6.7-year journey to the Saturnian system. Arrival at the planet is expected to occur around July 1, 2004.

Workers on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, help guide the Mars Odyssey spacecraft into position for the enclosure by the fairing of the Delta II rocket already in place. The spacecraft will map the Martian surface in search of geological features that could indicate the presence of water, now or in the past, and may contribute significantly toward understanding what will be necessary for a more sophisticated exploration of Mars. Launch is scheduled for 11:02 a.m. EDT April 7

NASAs Lunar Prospector is lifted at Cape Canaveral Air Stations Launch Complex 46 before mating to a Lockheed Martin Athena II launch vehicle. Lunar Prospector, built for the NASA Ames Research Center by Lockheed Martin, is a spin-stabilized spacecraft designed to provide NASA the first global maps of the Moons surface and its gravitational magnetic fields. It will orbit the Moon at an altitude of approximately 63 miles during a one-year mission. The launch of Lunar Prospector is scheduled for Jan. 5, 1998 at 8:31 p.m. EST

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, is being prepared for transfer to Launch Complex 576-E. OCO will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists will analyze OCO data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important greenhouse gas. OCO is scheduled to launch Feb. 24 aboard an Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket.

Mercury scale model at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

NASAs Lunar Prospector is readied for launch as its gantry-like service tower is rolled back at Cape Canaveral Air Stations Launch Complex 46. Lunar Prospector, built for the NASA Ames Research Center by Lockheed Martin, is a spin-stabilized spacecraft designed to provide NASA with the first global maps of the Moons surface and its gravitational magnetic fields, as well as look for the possible presence of ice near the lunar poles. It will orbit the Moon at an altitude of approximately 63 miles during a one-year mission. The launch of Lunar Prospector is scheduled for Jan. 5, 1998 at 8:31 p.m. EST

This photograph depicts the Saturn V vehicle (SA-501) for the Apollo 4 mission in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). After the completion of the assembly operation, the work platform was retracted and the vehicle was readied to rollout from the VAB to the launch pad. The Apollo 4 mission was the first launch of the Saturn V launch vehicle. Objectives of the unmanned Apollo 4 test flight were to obtain flight information on launch vehicle and spacecraft structural integrity and compatibility, flight loads, stage separation, and subsystems operation including testing of restart of the S-IVB stage, and to evaluate the Apollo command module heat shield. The Apollo 4 was launched on November 9, 1967 from KSC.

USA, Washington, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project display

Americas first scientific satellite, the Explorer I, carried the radiation detection experiment designed by Dr. James Van Allen and discovered the Van Allen Radiation Belt. It was launched aboard a modified redstone rocket known as the Jupiter C, developed by Dr. von Brauns rocket team at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The satellite launched on January 31, 1958, just 3 months after the the von Braun team received the go-ahead.

On Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the second stage of a Boeing Delta 7425-10 rocket is lifted into position as preparations to launch NASA's Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) on June 30 continue. The launch will place MAP into a lunar-assisted trajectory to the Sun-Earth for a 27-month mission.; The probe will measure small fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation to an accuracy of one millionth of a degree. These measurements should reveal the size, matter content, age, geometry and fate of the universe. They will also reveal the primordial structure that grew to form galaxies and will test ideas about the origins of these primordial structures. The MAP instrument will be continuously shaded from the Sun, Earth, and Moon by the spacecraft. The probe is a product of Goddard Space Flight Center in partnership with Princeton University

The first stage of a Boeing Delta rocket is eased into a vertical position to be lifted up the gantry on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, scheduled for launch April 7, 2001. Mars Odyssey contains three science instruments THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers help guide the Boeing Delta II second stage for the STEREO launch onto the first stage for mating. 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. STEREO is expected to lift off in August 2006.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the third Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) of a set of three is ready to be lifted into the mobile service tower, joining two others. This is the second set of SRBs being mated to the Boeing Delta II rocket that will launch the Deep Impact spacecraft. A final set of SRBs is yet to be added. A NASA Discovery mission, Deep Impact will probe beneath the surface of Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when the comet is 83 million miles from Earth, and reveal the secrets of its interior. After releasing an impactor on a course to hit the comets sunlit side, Deep Impacts flyby spacecraft will collect pictures and data of how the crater forms, measure the craters depth and diameter, as well as the composition of the interior of the crater and any material thrown out, and determine the changes in natural outgassing produced by the impact. It will send the data back to Earth through the antennas of the Deep Space Netw

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A worker checks the cable fittings on the U.S. Lab, a component of the International Space Station, before it is lifted and placed inside the vacuum chamber in the Operations and Checkout Building. The 32,000-pound scientific research lab, named Destiny, is the first Space Station element to spend seven days in the renovated vacuum chamber for a leak test. Destiny is scheduled to be launched on Shuttle mission STS-98, the 5A assembly mission, targeted for Jan. 18, 2001. During the mission, the crew will install the Lab in the Space Station during a series of three space walks. The STS-98 mission will provide the Station with science research facilities and expand its power, life support and control capabilities. The U.S. Lab module continues a long tradition of microgravity materials research, first conducted by Skylab and later Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Destiny is expected to be a major feature in future research, providing facilities for biotechnolo

USA, New York State, Long Island, Aviation Museum, Apollo 11 diorama

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Program and NASA decals, along with the U.S. flag, stretch the length of the Ares I-X upper stage stacked in the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket has undergone a sway test that simulated conditions the rocket could experience during rollout to Launch Pad 39B, wind conditions at the pad and first-stage ignition. During the test, vibrations are mechanically induced into the rocket by four hydraulic shakers and a sway is manually introduced for lateral motion to measure the vehicle's response. A total of 44 accelerometers are installed on the flight test vehicle that required more than 27,000 feet of cable. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is the essential core of a space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system . The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31.

The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage for Orions Artemis 1 mission is in view inside the high bay in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on May 16, 2019. The center is celebrating the SSPFs 25th anniversary. The facility was built to process elements for the International Space Station. Now it is providing support for current and future NASA and commercial provider programs, including Commercial Resupply Services, Artemis 1, sending the first woman and next man to the Moon, and deep space destinations including Mars.

The Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) is moved on its workstand in the Space Station Processing Facility. The JEM will undergo pre-assembly measurements. Developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the JEM will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Apollo/Saturn V Center, some of the 1998 astronaut candidate class (group 17) line up for a photo while standing under the engines of the Saturn V rocket on display. The U.S. candidates include Clayton C. Anderson, Lee J. Archambault, Tracy E. Caldwell (Ph.D.), Gregory E. Chamitoff (Ph.D.), Timothy J. Creamer, Christopher J. Ferguson, Michael J. Foreman, Michael E. Fossum, Kenneth T. Ham, Patricia C. Hilliard (M.D.), Gregory C. Johnson, Gregory H. Johnson, Stanley G. Love (Ph.D.), Leland D. Melvin, Barbara R. Morgan, William A. Oefelein, John D. Olivas (Ph.D.), Nicholas J.M. Patrick (Ph.D.), Alan G. Poindexter, Garrett E. Reisman (Ph.D.), Steven R. Swanson, Douglas H. Wheelock, Sunita L. Williams, Neil W. Woodward III, George D. Zamka; and international candidates Leopold Eyharts, Paolo Nespoli, Hans Schlegel, Roberto Vittori, Bjarni V. Tryggvason, and Marcos Pontes. The class is at KSC for training activities, including fire training and a flight a

Teams lift the first stage of the Apollo 10 Saturn V rocket by crane inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 3, 1968, in preparation for stacking on the mobile launcher. The 138-foot-long stage generated 7.5 million pounds of thrust when it launched Apollo 10 astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan. The mission launched on May 18, 1969, and was the first flight of a complete, crewed Apollo spacecraft to operate around the Moon.

After a 24-hour postponement, the Boeing Delta II rocket carrying the Stardust spacecraft waits on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, for its scheduled launch at 4:04 p.m. EST. Umbilical lines (at top) still attached to the fixed utility tower (at right) feed electricity, air conditioning and coolants for the Stardust spacecraft inside the fairing (enclosing the upper stage) before launch. Stardust is destined for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a silicon-based substance called aerogel, Stardust will capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of the comet. The spacecraft also will bring back samples of interstellar dust. These materials consist of ancient pre-solar interstellar grains and other remnants left over from the formation of the solar system. Scientists expect their analysis to provide important insights into the evolution of the sun and planets and possibly into the origin of life itself. The collected samples will return to Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, construction crews 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.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Hangar A&O on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers conduct a steering test on the first stage of a Delta II rocket, at right. The rocket is designated for the launch of the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft. 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 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. Launch of Phoenix is targeted for Aug. 3.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The U.S. Lab, a component of the International Space Station, is lifted off the floor of the Operations and Checkout Building in order to be placed inside the vacuum chamber in the building. The 32,000-pound scientific research lab, named Destiny, is the first Space Station element to spend seven days in the renovated vacuum chamber for a leak test. Destiny is scheduled to be launched on Shuttle mission STS-98, the 5A assembly mission, targeted for Jan. 18, 2001. During the mission, the crew will install the Lab in the Space Station during a series of three space walks. The STS-98 mission will provide the Station with science research facilities and expand its power, life support and control capabilities. The U.S. Lab module continues a long tradition of microgravity materials research, first conducted by Skylab and later Shuttle and Spacelab missions. Destiny is expected to be a major feature in future research, providing facilities for biotechnology, flu

ORION Mock-up, Testing of Clean Room in High Bay 3

Cranes on the gantry on Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, lift the first stage of a Boeing Delta rocket to a vertical position. The rocket will carry the 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter, scheduled for launch April 7, 2001. Mars Odyssey contains three science instruments: THEMIS, the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). THEMIS will map the mineralogy and morphology of the Martian surface using a high-resolution camera and a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer. The GRS will achieve global mapping of the elemental composition of the surface and determine the abundance of hydrogen in the shallow subsurface. The MARIE will characterize aspects of the near-space radiation environment with regards to the radiation-related risk to human explorers

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft (left) disappears into the top of the gantry at Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be mated with the Delta II rocket seen in the center. The spacecraft will map the Martian surface in search of geological features that could indicate the presence of water, now or in the past, and may contribute significantly toward understanding what will be necessary for a more sophisticated exploration of Mars. Launch is scheduled for 11:02 a.m. EDT April 7

Model of the European Ariane 4 launcher, European Space Agency, ESA, 1990s, Euro Space Center, Transinne, Belgium, Europe

S75-26904 (27 Jan. 1975) --- The flight article Apollo spacecraft (Command Module-111 and Service Module-111) for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission goes through prelaunch checkout procedures in the high bay area of the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Later, Spacecraft-111 was mated to the spacecraft launch vehicle adapter (SLA-18) in the MSOB before being moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building where it was mated to the Saturn 1B launch vehicle. The joint U.S.-USSR ASTP docking mission in Earth orbit is scheduled for July 1975.

NEA Scout spacecraft after de-integration from hot box

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On board the Freedom Star, one of the Shuttle Rocket Booster retrieval ships, workers with United Space Alliance help finalize the rescue of a lobster diver in distress after their return to port Sept. 11. The ship was on a certification exercise and near the location of a lobster diving boat that radioed the U.S. Coast Guard for help when one of the divers experienced difficulty breathing on his return to the surface. Hearing the call for help, the captain of the Freedom Star offered to help. On board the ship was a dive team, including a diver medical technician, Andy Fish, who are trained to assist in case of a dive accident during a retrieval mission. Fish stayed with the diver in the recompression chamber aboard the Freedom Star until the ship reached Port Canaveral where a KSC Occupational Health doctor waited. The diver was stabilized and taken to Florida Hospital.

S66-47635 (21 July 1966) --- McDonnell Aircraft Corporation personnel bolt the Gemini-11 spacecraft to a support ring for bore sighting in the Pyrotechnic Installation Building, Merritt Island, during checkout and preflight preparations at the Kennedy Space Center.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the NASA Kennedy Space Centers Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, both parts of the Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket fairing to be placed around the New Horizons spacecraft are moved into place for encapsulation. The fairing encloses the spacecraft to protect it during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. New Horizons will make the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon - a "double planet" and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. The mission will then visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune. SWAP is a solar wind and plasma spectrometer that measures atmospheric “escape rate” and will observe Plutos interaction with the solar wind. New Horizons is scheduled to launch in January 2006, swing past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February or March 2007, and reach Pluto and its moon, Charon, in July 2015.

The doors of the gantry support structure are opened to reveal the Minotaur V rocket on Pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Friday, Sept. 6, 2013 in Virginia. The Minotaur V will launch NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE). LADEE is a robotic mission that will orbit the moon where it will provide unprecedented information about the environment around the moon and give scientists a better understanding of other planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond. LADEE is scheduled to launch at 11:27 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the United Launch Alliance Delta II heavy rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft is rolled back around to the mobile service tower after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. GRAIL is scheduled for another launch attempt Sept.10 at 8:29:45 a.m. EDT.GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on th

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a ballast assembly is moved above the Ares I-X segment 7. Ballast assemblies will be installed in the upper stage 1 and 7 segments and will mimic the mass of the fuel. Their total weight is approximately 160,000 pounds. 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.

S126-E-012103 (27 Nov. 2008) --- --- Backdropped against the blackness of space, the aft portion of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, with the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo in stow mode, was captured in a series of photographs by one of the STS-126 crewmembers on Nov. 27, Thanksgiving day, also the eve of departure from the International Space Station on Nov. 28.

Expedition 10 Commander and NASA Science Officer Leroy Chiao, Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Salizhan Sharipov and Russian Space Forces Cosmonaut Yuri Shargin conducted a final inspection of their Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft Saturday, October 9, 2004 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in preparation for their launch October 14 to the International Space Station. The Soyuz vehicle will be mated to its booster rocket October 11 in preparation for its rollout to the Central Asian launch pad October 12.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the United Launch Alliance Delta II heavy rocket that will launch NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft is rolled back around to the mobile service tower after the first launch attempt was scrubbed due to upper-level winds. GRAIL is scheduled for another launch attempt Sept.10 at 8:29:45 a.m. EDT.GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem around the moon to precisely measure and map variations in the moon's gravitational field. The mission will provide the most accurate global gravity field to date for any planet, including Earth. This detailed information will reveal differences in the density of the moon's crust and mantle and will help answer fundamental questions about the moon's internal structure, thermal evolution, and history of collisions with asteroids. The aim is to map the moon's gravity field so completely that future moon vehicles can safely navigate anywhere on th

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Deep Impact spacecraft is lifted from its transporter into the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. the spacecraft will be attached to the second stage of the Boeing Delta II rocket. Next the fairing will be installed around the spacecraft. 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 joint, protecting the spacecraft during launch and ascent. Scheduled for liftoff Jan. 12, Deep Impact will probe beneath the surface of Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005, when the comet is 83 million miles from Earth. After releasing a 3- by 3-foot projectile to crash onto the surface, Deep Impacts flyby spacecraft will reveal the secrets of its interior by collecting pictures and data of how the crater forms, measuring the craters depth and diameter as well as the composition of the interior of the crater and any material thrown o

INTERIOR-MAQUETA DE SATELITE ESPACIAL. Location: JOHNSON SPACE CENTER / MUSEO. HOUSTON-TEXAS.

This image from July 2008 shows the aeroshell for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory while it was being worked on by spacecraft technicians at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company near Denver.

S65-52015 (1965) --- The Gemini-6 spacecraft (right) and the Agena Target Vehicle (left) on the Boresite Range Tower for the Plan-X docking exercise.

NASA engineers at Stennis Space Center conducted a 260-second test of the next-generation J-2X rocket engine June 13, 2012. As in a previous test, NASA engineers fired the engine at both secondary and primary modes to collect performance data.

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