Space Shuttle Launch Preparations

Dramatic views of space shuttles on launch pads, showcasing their massive structures and intricate details, highlighting the engineering marvels of space exploration.

Space Shuttle Discovery Begins Her Historic Return to Flight Silhouetted Against the Morning Sun

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - After rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Endeavour is secure on the launch pad. The crawler-transporter has moved out from under the mobile launcher platform to return to its parking area near the VAB. At left of the shuttle is the open rotating service structure with the payload changeout room revealed. Behind it is the fixed service structure with the 80-foot lightning mast on top. Endeavour completed the 4.2-mile rollout at 6:59 a.m. EDT. For the first time since July 2001, two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time at the center. Endeavour will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch Oct. 10. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. Tha

Low angle view of rockets and a space shuttle at a space center, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Atlantis rolls away from Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building to move it to Bay 1. There Atlantis will be demated with the external tank and solid rocket boosters in anticipation of its transfer to the Orbiter Processing Facility.

STS-132 ATLANTIS ON PAD 39A AT SUNRISE AFTER HARDDOWN

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Under brilliant-blue Florida skies, Space Shuttle Discovery, atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, wends its way slowly to Launch Pad 39B at NASAs Kennedy Space Center. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) was at 2 04 p.m. EDT. The Mobile Launcher Platform 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, Discoverys seven-person crew will test new hardware and techniques to improve Shuttle safety, as well as

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At NASAs Kennedy Space Center, Space Shuttle Discovery is viewed from the side as it sits atop the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) rolling out to Launch Complex 39B. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building occurred at 2 04 p.m. EDT. The rollout marks a major milestone in the Space Shuttle Programs Return to Flight. The MLP is moved by the Crawler-Transporter underneath, which stands 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, Discoverys seven-person crew will test new har

Space Shuttle Discovery Begins Her Historic Return to Flight Silhouetted Against the Morning Sun

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The tracks of the crawler-transporter are visible on the crawlerway (foreground) leading to Launch Pad 39B after the 4-mile journey of Space Shuttle Atlantis, which sits on the pad. At right is the 290-foot high, 300,000- gallon water tank that aids in sound suppression during launch. The water releases just prior to the ignition of the shuttle engines and flows through 7-foot-diameter pipes for about 20 seconds, pouring into 16 nozzles atop the flame deflectors and from outlets in the main engines exhaust hole in the mobile launcher platform. The slow speed of the crawler results in a 6-hour trek to the pad approximately 4 miles away. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 27 for an 11-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-115 crew of six astronauts will continue construction of the station and install their cargo, the Port 3/4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At sunset, Space Shuttle Endeavour, atop the lighted mobile launcher platform, exits the Vehicle Assembly Building for rollout to Launch Pad 39A. First motion out of the VAB was at 8:10 p.m. July 10, and the shuttle was hard down on the pad at 3:02 a.m. July 11. Seen below the orbiter's wings and attached to the launcher platform are the tail masts, which provide several umbilical connections to the orbiter, including a liquid-oxygen line through one and a liquid-hydrogen line through another. The shuttle and platform are being carried by the crawler-transporter. The trip will take between six and eight hours. Endeavour is scheduled to launch on mission STS-118 on Aug. 7. During the mission, Endeavour will carry into orbit the S5 truss, SPACEHAB module and external stowage platform 3. The mission is the 22nd flight to the International Space Station and will mark the first flight of Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan, the teacher-turned-astronaut whos

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- As the early morning sky lights up, Space Shuttle Endeavour inches its way to Launch Pad 39B (on the horizon) via the crawlerway that leads from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The Shuttle is atop the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP). Visible beneath the MLP is the crawler-transporter, which moves on four double-tracked crawlers. Each shoe on the crawler track weighs a ton. Unloaded, the transporter weighs 6 million pounds and moves at 2 mph. The maximum speed of the loaded transporter is 1 mph. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Nov. 30 at 10:01 p.m. EST on mission STS-97, the sixth construction flight to the International Space Station. Its payload includes the P6 Integrated Truss Structure and a photovoltaic (PV) module, with giant solar arrays that will provide power to the Station. The mission includes two spacewalks to complete the solar array connections

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis approaches the top of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after rolling from the Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion occurred at 9:19 a.m. EDT and Atlantis was hard down on the pad at 3:52 p.m.. The shuttle stack, with solid rocket boosters and external fuel tank attached to Atlantis, rest on the mobile launcher platform. Movement is provided by the crawler-transporter underneath. The Sept. 2 rollout date was postponed due to Tropical Storm Hannas shift to a northern track. Atlantis is scheduled to launch on the STS-125 mission to service NASAs Hubble Space Telescope. Launch is targeted for Oct. 8.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - As the sun rises over NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers accompany the crawler-transporter as it carries space shuttle Atlantis to Launch Pad 39A. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 6:38 a.m. EDT Oct. 14. The 3.4-mile trip, known as rollout, is expected to take about six hours.Liftoff of Atlantis on its STS-129 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for Nov. 12.

Expedition 70 Soyuz Rollout. The Soyuz rocket is seen after being rolled out by train to the launch pad at Site 31, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 70 NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft on Sept. 15.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the 197-foot-tall United Launch Alliance Atlas V-551 launch vehicle stands outside the Vertical Integration Facility as it rolls to Space Launch Complex 41. Atop the rocket is NASA's Juno spacecraft, enclosed in its payload fairing.Liftoff is planned during a launch window which extends from 11:34 a.m. to 12:43 p.m. EDT on Aug. 5. The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The Juno mission is part of the New Frontiers Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. Launch management for the mis

STS-335 STS-135 ATLANTIS ENGINE#3 (LAST) MOVED FROM ENGINE SHOP TO OPF-1

STS-132 ATLANTIS ROLLOUT FROM VAB TO PAD 39A

Space shuttle Discovery prepares for liftoff, NASA, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA

The Astrovan carrying the STS-135 crew; Chris Ferguson, commander, Doug Hurley, pilot, and mission specialists Rex Walheim and Sandy Mangus, arrives at launch pad 39A and space shuttle Atlantis, Friday, July 8, 2011, at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of Atlantis, STS-135, is the final flight of the shuttle program, a 12-day mission to the International Space Station.

Rollout of Space Shuttle Discovery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Space Shuttle Discovery, resting on the Mobile Launcher Platform atop the Crawler_Transporter, rolls off Launch Pad 39B to the crawlerway on its way back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Once inside the VAB, Discovery will be demated from its External Tank and lifted into the transfer aisle. On or about June 7, Discovery will be lifted and attached to its new tank and Solid Rocket Boosters, which are already in the VAB. Only the 15th rollback in Space Shuttle Program history, the 4.2-mile journey allows additional modifications to be made to the External Tank prior to a safe Return to Flight. Discovery is expected to be rolled back to the launch pad in mid-June for Return to Flight mission STS-114. The launch window extends from July 13 to July 31.

The historic Gantry Crane at Launch Complex 33 in the White Sands Missile Range, where the US Army tested captured V2 rockets. A Hermes A-1 sits under the crane on display.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the mobile launcher platform, on which space shuttle Atlantis sits, straddles the flame trench on Launch Pad 39A. First motion on the 3.4-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building, known as rollout, was at 6:38 a.m. EDT Oct. 14. The rollout took about six hours, and the shuttle was secure or "hard down" on the pad at 1:31 p.m.Liftoff of Atlantis on its STS-129 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for Nov. 12.

The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft is rolled out to the launch pad by train on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Sept. 26 and will carry Expedition 41 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA, and Flight Engineer Elena Serova of Roscosmos into orbit to begin their five and a half month mission on the International Space Station.

Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off from its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - America's Space Shuttle stands poised on Launch Pad 39A, ready for Flight Readiness Firing of the main engines of the orbiter Columbia. The Rotating Service Structure has been retracted in this view, moving the 'White Room' access to the Cargo Bay and other support facilities away from the exhaust damage zone. This view was taken from the base of the approach ramp used by the Crawler when the Shuttle and its Mobile Launch Platform are moved from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the Pad.

Vintage Photograph. Launch pad and rocket ready for space exploration.

The space shuttle Endeavour is seen at launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday, July 11, 2009. NASA is hopeful that Endeavour will launch with the crew of STS-127 on Sunday.

STS-132 ATLANTIS ROLLOUT FROM VAB TO PAD 39A

Space Shuttle Atlantis on the way to pad 39

After successfully arriving at Kennedy Space Centers Launch Complex 39B, Exploration Ground Systems mobile launcher continues its journey atop crawler-transporter 2 up to the pad surface on June 28, 2019. The mobile launcher began its final solo trek to the pad at midnight on June 27, departing from NASAs Vehicle Assembly Building. The mobile launcher will remain at the pad over the summer, undergoing final testing and checkouts. Its next roll to the pad will be with the agencys Space Launch System rocket and Orion in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1.

Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off from its launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

S88-42101 (15 July 1988) --- STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, awaits further processing at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch complex (LC) pad 39B. OV-103 arrived at LC pad 39B after a six-hour journey from the vehicle assembly building (VAB). The rotating service structure is retracted.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dwarfing the vehicles on the road alongside the crawlerway, Space Shuttle a href='.._.._subjects_atlantis.htm' Atlantis _a rolls back to the a href='.._.._subjects_vab.htm' Vehicle Assembly Building _a from a href='.._.._subjects_lc39a.htm' Launch Pad 39A _a via the crawler-transporter underneath the Mobile Launcher Platform. 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

The Goodyear Blimp passes near the Space Transportation System (STS) shuttle. The shuttle, with access arms in place, is undergoing preparations prior to its maiden flight. Base: Kennedy Space Center State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Viewed from the shoreline at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttles Atlantis (left) and Endeavour (right) are seen on Launch Pad 39A and 39B respectively. With the space shuttle fleet set for retirement in 2010, this is expected to be the final time two shuttles will be on launch pads at the same time. Endeavour will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during Atlantis' upcoming mission to upgrade NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis is targeted to launch May 12. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for its STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. That flight is targeted for launch June 13.

The Space Shuttle Discovery Sits Atop Launch Pad 39B

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Atlantis rolls out to pad 39A for the second time, following threat from Hurricane Fran

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Bathed in xenon lights, space shuttle Atlantis embarks on its final journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. First motion was at 8:42 p.m. EDT. It will take the crawler-transporter about six hours to carry the shuttle, attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, to the seaside launch pad. The milestone move paves the way for the launch of the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station, targeted for July 8.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.

Views of the External Tank (ET) Beanie Cap in place just prior to Final Count, and another looking down from the Service Structure, with engines and rockets firing, just as it left the Pad deck, 11/11/1982. KSC, FL

Soviet booster rocket Vostok in VDNKh (Exhibition of Achievements of the USSR National Economy), Moscow, Russia

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Carrying a set of twin solid rocket boosters, the crawler transporter slowly moves the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) past the NASA-KSC News Center where the U.S. flag flies daily. The journey is in support of engineering analysis vibration tests 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 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.

S97-00253 (10 Dec. 1996) ---- After clearing the high bay door of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the space shuttle Atlantis slowly moves out to Launch Pad 39B along the crawlerway. Atlantis is scheduled to liftoff Jan. 12 on STS-81, the first Shuttle mission of 1997. The planned nine-day flight will include the fifth Shuttle-Mir docking.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-63: Discovery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- As the sign on Launch Pad 39A implies, Space Shuttle Columbia is ready for launch. The Rotating Service Structure at left was rolled back late afternoon on Jan. 15. Columbia is scheduled for launch Jan. 16 at 10:39 a.m. EST on mission STS-107, a research mission. There is a 2.5-hour launch window.

Space Shuttle Discovery Begins Her Historic Return to Flight

F-3754-SPC-95-0011. Base: Cape Canaveral State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Columbia rolls out

The Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft is seen after is was rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, and Russian Cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko, and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan March 28, Kazakh time (March 27 Eastern time.) As the one-year crew, Kelly and Kornienko will return to Earth on Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016.

This is a view of the the first test flight of the Saturn V vehicle (SA-501) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch complex 39A, awaiting the scheduled launch on November 9, 1967. Designated as Apollo 4, this 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.

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket arrives at launch Pad-0A, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grummans 13th contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 7,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. The CRS-13 Cygnus spacecraft is named after the first African American astronaut, Major Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., and is scheduled to launch at 5:39pm EST Sunday, Feb. 9.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An aerial view of the Launch Complex at NASA's Kennedy Space Center shows space shuttles on both pads. At top is space shuttle Endeavour, which rolled out Sept. 19, completing the 4.2-mile journey at 6:59 a.m. EDT. In the foreground is space shuttle Atlantis, preparing for its launch on the STS-125 mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted for Oct. 10. This is the first time since July 2001 that two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time at the center. Endeavour will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. That flight is targeted for launch Nov. 12.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Framed in the open doors of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, Space Shuttle Discovery meets the light of day as it begins its long, slow journey to Launch Pad 39B. First motion was at 2 04 p.m. EDT. The Shuttle comprises the orbiter, External Tank (ET) and twin Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). The Space Shuttle rests on 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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. The fiery launch of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas V rocket is reflected in the nearby creek. Liftoff was on time at 2 p.m. EST from Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Railroad cars (center left) are stopped on the tracks that run near the complex.

The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Sunday, May 13, 2012. The launch of the Soyuz spacecraft with Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin of Russia, and prime NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba is scheduled for 9:01 a.m. local time on Tuesday, May 15.

Rollout of Space Shuttle Discovery

Rollout of Space Shuttle Discovery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- As the STS-93 stack of solid rocket boosters and external tank moves toward the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), it passes underneath one of the lightning shield wires strung from the roof of the VAB for protection. The stack is temporarily being stored outside while repair work is being done inside on the hail-damaged external tank of Space Shuttle Discovery. Discovery was rolled back from Pad 39B to the VAB for repairs because access to all of the damaged areas was not possible at the pad. The STS-93 stack is expected to be moved back into the VAB after Discovery returns to the pad. The scheduled date for launch of mission STS-96 is no earlier than May 27. STS-93 is targeted for launch on July 22, carrying the Chandra X-ray Observatory

Space Shuttle Columbia Illuminated by Floodlights

Cape Canaveral, Titusville, Merritt Island, FL, Florida, John F. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Rocket Garden

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The crawler transporter slowly moves the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP), carrying a set of twin solid rocket boosters, away from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in support of engineering analysis vibration tests 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 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.

DN-ST-87-09906. Base: Cape Canaveral State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The Soyuz rocket is seen after being raised into a vertical position on the launch pad, Monday, June 4, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 56 Soyuz Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos, flight engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA, and flight engineer Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft at 7:12 a.m. Eastern time (5:12 p.m. Baikonur time), on Wednesday, June 6.

S71-33781 (11 May 1971) --- High angle view showing the Apollo 15 (Spacecraft 112/Lunar Module 10/Saturn 510) space vehicle on the way from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The Saturn V stack and its mobile launch tower are atop a huge crawler-transporter. Apollo 15 is scheduled as the fourth manned lunar landing mission by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

STS-132 ATLANTIS ROLLOUT FROM VAB TO PAD 39A

The gantry arms close around the Soyuz rocket after it was raised into vertical position on the launch pad, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 61 crewmembers Jessica Meir of NASA, Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos, and spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates will launch September 25th on the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station.

May 13, 1969 - Aerial, high-angle view of the Apollo 10 (Spacecraft 106/Lunar Module 4/Saturn 505) space vehicle at Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida

Florida, Kennedy Space Center. Lauch Of Space Shuttle Columbia.

Cosmos Travel Background with Spacecraft (Space Shuttle, Cosmic Rocket, Spaceship) - Illustration Vector. Cosmos Travel Background with Spacecraft (Space Shuttle, Cosmic Rocket, Spaceship)

The 212-foot-long Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage pathfinder is being transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 1, 2019. NASA's Pegasus Barge arrived at the Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 30, 2019, making its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived Sept. 27, 2019, ferrying the SLS core stage pathfinder, a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. The pathfinder will be used by the Exploration Ground Systems Program and their contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy for approximately one month before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.

View of rocket

A Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft and its booster rocket is seen, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2003, on a rail car near the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan during preparations for liftoff Oct. 18 to carry Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Science Officer Michael Foale, Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander Alexander Kaleri and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain to the International Space Station.

Rocket Space Ship. Military missile flying high in blue sky

The Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly, and Russian Cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko, and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan March 28, Kazakh time (March 27 Eastern time.) As the one-year crew, Kelly and Kornienko will return to Earth on Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016.

Space Shuttle Endeavour on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building, the orbiter Atlantis is suspended vertically via overhead cranes. The orbiter will be rotated and lifted up and over to a high bay and stacked with its external tank and solid rocket boosters. Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch on mission STS-104 in early July

USA, Florida, Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center.

BASE DE LANZAMIENTO DE COHETES. Location: EXTERIOR. FLORIDA-CABO CAÑAVERAL.

A Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft and its booster rocket is seen, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2003, on a rail car near the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan during preparations for liftoff Oct. 18 to carry Expedition 8 Commander and NASA Science Officer Michael Foale, Expedition 8 Soyuz Commander Alexander Kaleri and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain to the International Space Station.

Space Shuttle Discovery at Moment of Launch

Rocket

An Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen as it is rolled out to launch Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Sunday, January 5, 2014 in advance of a planned Wednesday, Jan. 8th, 1:32 p.m. EST launch, Wallops Island, VA. The Antares will launch a Cygnus spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Orbital-1 mission is Orbital Sciences' first contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA. Among the cargo aboard Cygnus set to launch to the space station are science experiments, crew provisions, spare parts and other hardware.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This image taken from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, shows space shuttle Discovery lifting off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, beginning its final flight, the STS-133 mission, to the International Space Station. Launch was at 4:53 p.m. EST. Discovery and its six-member crew will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the orbiting outpost. Discovery is flying on its 39th mission and is scheduled to be retired following STS-133. This is the 133rd Space Shuttle Program mission and the 35th shuttle voyage to the space station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The Space Shuttle Discovery, atop the mobile launcher platform and crawler-transporter, approaches the turn in the crawlerway as it creeps to Launch Pad 39B at 1 mph. The crawler-transporter takes about five hours to cover the journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. Liftoff of Discovery on mission STS-96 is targeted for May 20 at 9:32 a.m. EDT. STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment

Launch of Shuttle Atlantis on STS_34

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dwarfing the vehicles on the road alongside the crawlerway, Space Shuttle a href='.._.._subjects_atlantis.htm' Atlantis _a rolls back to the a href='.._.._subjects_vab.htm' Vehicle Assembly Building _a from a href='.._.._subjects_lc39a.htm' Launch Pad 39A _a via the crawler-transporter underneath the Mobile Launcher Platform. 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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An aerial view of Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 expendable launch vehicle on the pad.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the core stage of a Delta IV rocket travels along the roadway from the Horizontal Integration Facility, in the background, to the pad.The rocket's core stage is the first stage mated to the second stage. This United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket is slated to launch GOES-P, the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Launch is targeted for no earlier than March 1.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Space Shuttle Discovery on its Mobile Launcher Platform makes its slow 3.4-mile trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for the STS-82 mission. In the foreground is the U.S. flag at the Press Site area. A seven-member crew will perform the second servicing of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during the 10-day STS-82 mission, which is targeted for a Feb. 11 liftoff.

The Soyuz TMA-4 capsule and its booster rocket begin to roll to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Saturday, April 17, 2004, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan in preparation for the launch of the Expedition 9 crew and a European researcher to the International Space Station on April 19. The Soyuz vehicle is transported to the launch pad horizontally on a railcar from its processing hangar in a process that takes about 2.5 hours to complete.

The Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft is lifted on to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. The rocket is being prepared for launch November 14 to carry the crew of Expedition 29 to the International Space Station.

Rocket Space Ship. Military missile flying high in blue sky

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-65: Columbia

USA, Texas, Houston, Shuttle in Space Center

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the space shuttle mock-up, dubbed Pathfinder, undergoes a lift test in the Vehicle Assembly Building on May 31, 1978. The mock-up, constructed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., possessed the general dimensions, weight and balance of a real space shuttle. It was shipped to Kennedy by barge and then used to fit-check the work platforms of the Mate-Demate Device, orbiter processing facilities and Vehicle Assembly Building, as well as support ground crew training. It also was used to rehearse post-landing procedures at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. After being on display at the 'Great Space Shuttle Exposition' in Tokyo from June 1983 to August 1984, the mock-up returned to Marshall and now is on permanent display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near Huntsville.

The Soyuz rocket is erected into position at the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

Exterior view of Launch Complex 39A

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