Space Shuttle Operations at Kennedy

Images depict various space shuttle operations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, featuring shuttle carriers, fuel tanks, and transport activities under a blue sky.

Exterior view of Launch Complex 39A

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A tug boat pulls the Space Shuttle Program's last external fuel tank, ET-122, to the Turn Basin at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tank traveled 900 miles by sea from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus Barge. Next, the tank will be offloaded and moved to Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building where it eventually will be attached to space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station. STS-134, targeted to launch in Feb. 2011, currently is scheduled to be the last mission in the Space Shuttle Program.The tank, which is the largest element of the space shuttle stack, was damaged during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and restored to flight configuration by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company employees.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is seen inside the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, is seen on the ramp. The SCA will carry Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display. The center's Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, and the mobile launcher built for the Space Launch System are also visible in the background.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, rolls to the ramp area of NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. The SCA touched down at 5 05 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Endeavours ferry flight to the Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 17.

The shipping container carrying the Orion heat shield for Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) is transported by truck from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida along the road to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay for processing. The heat shield arrived aboard the agencys Super Guppy aircraft, managed and operated by Space Florida, from Lockheed Martins manufacturing facility near Denver. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASAs Space Launch System rocket on EM-1, an uncrewed test flight, in 2018.

View of the Shuttle Landing Facility

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - This is an aerial view of the long Shuttle Landing Facility SLF runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida that space shuttle Discovery, bolted to the top of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft SCA, will take off from on April 17. Discovery's last crew members are expected to be at the runway, along with Kennedy employees and guests, as the center says goodbye to the agency's most-flown shuttle. The SCA, designated NASA 905, will ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, after which the shuttle will be moved for public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on April 19.

Exterior view of Launch Complex 39A

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the early morning hours at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with space shuttle Discovery secured atop, taxies down the runway for a takeoff at 7 a.m. EDT. In the background are the midfield air traffic control tower and the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building.The aircraft, known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis makes its slow trek from the Shuttle Landing Facility to Orbiter Processing Facility-1. Atlantis touched down on Runway 33 after 12 days in space, completing the 4.8-million mile STS-132 mission to the International Space Station. The six-member STS-132 crew carried the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the space station. STS-132 is the 34th shuttle mission to the station, the 132nd shuttle mission overall and the last planned flight for Atlantis.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis is transported along Kennedy Parkway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Visitor Complex where it will be put on public display.As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - This is an aerial view of the long Shuttle Landing Facility SLF runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida that space shuttle Discovery, bolted to the top of a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft SCA, will take off from on April 17. Discovery's last crew members are expected to be at the runway, along with Kennedy employees and guests, as the center says goodbye to the agency's most-flown shuttle. The SCA, designated NASA 905, will ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia, after which the shuttle will be moved for public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on April 19.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft or SCA, taxis at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis is transported along Kennedy Parkway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Visitor Complex where it will be put on public display.As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions.

North of the Launch Complex 39 Area, the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) stretches to the northwest. One of the largest runways in the world, the runway is located 3.2 km (2 miles) northwest of the Vehicle Assembly Building and is 4,572 meters (15,000 ft) long and 91.4 meters (300 ft) wide -- about as wide as the length of a football field. It has 305 meters (1000 ft) of paved overruns at each end and the paving thickness is 40.6cm (15 in) at the center. The facility includes a 150 x 168-meter (490 ft x 550 ft) parking apron (at right) and a 3.2-km (2-mile) tow-way connecting it with the Orbiter Processing Facility.

A broad aerial view west of Launch Complex 39 Area shows a multitude of facilities. Starting with the Shuttle Landing Facility, at bottom center is a circle around a windsock, a landing aid for pilots; at bottom right is a portion of the landing strip. In the center is the parking tarmac with its mate/demate device on the left corner. To the right is the remote launch vehicle hangar, still under construction. At the upper right is the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The tow-way road runs from the landing strip to the Orbiter Processing Facility, next to the VAB. The Kennedy Parkway North extends from the left side toward the VAB. The long white building next to the parkway is the Apollo/Saturn V Center. Above it, slightly visible on the horizon (left), is Launch Complex 39, Pad B.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Viewed from across the turn basin in the Launch Complex 39 Area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Pegasus barge is maneuvered up to the dock. In the background at left is the Vehicle Assembly Building. The barge holds the external fuel tank, ET- 132, designated for space shuttle Discovery on the STS-128 mission. The tank will be offloaded and transported to a high bay in the VAB for checkout. On the STS-128 mission, Discovery will carry science and storage racks to the International Space Station. Launch of Discovery is targeted for Aug. 6.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the 5.5-million-pound crawler transporters await the opportunity to support NASA's future spaceflight programs. The crawlers originally were built to support the Saturn rockets in NASA's Apollo lunar landing program. The image was taken from the top of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

Salvage Engineering Response Team - New Orleans - Early October - 26-HK-350-104. Hurricane Katrina

NASA's Pegasus Barge, which has a storied history of supporting the Space Shuttle Program, arrived at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B turn basin wharf, carrying its first load in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived Friday, Sept. 27, ferrying the 212-foot-long Space Launch System (SLS) core stage pathfinder. Weighing in at 228,000 pounds, the pathfinder is a full-scale mockup of the rocket's core stage. The pathfinder will be utilized by the Exploration Ground Systems Program and their contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, utilizing 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.

This aerial view is of a tour stop on the KSC bus tour, the Launch Complex 39 Observation Gantry. This stop allows visitors to view and photograph Pads A and B in Launch Complex 39 from an elevated vantage point. The roadway leading to the tour stop runs next to the crawlerway (left) which is used to transport Space Shuttles from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pads. Pad A can be seen in the background.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Tugboats guide the Pegasus barge containing the external fuel tank for space shuttle Discovery's STS-133 mission through the Banana River to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On the STS-133 mission, Discovery will deliver NASA's Permanent Multi-purpose Module, or PMM, the Express Logistics Carrier 4, and critical spare parts to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for fall 2010.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis is transported along Kennedy Parkway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Visitor Complex where it will be put on public display.As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions.

An aerial view of the Launch and Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 13, 2021. The runway is where the space shuttle touched down and came to a stop after returning to Earth from a mission. The facility is managed by Space Florida.

Aerials - STS-133 Discovery on Pad 39A, LEED Bldg., VAB

NASAs Pegasus barge, carrying the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) for the agencys Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, arrives at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on July 29, 2020. Traveling to Florida from NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the LVSA will connect the SLS core stage to the rockets upper stage for the Artemis I launch. Once the LVSA is offloaded, it will be moved to High Bay 4 in the Vehicle Assembly Building for processing ahead of launch. The first launch under the agencys Artemis program, Artemis I will test SLS and the Orion spacecraft as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- From a vantage point across scrub lands and the Banana River, Space Shuttle Atlantis is seen finally sitting on Launch Pad 39A. Atlantis rolled out to the pad for the second time before dawn. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 5:02 a.m. EDT. In late February, while Atlantis was on the launch pad, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area. The hail caused visible divots in the giant tank's foam insulation, as well as minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. The shuttle was returned to the VAB for repairs. The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-117 is now targeted for June 8. A flight readiness review will be held on May 30 and 31.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is seen inside the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, is seen on the ramp. The SCA will carry Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display.

Aerials - STS-133 Discovery on Pad 39A, LEED Bldg., VAB

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Orion crew module, enclosed in its crew module transportation fixture and secured on a flatbed truck, leaves the Multi-Operation Support Building and is being transported to the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Orion was transported 2,700 miles overland from Naval Base San Diego in California. Orion was recovered from the Pacific Ocean after completing a two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission Dec. 5 to test systems critical to crew safety, including the launch abort system, the heat shield and the parachute system. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program led the recovery, offload and transportation efforts.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The tail cone that will cover space shuttle Endeavours replica shuttle main engines is being transported from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Orbiter Processing Facility-2.The work is part of Transition and Retirement of the remaining space shuttles, Endeavour and Atlantis. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. Endeavour was the last space shuttle added to NASAs orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions.

This helicopter view of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex shows the thousands of vehicles parked where guests gather to see the launch of the Orion Flight Test. The liftoff was postponed because of an issue related to fill and drain valves on the Delta IV Heavy rocket that teams could not troubleshoot by the time the launch window expired.

These images/video show how teams rolled out, or moved, the completed core stage for NASAs Space Launch System rocket from NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Crews moved the flight hardware for the first Artemis mission to NASAs Pegasus barge on Jan. 8 in preparation for the core stage Green Run test series at NASAs Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Pegasus, which was modified to ferry SLS rocket hardware, will transport the core stage from Michoud to Stennis for the comprehensive core stage Green Run test series. Once at Stennis, the Artemis rocket stage will be loaded into the B-2 Test Stand for the core stage Green Run test series. The comprehensive test campaign will progressively bring the entire core stage, including its avionics and engines, to life for the first time to verify the stage is fit for flight ahead of the launch of Artemis I.Assembly and integration of the core stage and its four RS-25 engines has been a collaborative, multiste

A view of the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-2) on its launch pad. Base: Kennedy Space Center State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, is blocked by its large orange external tank (ET) as it leaves Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) during its rollout to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39A. The crawler transporter heads along the specially designed roadway with OV-104, the ET, and two solid rocket boosters mounted on top of a mobile launcher platform. KSC facilities including the VAB and Launch Control Center (LCC) are visible in the background. OV-104 heads to LC Pad 39A after the shortest stay in the VAB since return-to-flight. OV-104 is being prepared for launch on STS-36, a Department of Defense (DOD) dedicated mission. View provided by KSC with alternate KSC number KSC-90PC-134.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis approaches NASA Causeway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as it is transported on its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where it will be put on public display.As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions.

STS089-S-012 (31 Jan. 1998) --- The drag chute on the space shuttle Endeavour is deployed as the spacecraft rolls down Runway 15 of the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) to successfully complete an almost-nine-day mission in Earth orbit. Main gear touchdown was at 5:35:09 p.m. (EST) Jan. 31, 1998. Complete wheel stop occurred at 5:36:19 p.m., making a total mission elapsed time of eight days, 19 hours, 48 minutes and four seconds. The 89th space shuttle mission marked the 42nd (and 13th consecutive) landing of a shuttle at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Onboard were astronauts Terrence W. Wilcutt, Joe F. Edwards Jr., Bonnie J. Dunbar, David A. Wolf, James F. Reilly and Michael P. Anderson; and the Russian Space Agency's (RSA) cosmonaut Salizhan S. Sharipov. Andrew S. W. Thomas had earlier gone into space aboard the Endeavour to replace Wolf aboard Russia's Mir Space Station. The ninth and final shuttle/Mir docking mission in the spring of this year will retrieve Thomas from the Mir complex.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis makes its slow trek from the Shuttle Landing Facility to Orbiter Processing Facility-1. Atlantis touched down on Runway 33 after 12 days in space, completing the 4.8-million mile STS-132 mission to the International Space Station. The six-member STS-132 crew carried the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the space station. STS-132 is the 34th shuttle mission to the station, the 132nd shuttle mission overall and the last planned flight for Atlantis.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Spectators at the Shuttle Landing Facility watch Atlantis touching down on runway 33 after completing the 10-day, 19-hour, 4.5-million mile mission STS-110 to the International Space Station. The orbiter carries the returning crew Commander Michael Bloomfield, Pilot Stephen Frick and Mission Specialists Jerry Ross, Steven Smith, Ellen Ochoa, Lee Morin and Rex Walheim. Main gear touchdown was 12:26:57 p.m. EDT, nose gear touchdown was 12:27:09 p.m. and wheel stop was 12:28:07 p.m. The crew delivered and installed the S0 truss, which will support cooling and power systems essential for the addition of future international laboratories, on the Station

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Railroad tracks run along the shoreline east of Launch Pads 39A and 39B, seen in the background. North of Launch Pad 39B, the tracks turn west, passing the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility and heading through the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge until joining the East Coast Railway north of Titusville, Fla.

A heavy load transport truck from Tillett Heavy Hauling in Titusville, Florida, arrives at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the first half of the B-level work platforms, B south, for the agencys Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The platform will be delivered to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) staging area in the west parking lot. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft moves into position under space shuttle Discovery suspended 60 feet off the ground in the mate-demate device. The device, known as the MDD, is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. The SCA designated NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Atlantis, with its new external tank/solid rocket booster stack, rolls out to Pad 39A on August 20, 1996, in preparation for launch of STS-79 on the fourth Mir docking mission. Atlantis will return Astronaut Shannon Lucid to Earth after her record-breaking stay by an American on the Russian spacestation. Lucid has completed 21 weeks in space this week. Astronaut John Blaha will trade places with Lucid for a planned four-month stay aboard Mir. Atlantis will also carry the first SPACEHAB Double Module

Aftermath - Displaced Boats - Empire, Louisiana - 26-HK-26-53. Hurricane Katrina

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - This aerial photo of the runway at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility looks north. Longer and wider than most commercial runways, it is 15,000 feet long, with 1,000-foot paved overruns on each end, and 300 feet wide, with 50-foot asphalt shoulders. The runway is used by military and civilian cargo carriers, astronauts T-38 trainers, Shuttle Training Aircraft and helicopters, as well as the Space Shuttle. On the lower right is the parking apron with the orbiter mate/demate tower and the tow-way stretching from the runway to the lower right. Farther north is a grassy area where the new control tower is located.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting space shuttle Discovery to its new home receives permission for a 7-a.m. takeoff from the control tower at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The aircraft, known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

S82-37810 (21 Sept. 1982) --- The space shuttle Columbia makes its slow 3 mile trip on a crawler transporter from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The trip began at 5 34 a.m. (EDT) today and ended at the pad seven hours later. The Columbia, its two solid rocket boosters (SRB) and external tank (ET) will be launched, with four astronaut crew members onboard, on Nov. 11, 1982.

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V booster arrived for the Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. A transport truck is taking the Atlas V from the Mariner cargo ship in the background, to the hangar at the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC), located south of Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Scheduled to launch March 19, 2017, the Orbital ATK CRS-7 mission will lift off atop the ULA Atlas V rocket to deliver thousands of pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials that improve life on Earth and drive progress toward future space exploration.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The first Space Shuttle vehicle destined to fly in space moves toward Pad A at Complex 39, where it will be launched. The STS-1 vehicle - consisting of America's first reusable spaceship, Columbia, the external propellant tank and twin solid rocket boosters - was assembled on a Mobile Launcher Platform in the Vehicle Assembly Building. A six-million-pound tractor, called the Crawler-Transporter, is used to carry the Space Shuttle from the VAB to the launch pad, about 3.5 miles away.

The first stage of the rocket that will launch Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station on the company's uncrewed Orbital Flight Test is on its way to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Dec. 7, 2018. The ULA Atlas V first stage booster was shipped aboard the company's Mariner cargo vessel from the company's manufacturing plant in Decatur, Alabama. It is the final piece of hardware that ULA needs to launch the first Boeing Starliner. Inside the ASOC, the booster will be inspected and checked out.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- With landing wheels down, Endeavour drops from the cloud-dotted sky to land on runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after traveling nearly 5.3 million miles on mission STS-118. The Space Shuttle Endeavour crew, led by Commander Scott Kelly, completes a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-118 mission began Aug. 8 and installed a new gyroscope, an external spare parts platform and another truss segment to the expanding station. Endeavour's main gear touched down at 12:32:16 p.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 12:32:29 p.m. and wheel stop was at 12:33:20 p.m. Endeavour landed on orbit 201. STS-118 was the 119th space shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, the 20th flight for Endeavour and the second of four missions planned for 2007. This was the 65th landing of an orbiter at Kennedy.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Orion crew module, stacked atop its service module, is being transported to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will be fueled ahead of its December flight. The spacecraft for Exploration Flight Test-1 was moved out of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to an altitude of 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface. The two-orbit, four-hour flight test will help engineers evaluate the systems critical to crew safety including the heat shield

T&R - Work on Shuttle Replica to Prepare for transport to JSC

Aftermath - Displaced Boats - Empire, Louisiana - 26-HK-26-133. Hurricane Katrina

Off-road vehicle amidst salt flat at sunset

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Pegasus barge is moved closer to the dock in the turn basin of the Launch Complex 39 Area. The barge's cargo is the external tank prepared for mission STS-118 by the Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. After docking, the tank will eventually be offloaded and moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building, which is seen at left.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Across the Turn Basin is seen the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB (at left), the Launch Control Center (middle), and Space Shuttle Discovery (at right). First motion of the Shuttle out of the VAB was at 2 04 p.m. EDT. Atop the Mobile Launcher Platform, the Shuttle is on its way to Launch Pad 39B, marking a major milestone in Return to Flight. 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, Disco

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, United Launch Alliance technicians transport the second stage of a Delta IV Heavy rocket to the Horizontal Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 37. The second stage then will be mated with the Delta IV Heavy booster stages in preparation for the unpiloted Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1.During the mission, Orion will travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. The data gathered during the flight will influence design decisions, validate existing computer models and innovative new approaches to space systems development, as well as reduce overall mission risks and costs for later Orion flights. Liftoff of Orion on the first flight test is planned for December 2014.

Coast Guard Stations - 26-HK-333-52. Air Station New Orleans - Aerial. Hurricane Katrina

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An aerial view of the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex, including the facility where the space shuttle Atlantis will be put on public display.As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions.

Aerial view of colorful stilt houses lining the waterway, beside the asphalt road, Delacroix, Louisiana, United States.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis' drag chute slows the vehicle as it rolls to a stop on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At right is the long convoy of rescue and safing vehicles that greet a space shuttle after landing. Landing was at 8 48 a.m. EDT, completing the 12-day STS-132 mission to the International Space Station. The six-member STS-132 crew carried the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the International Space Station. STS-132 is the 34th shuttle mission to the station, the 132nd shuttle mission overall and the last planned flight for Atlantis.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft transporting space shuttle Discovery to its new home is ready for takeoff from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida at about 7 a.m. EDT.The aircraft, known as an SCA, is a Boeing 747 jet, originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis approaches NASA Causeway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as it is transported on its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where it will be put on public display.As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions.

Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Kill Devil Hills and Outer Banks environs in North Carolina for tours, events marking the centennial of the first powered flight, Wright Brothers National Memorial

Aircrafts - HH-60 Jayhawk - 26-HK-53-37. HH-60 refueling in parking lot-- 050902. Hurricane Katrina

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Mobile Launcher Platform-3 (MLP), which supported space shuttle Atlantis for its final flight to the International Space Station on the STS-135 mission, is taking its last journey from Launch Pad 39A to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). A massive crawler-transporter positioned under the MLP -- the last mobile launcher platform to launch a shuttle, begins the trek back to the VAB. For more than 40 years, the MLPs have traveled between the massive VAB to both launch pads at Launch Complex 39, and then returned to the VAB for future use. MLP-3 was first used to launch Columbia on the STS-32 mission on Jan. 9, 1990.

The Artemis I aft skirts for NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rockets twin solid rocket boosters are moved along the road to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 10, 2020. The aft skirts were refurbished by Northrop Grumman. They house the thrust vector control system, which controls 70 percent of the steering during initial ascent of the SLS rocket. The aft skirts will remain in the RPSF until ready for stacking with the forward and aft parts of the boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Through the Artemis Program, NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The engine ignites under the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, lifting NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, spacecraft off Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.Launch was on schedule at 1:28 p.m. EST Nov. 18 at the opening of a two-hour launch window. After a 10-month journey to the Red Planet, MAVEN will study its upper atmosphere in unprecedented detail from orbit above the planet. Built by Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colo., MAVEN will arrive at Mars in September 2014 and will be inserted into an elliptical orbit with a high point of 3,900 miles, swooping down to as close as 93 miles above the planet's surface.

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus resupply spacecraft is seen on Pad-0A, Friday, Feb. 14, 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 3:43pm EST.

This helicopter view of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex shows the thousands of vehicles parked where guests gather to see the launch of the Orion Flight Test. The liftoff was postponed because of an issue related to fill and drain valves on the Delta IV Heavy rocket that teams could not troubleshoot by the time the launch window expired.

STS-132 ET-136 ARRIVAL TO LC39 TURNBASIN

Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Kill Devil Hills and Outer Banks environs in North Carolina for tours, events marking the centennial of the first powered flight, Wright Brothers National Memorial

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Three NASA railroad locomotives at Kennedy Space Center in Florida move toward Launch Complex 39 area's Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, or RPSF. The operation was to allow wheel and axle assemblies to be swapped between two of the locomotives.The RPSF was built to support work on the solid rocket used motors during the space shuttle era. The facility had never previously been used for another purpose, but is now free to serve other customers. With rails running into the building's high bay and a pair of heavy-lift cranes positioned overhead, the facility's capabilities were a perfect fit for the NASA Railroad's needs. Railroad managers wanted to trade the wheel and axle assemblies, or trucks, of locomotives No. 2 and No. 3. Locomotive No. 3 was painstakingly restored in recent years by the NASA Railroad team, and handles much of the rail work required at the center in the post-shuttle era. But the trucks on locomotive No. 2 are in better shape and are

Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Kill Devil Hills and Outer Banks environs in North Carolina for tours, events marking the centennial of the first powered flight, Wright Brothers National Memorial

Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Kill Devil Hills and Outer Banks environs in North Carolina for tours, events marking the centennial of the first powered flight, Wright Brothers National Memorial

Trucks transport the Atlas V rocket and Centaur upper stage from the United Launch Alliance Delta Mariner to the Atlas V Spaceflight Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket will be used to launch NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission.

Aerials - STS-133 Discovery on Pad 39A, LEED Bldg., VAB

Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Kill Devil Hills and Outer Banks environs in North Carolina for tours, events marking the centennial of the first powered flight, Wright Brothers National Memorial

A grumman (c) S2F-1 Tracker ((c) S-2A) Submarine booth bought aircraft (1960-1971).

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Tugboats in the Turn Basin in the Launch Complex 39 area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida have towed the Pegasus Barge from the dock to a more secure mooring area. The barge is 266 ft long and 50 ft wide and has been used by the Space Shuttle Program to transport external fuel tanks over 900 miles of inland and open ocean waterways from the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana to Kennedy.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Trucks deliver the first set of solid-fueled boosters to Launch Complex 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida where a United Launch Alliance Delta II is being prepared for launch. The Delta II will carry NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft into lunar orbit. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. GRAIL is scheduled to launch September 8, 2011.

A view looking southeast showing the station, the air station and the ship basin. The Naval Reserve aircraft carrier USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV-67) is tied up at the carrier pier. Base: Naval Station, Mayport State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis is transported along NASA Causeway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its 10-mile journey to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where it will be put on public display.As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis is to be displayed at Kennedy's Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions.

Hato soldier airport in Curaçao.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space center employees snap photos and prepare to take group shots in front of space shuttle Discovery, which is visible on Launch Pad 39A. Later, the rotating service structure that protects the shuttle from the elements will be moved into place. It took the spacecraft about six hours to make the journey, known as "rollout," from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad. Rollout sets the stage for Discovery's STS-133 crew to practice countdown and launch procedures during the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test in mid-October. Targeted to liftoff Nov. 1, Discovery will take the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2 (R2) to the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds show their precision formation as they fly over Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They are taking part in the prerace festivities at the Daytona International Speedway for the 53rd running of the Daytona 500.

Goodyear Blimp Base, Florida

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Media photograph space shuttle Atlantis as it is slowly towed from the Shuttle Landing Facility runway to Orbiter Processing Facility-2 for the last time. Atlantis' final return to Earth on Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida occurred at 5:57 a.m. EDT July 21, 2011. Securing the space shuttle fleet's place in history, Atlantis marks the 26th nighttime landing of NASA's Space Shuttle Program and the 78th landing at Kennedy. Atlantis and its crew delivered to the International Space Station the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 is the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis and the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program.

View of the Shuttle Landing Facility

Car transporter, container ship in the forest on the Kiel Canal, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, Europe

Visit of Secretary Gale Norton to Kill Devil Hills and Outer Banks environs in North Carolina for tours, events marking the centennial of the first powered flight, Wright Brothers National Memorial

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Media snap photos as space shuttle Discovery, mounted to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, slowly rolls along the runway of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The duo is set to begin their 3 1/2 hour ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia at about 7 a.m. EDT. Above the two craft is a NASA helicopter covering the departure. Discovery is leaving Kennedy after more than 28 years of service beginning with its arrival on the space coast Nov. 9, 1983. Discovery first launched to space Aug. 30, 1984, on the STS-41D mission. Discovery is the agency's most-flown shuttle with 39 missions, more than 148 million miles and a total of one year in space. Discovery is set to move to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on April 19 where it will be placed on public display.

NASA's mobile launcher atop crawler-transporter 2 begins its trek off of Launch Pad 39B on Sept. 7, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After undergoing a fit check and several days of systems testing with the pad, the mobile launcher is on its way to the Vehicle Assembly Building. This is the first time that the modified mobile launcher made the trip to the pad. The 380-foot-tall mobile launcher is equipped with the crew access arm and several umbilicals that will provide power, environmental control. Pneumatics, communication and electrical connections to the agency's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. Exploration Ground Systems is preparing the ground systems necessary to launch SLS and Orion on Exploration Mission-1, missions to the Moon and on to Mars.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Taken from the Vehicle Assembly Building roof at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this image shows the Press Site complex with a myriad of vehicles, satellite trucks and trailers belonging to invited guests and media for the launch of space shuttle Atlantis. Atlantis began its final flight, the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station, at 11:29 a.m. EDT on July 8. STS-135 will deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts for the International Space Station. Atlantis also will fly the Robotic Refueling Mission experiment that will investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites in orbit. In addition, Atlantis will return with a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of

Hurricane Katrina, Pass Christian, Miss., December 21, 2005 -- Railroad crossings in Pass Christian are being repaired in anticipation of trains running once again. Pass Christian was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Mark Wolfe/FEMA

DN-SC-87-03195. State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

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