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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Operations and Checkout Building, an overhead crane carries the Integrated Truss Structure S0 to the payload canister which will transport it to the launch pad for mission STS-110. Seen below the truss is the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello, currently not in use. The S0 truss will be part of the payload on Space Shuttle Atlantis. The S0 truss will be attached to the U.S. Lab, "Destiny," on the 11-day mission, becoming the backbone of the orbiting International Space Station (ISS). Launch is scheduled for April 4 KSC-02pd0344

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Operations and Checkout Building,...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Operations and Checkout Building, an overhead crane carries the Integrated Truss Structure S0 to the payload canister which will transport it to the launch pad for mission S... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the overhead crane carries the multi-purpose logistics module Donatello from its work stand across the floor to a payload canister. Donatello is being transferred to the Operations and Checkout Building to make room in the SSPF for the arrival of elements for future flights from other ISS partners. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-06pd0530

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space ...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the overhead crane carries the multi-purpose logistics module Donatello from its work stand across the f... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the overhead crane lifts the multi-purpose logistics module Donatello from its work stand to move it to a payload canister. Donatello is being transferred to the Operations and Checkout Building to make room in the SSPF for the arrival of elements for future flights from other ISS partners. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-06pd0529

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space ...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the overhead crane lifts the multi-purpose logistics module Donatello from its work stand to move it to ... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the multi-purpose logistics module Donatello is being prepared for a move to a payload canister. Donatello is being transferred to the Operations and Checkout Building to make room in the SSPF for the arrival of elements for future flights from other ISS partners. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-06pd0527

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space S...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the multi-purpose logistics module Donatello is being prepared for a move to a payload canister. Donate... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the overhead crane carries the multi-purpose logistics module Donatello toward the open doors of the payload canister at left. Donatello is being transferred to the Operations and Checkout Building to make room in the SSPF for the arrival of elements for future flights from other ISS partners. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-06pd0531

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space ...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the overhead crane carries the multi-purpose logistics module Donatello toward the open doors of the pay... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the overhead crane lowers the multi-purpose logistics module Donatello into the waiting payload canister. Donatello is being transferred to the Operations and Checkout Building to make room in the SSPF for the arrival of elements for future flights from other ISS partners. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-06pd0532

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space S...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the overhead crane lowers the multi-purpose logistics module Donatello into the waiting payload canister.... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello is suspended by cables over the payload canister in the Space Station Processing Facility. Previously housed in the Operations and Checkout Building, Donatello was brought into the SSPF for routine testing. This is the first time all three MPLMs (Donatello, Raffaello and Leonardo) are in the SSPF. The MPLMs were built by the Italian Space Agency, to serve as reusable logistics carriers and the primary delivery system to resupply and return station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. The third MPLM, Raffaello is scheduled to fly on Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-114.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donate...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello is suspended by cables over the payload canister in the Space Station Processing Facility. Previously housed in the Operations and Chec... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Overhead cables carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello from the payload canister (lower right) to a work stand in the Space Station Processing Facility. Previously housed in the Operations and Checkout Building, Donatello was brought into the SSPF for routine testing. This is the first time all three MPLMs (Donatello, Raffaello and Leonardo) are in the SSPF. The MPLMs were built by the Italian Space Agency, to serve as reusable logistics carriers and the primary delivery system to resupply and return station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. The third MPLM, Raffaello is scheduled to fly on Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-114.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Overhead cables carry the Multi-Purpose L...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Overhead cables carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello from the payload canister (lower right) to a work stand in the Space Station Processing Facility. Previously hous... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello is moved away from the payload canister in the Space Station Processing Facility. Previously housed in the Operations and Checkout Building, Donatello was brought into the SSPF for routine testing. This is the first time all three MPLMs (Donatello, Raffaello and Leonardo) are in the SSPF. The MPLMs were built by the Italian Space Agency, to serve as reusable logistics carriers and the primary delivery system to resupply and return station cargo requiring a pressurized environment. The third MPLM, Raffaello is scheduled to fly on Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-114.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donate...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello is moved away from the payload canister in the Space Station Processing Facility. Previously housed in the Operations and Checkout Buil... More

Trailers for defense transportation. Winter Weiss Company, Denver, Colorado. Manufacture of semi-trailers for Defense transportation. These trailers are eqipped with a combination platform stake body and are intended for general use in Army camps and depots. They carry a payload of 7,000 pounds. This worker is attaching reflectors to the rear of the trailer frame

Trailers for defense transportation. Winter Weiss Company, Denver, Col...

Picryl description: Public domain image of a worker, labor, factory, plant, manufacture, industrial facility, 1930s, mid-20th-century industrial photo, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

Trailers for defense transportation. Winter Weiss Company, Denver, Colorado. Flooring being laid on semi-trailers for general utility used around Army camps and supply depots. These trailers carry a payload of 7,000 pounds on a combination platform stake body of hardwood

Trailers for defense transportation. Winter Weiss Company, Denver, Col...

Public domain photograph of factory building, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Trailers for defense transportation. Winter Weiss Company, Denver, Colorado. Flooring being laid on semi-trailers for general utility used around Army camps and supply depots. These trailers carry a payload of 7,000 pounds on a combination platform stake body of hardwood

Trailers for defense transportation. Winter Weiss Company, Denver, Col...

Public domain photograph of 1930s America, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Trailers for defense transportation. Winter Weiss Company, Denver, Colorado. Completed semi-trailer with combination platform stake bodies are loaded into freight cars for delivery to Army Quartermaster Depots. These trailers are intended for general utility use in Army camps and supply depots. They carry a 7,000 ton payload

Trailers for defense transportation. Winter Weiss Company, Denver, Col...

Picryl description: Public domain image of military vehicle, automobile, tractor truck, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

Trailers for defense transportation. Winter Weiss Company, Denver, Colorado. Completed semi-trailer with combination platform stake bodies are loaded into freight cars for delivery to Army Quartermaster Depots. These trailers are intended for general utility use in Army camps and supply depots. They carry a 7,000 ton payload

Trailers for defense transportation. Winter Weiss Company, Denver, Col...

Public domain photograph of car garage, repair shop, 20th century, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Ready for a payload. Inspectors check the assembly of a railway carriage which will soon carry an 8-inch gun. The guns are turned out in an eastern plant

Ready for a payload. Inspectors check the assembly of a railway carria...

Picryl description: Public domain image of a factory, plant, manufacture, assembly line, industrial facility, early 20th-century industrial architecture, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

A new design developed to explore the feasibility of carrying very large equipment by glider. This has the largest cargo space of any glider and the largest payload

A new design developed to explore the feasibility of carrying very lar...

Picryl description: Public domain photograph of workers, war production, aircraft, airfield, the 1930s -1940s, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

CG-10A. A new design developed to explore the feasibility of carrying very large equiment by glider. This has the largest cargo space of any glider and the largest payload. Note size of truck which has just driven off glider

CG-10A. A new design developed to explore the feasibility of carrying ...

Picryl description: Public domain photograph of workers, war production, aircraft, airfield, the 1930s -1940s, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

CG-16. An experimental design having a large payload but limited cargo space, this glider is part of the study which has been made to determine the limit in size for tactical usefulness fo gliders

CG-16. An experimental design having a large payload but limited cargo...

Picryl description: Public domain image of a military aircraft, assembly line, industrial facility, 1930s aviation, free to use, no copyright restrictions.

CG-10A. This experimental glider was developed to explore the feasibility of carrying very large equipment. It has the largest cargo space of any glider and the largest payload. Note size of truck which has just driven out of glider. Shown at demonstration of equipment held by United States Army Air Forces

CG-10A. This experimental glider was developed to explore the feasibil...

Public domain photograph of 1930s-1940s US industrial development, Second World War, US war production, indusry, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Juno II (AM-11) launch vehicle. NASA public domain image colelction.

Juno II (AM-11) launch vehicle. NASA public domain image colelction.

The modified Jupiter C (sometimes called Juno I), used to launch Explorer I, had minimum payload lifting capabilities. Explorer I weighed slightly less than 31 pounds. Juno II was part of America's effort to in... More

Monkey Baker, payload of Jupiter (AM-18)

Monkey Baker, payload of Jupiter (AM-18)

Monkey Baker, payload of Jupiter (AM-18), poses on a model of the Jupiter vehicle, May 29, 1959

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Workers off-load NASA's Genesis spacecraft which arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 3:30 a.m. aboard an Air Force C-17 aircraft.; Lockheed Martin Astronautics built the Genesis spacecraft for NASA in Denver, Colo.; The spacecraft will undergo final launch preparations in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility in KSC's industrial area. Genesis will capture samples of the ions and elements in the solar wind and return them to Earth for scientists to use to determine the exact composition of the Sun and the solar system's origin. Launch aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for July 30 at 12:36 p.m. EDT.; NASA's Genesis project in managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif KSC-01pp1049

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Workers off-load NASA's Genesis spacecra...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Workers off-load NASA's Genesis spacecraft which arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 3:30 a.m. aboard an Air Force C-17 aircraft.; Lockheed Martin Astronautics built the Gen... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – STS-125 Mission Specialist Michael Good puts on his launch-and-entry suit before heading for Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This launch will be Good's first space shuttle flight. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:01 p.m. May 11 EDT. Atlantis' 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to refurbish and upgrade NASA's Hubble Space Telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. The payload includes a Wide Field Camera 3, fine guidance sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2009-3043

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – STS-125 Mission Specialist Michael Good puts on...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – STS-125 Mission Specialist Michael Good puts on his launch-and-entry suit before heading for Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This launch will be Good's first sp... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Resupply Stowage Platform, or RSP, is moved into the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo. The module is part of the payload for space shuttle Discovery's STS-128 mission. Discovery will carry science and storage racks to the International Space Station . Launch of Discovery is targeted for Aug. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2009-2944

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NAS...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Resupply Stowage Platform, or RSP, is moved into the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo. The ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A canister, carrying the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) and Express Logistics Carrier-3 for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission, arrives at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Next, crews at the pad will move the payload into the Payload Ground Handling Mechanism (PGHM), and the rotating service structure (RSS) that protects the shuttle from the elements and provides access to its components will be rotated back into place. The payload is scheduled to be installed into the shuttle's cargo bay March 25. Endeavour and its six-member STS-134 crew are targeted to lift off April 19 at 7:48 p.m. EDT to deliver the payload to the International Space Station. This is Endeavour's final scheduled mission. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston KSC-2011-2386

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A canister, carrying the Alpha Magnetic Spectr...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A canister, carrying the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) and Express Logistics Carrier-3 for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission, arrives at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Sp... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-114 Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi is helped by the Closeout Crew with his launch and entry suit before entering Space Shuttle Discovery. This is Noguchi’s first Shuttle flight. He represents the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The Return to Flight mission to the International Space Station carries the External Stowage Platform-2, equipped with spare part assemblies, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope contained in the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure and Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, housing 15 tons of hardware and supplies that will be transferred to the Station after the Shuttle docks to the complex . On this mission, the crew will perform inspections on-orbit for the first time of all of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels on the leading edge of the wings and the Thermal Protection System tiles using the new Canadian-built Orbiter Boom Sensor System and the data from 176 impact and temperature sensors. Mission Specialists will also practice repair techniques on RCC and tile samples during a spacewalk in the payload bay. KSC-05pp1797

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-114 Mission Specialist Soichi Noguch...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-114 Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi is helped by the Closeout Crew with his launch and entry suit before entering Space Shuttle Discovery. This is Noguchi’s first Shuttle fl... More

The STS-92 crew exits the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to the Astrovan and Launch Pad 39A for a simulated countdown. Walking left to right are (foreground) Mission Specialists Koichi Wakata of Japan, Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff and Leroy Chiao; and Pilot Pamela Ann Melroy. Behind them are Mission Specialists Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and William S. McArthur Jr.; and Commander Brian Duffy. The crew is taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that provide emergency egress training, opportunities to inspect the mission payload, and the simulated countdown. STS-92 is scheduled to launch Oct. 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT on the fifth flight to the International Space Station. It will carry two elements of the Space Station, the Integrated Truss Structure Z1 and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter. The mission is also the 100th flight in the Shuttle program KSC-00pp1360

The STS-92 crew exits the Operations and Checkout Building on their wa...

The STS-92 crew exits the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to the Astrovan and Launch Pad 39A for a simulated countdown. Walking left to right are (foreground) Mission Specialists Koichi Wakata of ... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Space Shuttle Discovery’s payload bay, STS-92 Mission Specialist William S. McArthur Jr. explains something about the Pressurized Mating Adapter in front of him to other Mission Specialists Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and Peter J.K. Wisoff. The STS-92 crew has been inspecting the payload in preparation for launch Oct. 5, 2000. The mission is the fifth flight for the construction of the International Space Station. The payload also includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1. During the 11-day mission, four extravehicular activities (EVAs), or space walks, are planned KSC00pp1479

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Space Shuttle Discovery’s payload bay...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Space Shuttle Discovery’s payload bay, STS-92 Mission Specialist William S. McArthur Jr. explains something about the Pressurized Mating Adapter in front of him to other Mission... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 39B, the cargo in Space Shuttle Atlantis' payload bay is seen before the closing of the bay doors. The cargo is the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment for the International Space Station. Scheduled to launch Aug. 27, Atlantis will fly on mission STS-115 with a crew of six to deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-06pd1915

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 39B, the cargo in Space S...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 39B, the cargo in Space Shuttle Atlantis' payload bay is seen before the closing of the bay doors. The cargo is the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment for the In... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center cuts away the protective wrapping from the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier for the Hubble Space Telescope. The Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, and the Flight Support System, or FSS, have also arrived at Kennedy. The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in late July. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the Hubble servicing mission, targeted for launch Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-08pd2076

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servic...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center cuts away the protective wrapping from the Orb... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister arrives under the payload changeout room in the rotating service structure on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The canister holds the payloads for mission STS-121: the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, with supplies and equipment for the International Space Station; the lightweight multi-purpose experiment support structure carrier; and the integrated cargo carrier, with the mobile transporter reel assembly and a spare pump module. The payload canister will be lifted into the changeout room where the payloads will be transferred to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 from Launch Pad 39B in a window that opens July 1 and extends to July 19. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-06pd0851

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister arrives under the...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload canister arrives under the payload changeout room in the rotating service structure on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The canister holds the payloads... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-107 Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, participates in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, a standard part of Shuttle launch preparations. STS-107 is a mission devoted to research and will include more than 80 experiments that will study Earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety. Launch is planned for Jan. 16, 2003, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. KSC-02pd1926

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-107 Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, ...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-107 Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, participates in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities, a standard part of Shuttle launch preparation... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At SPACEHAB, Cape Canaveral, members of the STS-107 crew look over elements in the SPACEHAB Double Module as part of equipment familiarization for their mission. The crew comprises Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown and Laurel Clark, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon. STS-107 has two payload elements, the Double Module in its first flight into space and a Hitchhiker payload. The double module provides greater experiment capability than on previous flights, resulting for this mission in a very broad collection of experiments for NASA and commercial and European customers. The experiments range from material sciences to life sciences (many rats). The Hitchhiker carrier system is modular and expandable in accordance with payload requirements, which allows maximum efficiency in utilizing orbiter resources and increases the potential for early manifesting on the Shuttle. Hitchhiker experiments are housed in canisters or attached to mounting plates. The Hitchhiker canister comes in two varieties--the Hitchhiker Motorized Door Canister and the Sealed Canisters. STS-107 is scheduled to launch in May 2002 KSC-01pp1571

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At SPACEHAB, Cape Canaveral, members of ...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At SPACEHAB, Cape Canaveral, members of the STS-107 crew look over elements in the SPACEHAB Double Module as part of equipment familiarization for their mission. The crew comprise... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Discovery, on top of the mobile launcher platform and crawler-transporter, reaches Launch Pad 39B for launch of mission STS-116. On the right edge of the photo can be seen the White Room at the end of the orbiter access arm. On the horizon at left is Launch Pad 39A. The rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building began at 12:29 a.m. The mission is No. 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. The launch window for mission STS-116 opens Dec. 7. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller KSC-06pd2482

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Discovery, on top of the ...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Discovery, on top of the mobile launcher platform and crawler-transporter, reaches Launch Pad 39B for launch of mission STS-116. On the right edge of the photo can b... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the slidewire basket area of Launch Pad 39A, the STS-92 crew poses for a group photograph after a question and answer session with the media. Standing left to right are Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Pamela Ann Melroy and Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, William S. McArthur Jr. (with microphone), Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff, Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and Koichi Wakata of Japan. The crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that provide emergency egress training, opportunities to inspect the mission payload, and take part in a simulated countdown. The slidewire basket area is a landing site for the crew if they have to use the slidewire baskets to exit the orbiter on the pad in an emergency. STS-92 is scheduled to launch Oct. 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT on the fifth flight to the International Space Station. It will carry two elements of the Space Station, the Integrated Truss Structure Z1 and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter. The mission is also the 100th flight in the Shuttle program KSC00pp1367

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the slidewire basket area of Launch P...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the slidewire basket area of Launch Pad 39A, the STS-92 crew poses for a group photograph after a question and answer session with the media. Standing left to right are Commande... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A Hyster forklift moves NASA's Juno spacecraft into Astrotech's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. to begin final testing and preparations for launch. 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. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller It will splash down into the Atlantic Ocean where the ship and its crew will recover it and tow it back through Port Canaveral for refurbishing for another launch. The STS-124 mission is the second of three flights launching components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. The shuttle crew will install Kibo's large Japanese Pressurized Module and its remote manipulator system, or RMS. Photo credit: USA/Jeff Suter KSC-2011-2818

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A Hyster forklift moves NASA's Juno spacecraft...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A Hyster forklift moves NASA's Juno spacecraft into Astrotech's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. to begin final testing and preparations for launch. The solar-power... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, arcane moves the cover of the shipping container away from its cargo, the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment (MULE) carrier. The MULE is part of the payload for the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, STS-125. The MULE carrier will join the Flight Support System, the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier and the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where the Hubble payload is being prepared for launch. The Relative Navigation Sensors and the New Outer Blanket Layers will be on the MULE. The payload is scheduled to go to Launch Pad 39A in mid-September to be installed into Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 at 1:34 a.m. EDT. .Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller KSC-08pd2298

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, arcane moves the cover of the shipping container away from its cargo, the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment (MULE... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 crew put on their launch-and-entry suits before heading to the Astrovan for the ride to Launch Pad 39A. The crew is participating in a dress rehearsal for their upcoming launch, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. Making his second spaceflight on STS-130 is Mission Specialist Robert Behnken, seen here. The primary payload for the STS-130 mission is the International Space Station's Tranquility node, a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the station's life support systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. The cupola resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. The module was built in Turin, Italy, by Thales Alenia Space for the European Space Agency. Launch of STS-130 is targeted for Feb. 7. For information on the STS-130 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts130/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2010-1354

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 crew put on their launch-and-entry suits before heading to ... More

In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-106 Mission Specialists Yuri I. Malenchenko (left) and Edward T. Lu (beside him) familiarize themselves with equipment in the payload bay of Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis with the help of KSC employees as part of Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) activities for their mission. The other crew members are Commander Terrence W. Wilcutt, Pilot Scott D. Altman, and Mission Specialists Daniel C. Burbank, Boris V. Morukov and Richard A. Mastracchio. Malenchenko and Morukov represent the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. On the 11-day mission, the seven-member crew will perform support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and prepare the living quarters in the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module for the first long-duration crew, dubbed "Expedition One," which is due to arrive at the Station in late fall. STS-106 is scheduled to launch Sept. 8, 2000, at 8:31 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39B KSC-00pp0995

In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-106 Mission Specialists Yuri...

In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-106 Mission Specialists Yuri I. Malenchenko (left) and Edward T. Lu (beside him) familiarize themselves with equipment in the payload bay of Space Shuttle orbiter Atlan... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Pad 39B, both of Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay doors are closed for launch. Inside the payload bay, the cargo includes the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo and the integrated cargo carrier. Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-121 at 3:49 p.m. July 1 carrying a crew of seven on the 12-day mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-06pd1171

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Pad 39B, both of Space Shuttl...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Pad 39B, both of Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay doors are closed for launch. Inside the payload bay, the cargo includes the multi-purpose logistics module Leonar... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-118 Mission Specialist Dave Williams, who represents the Canadian Space Agency, gets ready to practice driving an M-113 armored personnel carrier as part of emergency exit training. Behind him is Mission Specialist Barbara R. Morgan. They and other crew members are at Kennedy for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT), a dress rehearsal for launch. TCDT activities include the M-113 training, payload familiarization, emergency egress training at the pad and a simulated launch countdown. The STS-118 payload aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour includes the S5 truss, a SPACEHAB module and external stowage platform 3. The mission is the 22nd flight to the International Space Station and is targeted for launch on Aug.7. NASA/George Shelton KSC-07pd1895

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-118 Mission Specialist Dave Willia...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-118 Mission Specialist Dave Williams, who represents the Canadian Space Agency, gets ready to practice driving an M-113 armored personnel carrier as part of emergency exit tr... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Project Morpheus prototype lander’s engine begins to fire during a tether test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. During the test, the lander is lifted 20 feet by crane, and will ascend another 10 feet, maneuver backwards 10 feet, and then fly forward and descend to its original position, landing at the end of the tether onto a transportable launch platform. Testing of the prototype lander was performed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for tethered and free flight testing at Kennedy. The landing facility will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus utilizes an autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, payload that will allow it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper KSC-2013-4285

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Project Morpheus prototype lander’s engine begins to fire during a tether test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. During the ... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the white room on Launch Pad 39B, STS-116 Mission Specialist Sunita Williams is helped with her gear before entering Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission crew is taking part in a simulated launch countdown, part of the terminal countdown demonstration test that includes prelaunch preparations. The STS-116 mission is No. 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Dec. 7. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller KSC-06pd2602

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the white room on Launch Pad 39B, S...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the white room on Launch Pad 39B, STS-116 Mission Specialist Sunita Williams is helped with her gear before entering Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission crew is taking part ... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Technicians unload the replacement wrist joint for the Space Station Remote Manipulator System before installing it in Space Shuttle Endeavour's payload bay. The new wrist joint, called an Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU), will be installed next to the arm's Latching End Effector during the final of three planned spacewalks. Mission STS-111 is designated UF-2, the 14th assembly flight to the International Space Station. Endeavour's payload includes the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo and Mobile Base System. The mission also will swap resident crews on the Station, carrying the Expedition 5 crew and returning to Earth Expedition 4. Liftoff of Endeavour is scheduled between 4 and 8 p.m. May 30, 2002 KSC-02pd0640

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Technicians unload the replacement wrist...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Technicians unload the replacement wrist joint for the Space Station Remote Manipulator System before installing it in Space Shuttle Endeavour's payload bay. The new wrist joint, c... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Huge clouds roll over Launch Pad 39B where Space Shuttle Atlantis still sits after the scrub of its launch on mission STS-115. Atlantis was originally scheduled to launch at 12:29 p.m. EDT on this date, but a 24-hour scrub was called by mission managers due to a concern with fuel cell 1. Towering above the shuttle is the 80-foot lightning mast. At left is the rolled-back rotating service structure with the payload changeout room open. Just above the orange external tank is the vent hood (known as the "beanie cap") at the end of the gaseous oxygen vent arm. Vapors are created as the liquid oxygen in the external tank boil off. The hood vents the gaseous oxygen vapors away from the space shuttle vehicle. During the STS-115 mission, Atlantis' astronauts will deliver and install the 17.5-ton, bus-sized P3/P4 integrated truss segment on the station. The girder-like truss includes a set of giant solar arrays, batteries and associated electronics and will provide one-fourth of the total power-generation capability for the completed station. This mission is the 116th space shuttle flight, the 27th flight for orbiter Atlantis, and the 19th U.S. flight to the International Space Station. STS-115 is scheduled to last 11 days with a planned landing at KSC. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley KSC-06pd2055

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Huge clouds roll over Launch Pad 39B w...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Huge clouds roll over Launch Pad 39B where Space Shuttle Atlantis still sits after the scrub of its launch on mission STS-115. Atlantis was originally scheduled to launch at 12:... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Joint Airlock Module, suspended from an overhead crane, moves toward the payload canister below. After being placed in the canister, the module will be transferred to the Space Station Processing Facility. There the module will undergo more preflight processing for the STS-104 mission scheduled for launch aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis May 17, 2001. The Joint Airlock Module is the gateway from which crew members aboard the International Space Station will enter and exit the 470-ton orbiting research facility KSC00pp1504

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Joint Airlock Module, suspended from...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Joint Airlock Module, suspended from an overhead crane, moves toward the payload canister below. After being placed in the canister, the module will be transferred to the Space... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the clean room of the Payload Hazardous Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center uses black light inspection for a thorough cleaning of the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, or COS. Black light inspection uses UVA fluorescence to detect possible particulate microcontamination, minute cracks or fluid leaks. The COS will be installed on the Hubble Space Telescope on space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission. COS will be the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever flown on Hubble and will probe the "cosmic web" - the large-scale structure of the universe whose form is determined by the gravity of dark matter and is traced by galaxies and intergalactic gas. The COS far-ultraviolet channel has a sensitivity 30 times greater than that of previous spectroscopic instruments for the detection of extremely low light levels. Launch of Atlantis on the STS-125 mission is targeted for Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-08pd2325

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the clean room of the Payload Hazardous Proc...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the clean room of the Payload Hazardous Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center uses black light inspection for a thorough ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility remove the protective cover from the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3. The WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis for the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, STS-125. As Hubble enters the last stage of its life, WFC3 will be Hubble's next evolutionary step, allowing Hubble to peer ever further into the mysteries of the cosmos. WFC3 will study a diverse range of objects and phenomena, from young and extremely distant galaxies, to much more nearby stellar systems, to objects within our very own solar system. WFC3 will take the place of Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, which astronauts will bring back to Earth aboard the shuttle. Launch of Atlantis is targeted at 1:34 a.m. EDT Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-08pd2450

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicin...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility remove the protective cover from the Wide Field Camera 3, or WFC3. The WFC3 is part of the payload on space shuttle Atlantis for... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The STS-92 crew gather outside the gate to Launch Pad 39A where Space Shuttle Discovery waits in the background for liftoff Oct. 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT. From left to right are Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Pamela Ann Melroy, and Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, William S. McArthur Jr., Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff, Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and Koichi Wakata of Japan. The mission payload includes Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, an early exterior framework to allow the first U.S. solar arrays on a future flight to be temporarily installed on Unity for early power; Ku-band communication to support early science capability and U.S. television; and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter to provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth ISS flight and Lab installation on the seventh ISS flight. The 11-day mission will include four spacewalks KSC-00pp1486

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The STS-92 crew gather outside the gate...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The STS-92 crew gather outside the gate to Launch Pad 39A where Space Shuttle Discovery waits in the background for liftoff Oct. 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT. From left to right are Command... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 39, members of the STS-117 crew are instructed in the operation of an M-113 armored personnel carrier by the astronaut rescue team. The astronauts on the STS-117 crew are participating in M-113 armored personnel carrier training during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities, a dress rehearsal for their launch, targeted for March 15. The M-113 could be used to move the crew away from the launch pad quickly in the event of an emergency. The TCDT also includes pad emergency egress training and a simulated launch countdown. The mission payload aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis is the S3/S4 integrated truss structure, along with a third set of solar arrays and batteries. The crew of six astronauts will install the truss to continue assembly of the station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-07pd0477

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 39, members of the STS...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Launch Complex 39, members of the STS-117 crew are instructed in the operation of an M-113 armored personnel carrier by the astronaut rescue team. The astronauts on the STS-117 ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Kibo Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, or ELM-ES, is exposed after removal of the shipping container. The ELM-ES is one of the final components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory for the International Space Station. It can provide payload storage space and can carry up to three payloads at launch. In addition, the ELM-ES provides a logistics function where it can be returned to the ground aboard the space shuttle. The ELM-ES will be carried aboard space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission targeted for launch May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-08pd2962

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NA...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Kibo Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, or ELM-ES, is exposed after removal of the shipp... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The container that carries the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module (MPLM), secured on its transportation vehicle, begins its journey from the Canister Rotation Facility to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once there, the canister will be lifted to the payload changeout room. The payload ground-handling mechanism then will be used to transfer Raffaello out of the canister into space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay. Next, the rotating service structure that protects the shuttle from the elements and provides access will be rotated back into place. Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are targeted to lift off on Atlantis July 8, taking with them the MPLM packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts135/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux KSC-2011-4484

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The container that carries the Raffaello multi...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The container that carries the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module (MPLM), secured on its transportation vehicle, begins its journey from the Canister Rotation Facility to Launch Pa... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the Launch Control Center, Robbie Ashley, STS-115 payload manager, and Pat Lesley, with United Space Alliance, receive a special award from (at left) Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach and (at right) NASA Flow Director Angie Brewer. Mission STS-115 is the 116th space shuttle flight, the 27th flight for orbiter Atlantis, and the 19th U.S. flight to the International Space Station. STS-115 is scheduled to last 11 days with a planned landing at KSC. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-06pd2137

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the Launch Control Center, Robbie...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the Launch Control Center, Robbie Ashley, STS-115 payload manager, and Pat Lesley, with United Space Alliance, receive a special award from (at left) Shuttle Launch Directo... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the IMAX 3D camera is lifted from a stand to be installed on the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC. The carrier will be installed in space shuttle Atlantis’ payload bay. The camera will record the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Space shuttle Atlantis' 11-day flight is targeted for launch May 12 and will include five spacewalks in which astronauts will refurbish and upgrade the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments. As a result, Hubble's capabilities will be expanded and its operational lifespan extended through at least 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2009-2341

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the IMAX 3D camera is lifted from a stand to be installed on the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC. Th... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Station and Shuttle Programs Michael Kostelnik (left) and United Space Alliance (USA) Vice President and Space Shuttle Program Manager Howard DeCastro (right) are briefed by a USA technician (center) on Shuttle processing in the payload bay of orbiter Atlantis. NASA and USA Space Shuttle program management are participating in a leadership workday. The day is intended to provide management with an in-depth, hands-on look at Shuttle processing activities at KSC.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1, NA...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Station and Shuttle Programs Michael Kostelnik (left) and United Space Alliance (USA) Vice Presi... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of space shuttle Discovery's STS-131 crew participate in training activities during the Crew Equipment Interface Test, or CEIT, for their mission. Here, buckets are used to lower the crew members and their trainers into Discovery's payload bay without damaging the bay's lining. The CEIT provides the crew with hands-on training and observation of shuttle and flight hardware. The seven-member crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with resupply stowage platforms and racks to be transferred to locations around the International Space Station. Three spacewalks will include work to attach a spare ammonia tank assembly to the station's exterior and return a European experiment from outside the station's Columbus module. Discovery's launch is targeted for March 18. For information on the STS-131 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts131/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2010-1149

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at NASA's Kenn...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of space shuttle Discovery's STS-131 crew participate in training activities during the Crew Equipment ... More

The STS-92 crew wave to onlookers as they exit the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to Launch Pad 39A for liftoff at 8:05 p.m. EDT to the International Space Station (ISS). They are (from front to back) Pilot Pamela Ann Melroy and Commander Brian Duffy; and Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao and William S. McArthur Jr.; Peter J.K. Wisoff; Michael E. Lopez-Alegria and Koichi Wakata of Japan. The mission is the fifth flight for the construction of the ISS. The payload includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1 and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter. During the 11-day mission, four extravehicular activities (EVAs), or spacewalks, are planned. The Z-1 truss is the first of 10 that will become the backbone of the International Space Station, eventually stretching the length of a football field. PMA-3 will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth ISS flight and Lab installation on the seventh ISS flight. This launch is the fourth for Duffy and Wisoff, the third for Chiao and McArthur, second for Wakata and Lopez-Alegria, and first for Melroy. Landing is expected Oct. 21 at 3:55 p.m. EDT KSC-00padig037

The STS-92 crew wave to onlookers as they exit the Operations and Chec...

The STS-92 crew wave to onlookers as they exit the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to Launch Pad 39A for liftoff at 8:05 p.m. EDT to the International Space Station (ISS). They are (from front to ... More

Members of the STS-92 crew look over the payload (left) in Space Shuttle Discovery’s payload bay. Left to right, in masks, are Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff and William S. McArthur Jr. They and the other crew members Commander Brian Duffy, Pilot Pamela Ann Melroy and Mission Specialists Koichi Wakata of Japan, and Michael E. Lopez-Alegria are preparing for launch on Oct. 5, 2000. The mission is the fifth flight for the construction of the International Space Station. The payload includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1 and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter. During the 11-day mission, four extravehicular activities (EVAs), or space walks, are planned KSC-00pp1472

Members of the STS-92 crew look over the payload (left) in Space Shutt...

Members of the STS-92 crew look over the payload (left) in Space Shuttle Discovery’s payload bay. Left to right, in masks, are Mission Specialists Leroy Chiao, Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff and William S. McArthur J... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The payload canister arrives at the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) on Launch Pad 39B. The canister with its cargo of the SPACEHAB module and Integrated Cargo Carrier will be lifted up into the Payload Changeout Room near the top of the RSS for transfer to the payload bay of Shuttle Atlantis for mission STS-106. The PCR provides an environmentally controlled facility for the transfer. The 11-day mission to the International Space Station will include service module support tasks on orbit, transfer supplies and outfit the Space Station for the first long-duration crew. Atlantis is scheduled to launch Sept. 8 at 8:31 a.m. EDT. KSC-00pp1116

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The payload canister arrives at the Rot...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The payload canister arrives at the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) on Launch Pad 39B. The canister with its cargo of the SPACEHAB module and Integrated Cargo Carrier will be lif... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-122 crew members inspect the Columbus European Laboratory, part of the payload on their mission. Seen here is Commander Steve Frick. The crew is participating in a crew equipment interface test that provides opportunities for hands-on experience with payloads and equipment. The other crew members are Pilot Alan Poindexter and Mission Specialists Rex Walheim, Stan Love, Leland Melvin and Hans Schlegel, who represents the European Space Agency. The 24th mission to the International Space Station, STS-122 will also include the Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure - Non-Deployable (MPESS-ND). Launch of STS-122 on Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled no earlier than October. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-07pd0058

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facilit...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-122 crew members inspect the Columbus European Laboratory, part of the payload on their mission. Seen here is Commander Steve Frick.... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, STS-115 crew members inspect equipment in Atlantis's payload bay. The crew is at KSC for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities, which involves equipment familiarization, a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations. The STS-115 mission will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 truss, to the International Space Station. The crew will attach the P3 to the first port truss segment, the P1 truss, as well as deploy solar array set 2A and 4A. Launch on Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for late August. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-06pd1205

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility at N...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, STS-115 crew members inspect equipment in Atlantis's payload bay. The crew is at KSC for Crew Equipment Interfa... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dressed in bunny suits, STS-107 Payload Commander Michael Anderson (left) and 107 Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (right), who is with the Israeli Space Agency, review data in Columbia's payload bay for the Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research (FREESTAR) experiments for the mission. FREESTAR comprises Mediterranean Israeli Dust, Solar Constant, Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding, Critical Viscosity of Xenon, Low Power, and Space Experimental Module experiments. Another payload is the SHI Research Double Module (SHI/RDM), also known as SPACEHAB. The experiments range from material sciences to life sciences. STS-107 is scheduled to launch July 11, 2002 KSC-02pd0757

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dressed in bunny suits, STS-107 Payload ...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dressed in bunny suits, STS-107 Payload Commander Michael Anderson (left) and 107 Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (right), who is with the Israeli Space Agency, review data in Columb... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-118 Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio gets help with the fit of his launch and entry suit during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities, a dress rehearsal for launch. TCDT activities include the M-113 training, payload familiarization, emergency egress training at the pad and a simulated launch countdown. The STS-118 payload aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour includes the S5 truss, a SPACEHAB module and external stowage platform 3. The mission is the 22nd flight to the International Space Station and is targeted for launch on Aug. 7. NASA/George Shelton KSC-07pd1917

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-118 Mission Specialist Rick Mastra...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- STS-118 Mission Specialist Rick Mastracchio gets help with the fit of his launch and entry suit during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities, a dress rehearsal ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians inspect space shuttle Endeavour’s payload bay doors after they were closed for the final time. 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 NASA’s orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-3429

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians inspect space shuttle Endeavour’s payload bay doors after they were close... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Discovery begins rolling into the fog that shrouds Kennedy Space Center. Discovery is on its way from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B and mission STS-102 to the International Space Station. Its payload is the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo, a “moving van,” to carry laboratory racks filled with equipment, experiments and supplies to and from the Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle. The flight will also carry the Expedition Two crew up to the Space Station, replacing Expedition One, who will return to Earth on Discovery. Launch is scheduled for March 8 at 6:45 a.m. EST KSC01padig067

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Discovery begins rolling i...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Discovery begins rolling into the fog that shrouds Kennedy Space Center. Discovery is on its way from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B and mission STS-... More

Inside the Payload Changeout Room (PCR), workers prepare to move the Integrated Truss Structure Z1 out of the payload canister. Once inside the PCR, workers will get ready to move the Z1 into the payload bay of Space Shuttle Discovery. The Z1 truss is the first of 10 that will become the backbone of the International Space Station, eventually stretching the length of a football field. Along with its companion payload, the third Pressurized Mating Adapter, the Z1 is scheduled to be launched aboard Discovery Oct. 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT KSC-00pp1358

Inside the Payload Changeout Room (PCR), workers prepare to move the I...

Inside the Payload Changeout Room (PCR), workers prepare to move the Integrated Truss Structure Z1 out of the payload canister. Once inside the PCR, workers will get ready to move the Z1 into the payload bay of... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-101 Mission Specialist Susan J. Helms adjusts her helmet after climbing into her seat inside Space Shuttle Atlantis for a simulated launch countdown. The countdown is part of Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities that also include emergency egress training and familiarization with the payload. Other crew members taking part are Commander James D. Halsell Jr., Pilot Scott J. "Doc" Horowitz and Mission Specialists Mary Ellen Weber, James Voss, Jeffrey N. Williams, and Yury Usachev of Russia. During their mission to the International Space Station, the STS-101 crew will be delivering logistics and supplies, plus preparing the Station for the arrival of the Zvezda Service Module, expected to be launched by Russia in July 2000. Also, the crew will conduct one space walk to perform maintenance on the Space Station. This will be the third assembly flight for the Space Station. STS-101 is scheduled to launch April 24 at 4:15 p.m. from Launch Pad 39A KSC00pp0473

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-101 Mission Specialist Susan J. Helm...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-101 Mission Specialist Susan J. Helms adjusts her helmet after climbing into her seat inside Space Shuttle Atlantis for a simulated launch countdown. The countdown is part of T... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Atlantis passes the turn basin as it slowly wends its way toward Launch Pad 39A. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 8:19 a.m. The 3.4-mile trip to the pad along the crawlerway will take about 6 hours. The mission payload aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis is the S3/S4 integrated truss structure, along with a third set of solar arrays and batteries. The crew of six astronauts will install the truss to continue assembly of the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for March 15. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley KSC-07pd0390

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Atlantis passes the turn b...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space Shuttle Atlantis passes the turn basin as it slowly wends its way toward Launch Pad 39A. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 8:19 a.m. The 3.4-mile tri... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers are disconnecting and dismantling components on shuttle Endeavour. Seen here is the view from inside the spacecraft's airlock looking toward the payload bay. The work is part of Endeavour's transition and retirement processing. The spacecraft is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Endeavour flew 25 missions, spent 299 days in space, orbited Earth 4,671 times and traveled 122,883,151 miles over the course of its 19-year career. Endeavour's STS-134 and final mission was completed after landing on June 1, 2011. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2011-4911

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Ken...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers are disconnecting and dismantling components on shuttle Endeavour. Seen here is the view from inside t... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Installed on a transporter, the payload canister moves out of the Vertical Processing Facility. Inside the canister are the SPACEHAB module and the port 5 truss segment for mission STS-116. They will be moved into the payload changeout room at the pad and transferred into Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay once the vehicle has rolled out to the pad. The payload canister is 65 feet long, 18 feet wide and 18 feet, 7 inches high. It has the capability to carry vertically or horizontally processed payloads up to 15 feet in diameter and 60 feet long, matching the capacity of the orbiter payload bay. It can carry payloads weighing up to 65,000 pounds. Clamshell-shaped doors at the top of the canister operate like the orbiter payload bay doors, with the same allowable clearances. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton KSC-06pd2451

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Installed on a transporter, the payload...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Installed on a transporter, the payload canister moves out of the Vertical Processing Facility. Inside the canister are the SPACEHAB module and the port 5 truss segment for missi... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A second shipping container of major flight hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope arrives at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to begin preparations for its targeted October launch. The container holds the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, and the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC. The payload carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the servicing mission. The three payload carriers or pallets are the Flight Support System, the SLIC and the ORUC. At the end of July, a fourth and final carrier, the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will join the others in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where the Hubble payload is being prepared for launch. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller KSC-08pd2021

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A second shipping container of major flight h...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A second shipping container of major flight hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope arrives at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crew members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission pause from their M113 training for a group portrait. From left are Commander George Zamka; Pilot Terry Virts; and Mission Specialists Robert Behnken, Kathryn Hire, Stephen Robinson and Nicholas Patrick. An M113 is kept at the foot of the launch pad in case an emergency egress from the vicinity of the pad is needed. The crew members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission are at Kennedy for training related to their launch dress rehearsal, the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The primary payload on STS-130 is the International Space Station's Node 3, Tranquility, a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the station's life support systems. Attached to one end of Tranquility is a cupola, a unique work area with six windows on its sides and one on top. Endeavour's launch is targeted for Feb. 7. For information on the STS-130 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts130/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2010-1307

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crew members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-130 mission pause from their M113 training for a group portrait. From left are Commander Geor... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, astronauts are getting first-hand experience with the fluid experiment rack of the Japanese Experiment Module, or JEM, part of the mission payload to the International Space Station. The JEM comprises six components: two research facilities -- the Pressurized Module and Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. The first of those three missions, STS-123, will carry the Experiment Logistics Module Pressurized Section aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, targeted for launch in February 2008. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-07pd1175

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facilit...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility, astronauts are getting first-hand experience with the fluid experiment rack of the Japanese Experiment Module, or JEM, part of the missio... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Steady progress is made on the construction of the hazard field for the Project Morpheus lander near the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Testing of the prototype lander has been ongoing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for its first free flight. The SLF will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus utilizes an autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, payload that will allow it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is one of 20 small projects comprising the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, program in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. AES projects pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/exploration/morpheus/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-3659

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Steady progress is made on the construction of ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Steady progress is made on the construction of the hazard field for the Project Morpheus lander near the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Te... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Center Director Robert Cabana, second from right, joins space shuttle support personnel in a ceremony following the final power down of space shuttle Discovery during Space Shuttle Program transition and retirement activities. "Power down" followed the final closure of Discovery's payload bay doors. Discovery is being prepared for public display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., in 2012. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-8324

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kenn...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Center Director Robert Cabana, second from right, joins space shuttle support personnel in a ceremony following... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of space shuttle Endeavour’s payload bay doors is closed. Endeavour’s payload bay doors will be closed for the final time. 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 NASA’s orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-3423

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of space shuttle Endeavour’s payload bay doors is closed. Endeavour’s payload bay doors will be closed ... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Launch Pad 39A area, Mission STS-117 crew members receive instruction on emergency egress using the slidewire basket system during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities. Here, Mission Specialists Steven Swanson (left) and Danny Olivas (right) practice exiting from the slidewire basket. The TCDT also includes M-113 armored personnel carrier training, and a simulated launch countdown. The mission payload aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis is the S3/S4 integrated truss structure, along with a third set of solar arrays and batteries. The crew of six astronauts will install the truss to continue assembly of the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-07pd0494

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Launch Pad 39A area, Mission STS...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Launch Pad 39A area, Mission STS-117 crew members receive instruction on emergency egress using the slidewire basket system during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test act... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Discovery rolls to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The first motion of the shuttle out from Orbiter Processing Facility 3 was at 7:22 a.m. EDT. In the VAB, Discovery will be lifted into High Bay 1 and mated to the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters already installed on the mobile launcher platform. The shuttle is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A the first week of August to prepare for the STS-128 mission to the International Space Station. Discovery will carry the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module containing life support racks and science racks and the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier in its payload bay. Launch of Discovery is targeted for late August. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2009-4241

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Discovery rolls to the Vehicle A...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Discovery rolls to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The first motion of the shuttle out from Orbiter Processing Facility 3 was at 7:22 a.m... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload for mission STS-118 is being installed in the payload bay on Space Shuttle Endeavour on Launch Pad 39A. Seen at center is the SPACEHAB module. At left and right in the photo are the shuttle robotic arm and the orbiter boom sensor system. The payload also includes the S5 truss and external stowage platform 3. The mission is the 22nd flight to the International Space Station and is targeted for launch on Aug.7. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller KSC-07pd1860

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload for mission STS-118 is be...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The payload for mission STS-118 is being installed in the payload bay on Space Shuttle Endeavour on Launch Pad 39A. Seen at center is the SPACEHAB module. At left and right in... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Sharing a humorous moment on Launch Pad 39A during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities are (left) Commander Rick Husband and (right) Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (the first Israeli astronaut). The TCDT also includes a simulated launch countdown. STS-107 is a mission devoted to research and will include more than 80 experiments that will study Earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety. Launch is planned for Jan. 16, 2003, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. . KSC-02pd1979

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Sharing a humorous moment on Launch Pad ...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Sharing a humorous moment on Launch Pad 39A during Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities are (left) Commander Rick Husband and (right) Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon (the... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the STS-127 crew look over equipment on the Japanese Experiment Module's Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, or ELM-ES, part of the payload on the mission. The crew is Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, Julie Payette and Tim Kopra. They are at Kennedy for Crew Equipment Interface Test activities, or CEIT, which provides experience handling tools, equipment and hardware for the mission. The payload will be launched to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission, targeted for launch on May 15. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitrios Gerondidakis KSC-2009-1132

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NAS...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the STS-127 crew look over equipment on the Japanese Experiment Module's Experiment Logistic... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance workers attach lifting cranes to the container holding the remote manipulator system, or RMS. The RMS is placed on a flatbed truck for shipment back to the Canadian Space Agency. The RMS, also called the Canadarm, was manufactured for NASA’s Space Shuttle Program by SPAR Aerospace Ltd., which later became a part of MD Robotics in Ontario, Canada. During shuttle missions, the RMS was attached in the payload bay. Mission specialists operated the arm to remove payloads from the payload bay and hand them off to the larger Canadarm 2 on the International Space Station. The shuttle arm also was used during astronaut spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-3838

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance workers attach lifting cranes to the container holding the remote manipulator system,... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A yellow tag identifies the crawler-transporter cleat that has a crack. The crack was noticed as the crawler-transporter was moving Space Shuttle Endeavour to Launch Pad 39B. Rollout was delayed until the cleat could be replaced. The Space Shuttle was hard down on the pad several hours later. 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 KSC00pp1628

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A yellow tag identifies the crawler-tran...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A yellow tag identifies the crawler-transporter cleat that has a crack. The crack was noticed as the crawler-transporter was moving Space Shuttle Endeavour to Launch Pad 39B. Rollo... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Italian-built module, U.S. Node 2, for the International Space Station is offloaded from a Beluga aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The second of three Station connecting modules, Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab and provides attach locations for the Japanese laboratory, European laboratory, the Centrifuge Accommodation Module and, later, Multipurpose Logistics Modules. It will provide the primary docking location for the Shuttle when a pressurized mating adapter is attached to Node 2. Installation of the module will complete the U.S. Core of the ISS. Node 2 is the designated payload for mission STS-120. No orbiter or launch date has been determined yet.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Italian-built module, U.S. Node 2, fo...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Italian-built module, U.S. Node 2, for the International Space Station is offloaded from a Beluga aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The second of three Station connectin... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – From left, Chirold Epp, the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology, or ALHAT, project manager, and Jon Olansen, Morpheus project manager, speak to members of the media near the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Media also viewed Morpheus inside a facility near the landing facility. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2014-2644

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – From left, Chirold Epp, the Autonomous Landing ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – From left, Chirold Epp, the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology, or ALHAT, project manager, and Jon Olansen, Morpheus project manager, speak to members of the media near th... More

At the Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-97 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner (left) is greeted by Center Director Roy Bridges on his arrival at KSC from Johnson Space Center. Tanner and the rest of the crew have returned to KSC for the launch, scheduled for Nov. 30 at about 10:06 p.m. EST. Mission STS-97is 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. STS-97 is scheduled to launch Nov. 30 at about 10:06 p.m. EST KSC-00pp1756

At the Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-97 Mission Specialist Joseph Tann...

At the Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-97 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner (left) is greeted by Center Director Roy Bridges on his arrival at KSC from Johnson Space Center. Tanner and the rest of the crew have re... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3, technicians install a remote manipulator system, or space shuttle arm, previously installed on the orbiter Atlantis, in Discovery’s payload bay. The arms were switched because the arm that was installed on Atlantis has special instrumentation to gather loads data from the second return-to-flight mission, STS-121. Discovery is the designated orbiter to fly on STS-121. scheduled to launch no earlier than May 2006. KSC-05pd2490

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Orbiter P...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3, technicians install a remote manipulator system, or space shuttle arm, previously installed on the orbiter Atlanti... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Prior to their departure, the STS-110 crew pauses for the media at the Shuttle Landing Facility. Standing left to right are Mission Specialists Jerry Ross, Steven Smith and Lee Morin; Commander Michael Bloomfield; Pilot Stephen Frick; and Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Ellen Ochoa. The crew was at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities that included the payload familiarization and a simulated launch countdown. Scheduled for launch April 4, the 11-day STS-110 mission will feature Space Shuttle Atlantis docking with the International Space Station (ISS) and delivering the S0 truss, the centerpiece-segment of the primary truss structure that will eventually extend over 300 feet KSC-02PD0338

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Prior to their departure, the STS-110 c...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Prior to their departure, the STS-110 crew pauses for the media at the Shuttle Landing Facility. Standing left to right are Mission Specialists Jerry Ross, Steven Smith and Lee M... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At SPACEHAB in Titusville, Fla., STS-127 Mission Specialist Christopher Cassidy gets a close look at the Pump Module Assembly, part of the payload for the mission. The crew members are at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which provides experience handling tools, equipment and hardware they will use on the mission. The payload will be launched to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission, targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitrios Gerondidakis KSC-08pd4039

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At SPACEHAB in Titusville, Fla., STS-127 Miss...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At SPACEHAB in Titusville, Fla., STS-127 Mission Specialist Christopher Cassidy gets a close look at the Pump Module Assembly, part of the payload for the mission. The crew members are ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an overhead crane moves the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module, or MPLM, toward a payload canister. Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are targeted to lift off on space shuttle Atlantis July 8, taking with them the MPLM packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts to the International Space Station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts135/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2011-4412

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NA...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an overhead crane moves the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module, or MPLM, toward a payload canist... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- After rollback of the Rotating Service Structure on Launch Pad 39B, Space Shuttle Endeavour is bathed in light. Twin solid rocket boosters flank the orange external tank behind Endeavour. Above the external tank is the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm that vents gaseous oxygen vapors away from the Shuttle. The vent hood assembly at the end is often referred to as the "beanie cap." Stretching to the crew hatch on the side of Endeavour is the Orbiter Access Arm with its environmentally controlled White Room at the end, through which the crew enters the vehicle. The Shuttle sits on the Mobile Launcher Platform with the two service tail masts on either side of the main engines. The tail masts support the fluid, gas and electrical requirements of the orbiter's liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen aft T-0 umbilicals. Each tail mast is 31 feet (9.4 meters) high, 15 feet (4.6 meters) long and 9 feet (3.1 meters) wide. Endeavour is scheduled to launch on mission STS-108 Dec. 4 at 5:45 p.m. EST. On this 12th flight to the International Space Station, known as a Utilization Flight, Endeavour will carry a crew of four plus the Expedition 4 crew, who will replace Expedition 3 aboard the ISS. The payload includes the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, filled with supplies, equipment and experiments KSC01PD1763

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- After rollback of the Rotating Service S...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- After rollback of the Rotating Service Structure on Launch Pad 39B, Space Shuttle Endeavour is bathed in light. Twin solid rocket boosters flank the orange external tank behind En... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, check the progress of the Payload Attach System, or PAS, as it is lifted up to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, where it will be attached to the bottom of the AMS. The PAS provides a method of securely connecting the payload to the International Space Station. AMS, a state-of-the-art particle physics detector, is designed to operate as an external module on the International Space Station. It will use the unique environment of space to study the universe and its origin by searching for dark matter. AMS will fly to the station aboard space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission targeted to launch Feb. 26, 2011. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2010-4548

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Space Station Processing Fa...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, check the progress of the Payload Attach System, or PAS, as it is lifted up to the Alpha M... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the Space Station Processing Facility, an overhead crane moves towards the SPACEHAB Module to transport in to the Payload Canister. The SPACEHAB Module will carry racks of experiments, flight hardware, spacewalk equipment and supplies to support mission STS-116 to the International Space Station. STS-116 will be mission number 20 to the station and construction flight 12A.1. Along with SPACEHAB, the mission payload on Space Shuttle Discovery includes the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. The launch window opens Dec. 7. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder KSC-06pd2444

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the Space Station Processing Fac...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Inside the Space Station Processing Facility, an overhead crane moves towards the SPACEHAB Module to transport in to the Payload Canister. The SPACEHAB Module will carry racks of ... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After its overnight rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building, Space Shuttle Atlantis rests on the hard stand on Launch Pad 39B. The shuttle sits on top of the mobile launcher platform. The crawler, which transported it, is still underneath. To the left is the rotating service structure, with the payload changeout room (PCR) open. When the shuttle's payload is transported to the pad, it will be lifted into the PCR, the service structure will rotate to enclose the shuttle and the payload will be installed in Atlantis' payload bay. 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. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder KSC-06pd1713

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After its overnight rollout from the Ve...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After its overnight rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building, Space Shuttle Atlantis rests on the hard stand on Launch Pad 39B. The shuttle sits on top of the mobile launcher ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians work to move the Hubble payload canister into the payload changeout room for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission. The canister arrived at the pad on Saturday evening, however, early Sunday morning technicians were unable to place the canister into the pad’s payload changeout room. Teflon pads on “shoes” attached to the outside of the payload canister that help the canister move along guide rails didn’t fit properly. The shoes were removed and several options were considered, including slightly shaving down the pads so the shoes will fit onto the rails. STS-125 is the fifth and final shuttle Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Atlantis’ launch is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett. KSC-08pd2758

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Cent...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians work to move the Hubble payload canister into the payload changeout room for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 miss... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center install a specialized overhead crane onto the Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS. The sensor will be lifted and moved to the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier or ORUC, for installation. An FGS consists of a large structure housing a collection of mirrors, lenses, servos, prisms, beam splitters and photomultiplier tubes. There are three fine guidance sensors on Hubble located at 90-degree intervals around the circumference of the telescope. Along with the gyroscopes, the optical sensors are a key component of Hubble’s highly complex but extraordinarily effective “pointing control system.” The ORUC is one of three carriers that are being prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, STS-125, on space shuttle Atlantis. Launch is targeted for Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-08pd2347

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicin...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center install a specialized overhead crane onto the Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS. The sensor will be lif... More

Research scientist Gary Stutte displays a wheat sample that is part of ground testing for the first International Space Station plant experiment, scheduled to fly in October 2001. The payload process testing is one of many studies being performed at the Biological Sciences Branch in the Spaceport Engineering and Technology Directorate at Kennedy Space Center. The branch's operations and research areas include life sciences Space Shuttle payloads, bioregenerative life-support for long-duration spaceflight and environmental/ecological stewardship KSC-00pp0691

Research scientist Gary Stutte displays a wheat sample that is part of...

Research scientist Gary Stutte displays a wheat sample that is part of ground testing for the first International Space Station plant experiment, scheduled to fly in October 2001. The payload process testing i... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-117 crew arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to take part in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT), a preparation for the launch March 15 to the International Space Station. NASA Launch Director Mike Leinbach greets Mission Specialist Steven Swanson at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The TCDT includes emergency egress training and a simulated launch countdown. The mission payload aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis is the S3/S4 integrated truss structure, along with a third set of solar arrays and batteries. The crew of six astronauts will install the truss to continue assembly of the station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-07pd0457

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-117 crew arrives at NASA's Kenne...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-117 crew arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to take part in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT), a preparation for the launch March 15 to the International... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Viewed from a camera in the midst of Florida greenery across the marshy water, Space Shuttle Discovery leaps through billows of smoke and steam on Launch Pad 39B on the historic Return to Flight mission STS-114. Liftoff occurred at 10:39 a.m. EDT. This is the 114th Space Shuttle flight and the 31st for Discovery. The 12-day mission is expected to end with touchdown at the Shuttle Landing Facility on Aug. 7. On this mission to the International Space Station the crew will perform inspections on-orbit for the first time of all of the Reinforced Carbon-Carbon (RCC) panels on the leading edge of the wings and the Thermal Protection System tiles using the new Canadian-built Orbiter Boom Sensor System and the data from 176 impact and temperature sensors. Mission Specialists will also practice repair techniques on RCC and tile samples during a spacewalk in the payload bay. During two additional spacewalks, the crew will install the External Stowage Platform-2, equipped with spare part assemblies, and a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope contained in the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure. KSC-05pp1779

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Viewed from a camera in the midst of Fl...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Viewed from a camera in the midst of Florida greenery across the marshy water, Space Shuttle Discovery leaps through billows of smoke and steam on Launch Pad 39B on the historic R... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure is open, revealing space shuttle Atlantis on the pad for the STS-125 mission, the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. On the RSS, the payload canister is in position at the payload changeout room to receive the Hubble hardware. The payload comprises four carriers holding various equipment for the mission. The hardware will be transported back to Kennedy’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where it will be stored until a new target launch date can be set for Atlantis’ STS-125 mission in 2009. Atlantis’ October target launch date was delayed after a device on board Hubble used in the storage and transmission of science data to Earth shut down on Sept. 27. Replacing the broken device will be added to Atlantis’ servicing mission to the telescope. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs KSC-08pd3113

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Cent...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure is open, revealing space shuttle Atlantis on the pad for the STS-125 mission, the fifth and fi... More

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