Planet Earth

nasa

us national archives

car

kennedy space center

military vehicles

space program

cape canaveral

vehicle, nasa

10,331 media by topic ∙ page 1 of 104
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane moves the Ares I-X crew module simulator toward a stand at right. Other Ares I-X segments are stacked around the floor of the bay. Ares I-X is the test flight for the Ares I. The I-X flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with Ares I. The launch of the 327-foot-tall, full-scale Ares I-X, targeted for July 2009, will be the first in a series of unpiloted rocket launches from Kennedy. When fully developed, the 16-foot diameter crew module will furnish living space and reentry protection for the astronauts. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs KSC-2009-1866

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane moves the Ares I-X crew module simulator toward a stand at right. Other Ares I-X segment... More

In the town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the Expedition 31/32 backup crew participated in Victory Day celebration activities May 9, 2012 as they took a break from training for the launch of the Soyuz TMA-04M May 15 to the International Space Station. Victory Day commemorates the triumph of Russia over Nazi Germany in World War II, one of Russia’s most solemn occasions. From left to right holding flowers are backup NASA Flight Engineer Kevin Ford, backup Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy and backup Flight Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin. The prime crew, Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and NASA’s Joe Acaba, are training for their launch in the Soyuz vehicle on May 15 for a four-month mission on the orbital complex. NASA/Victor Zelentsov jsc2012e051223

In the town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the Expedition 31/32 backup crew ...

In the town of Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the Expedition 31/32 backup crew participated in Victory Day celebration activities May 9, 2012 as they took a break from training for the launch of the Soyuz TMA-04M May 15... More

Mercury Project, NASA history collection

Mercury Project, NASA history collection

A Mercury-Redstone launch vehicle awaits test-firing in the Redstone Test Stand during the late 1950s. Between 1953 and 1960, the rocket team at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama performed hundreds of tes... More

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in the early '80s, the Space Shuttle Enterprise undergoes Pathfinder fit checks at a tower. The Enterprise was built as a test vehicle and was not equipped for spaceflight. Enterprise eventually became the property of the Smithsonian Institution. Vandenberg AFB is located on the Central Coast of California about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The property is comprised of parts of five Mexican land grants and a sixth grant that was transferred virtually intact to the Army. Vandenberg now is operated by the 30th Space Wing, and is the only military installation in the United States from which unmanned government and commercial satellites are launched into polar orbit. It is also the only site from which intercontinental ballistic missiles ICBMs are launched toward the Kwajalein Atoll to verify weapon systems performance. Vandenberg's military service dates back to 1941, when known as Camp Cooke it served as an Army training facility for armored and infantry troops. The main camp closed in June 1946 and was reactivated in August 1950 after the outbreak of the Korean War. The 13th and 20th Armored Divisions and the 40th, 44th, 86th, and 91st Infantry Divisions trained at Cooke. With the advent of the missile age in the 1950s, the Air Force persuaded Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson to direct the Army to transfer 64,000 acres of North Camp Cooke to the Air Force for use as a missile launch and training base. In 1958, Camp Cooke was renamed Vandenberg Air Force Base in honor of the late General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, second Air Force Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force and chief architect of today's modern Air Force. Photo Credit: NASA KSC-99PP-1051

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in t...

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in the early '80s, the Space Shuttle Enterprise undergoes Pathfinder fit checks at a tower. The Enterprise was built as a test vehicle and was n... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations are underway to remove the gear boxes on the C truck of crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2. A section of the treads were removed to allow access to the gear boxes. Work continues in high bay 2 to upgrade CT-2. The modifications are designed to ensure CT-2’s ability to transport launch vehicles currently in development, such as the agency’s Space Launch System, to the launch pad. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades. For more than 45 years the crawler-transporters were used to transport the mobile launcher platform and the Apollo-Saturn V rockets and, later, space shuttles to Launch Pads 39A and B. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/crawler-transporter. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston KSC-2014-1951

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, preparations are underway to remove the gear boxes on the C truck of crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2. A sect... More

Vangaurd TV3. NASA public domain image colelction.

Vangaurd TV3. NASA public domain image colelction.

Test of Vanguard launch vehicle for U.S. International Geophysical Year (IGY) program to place satellite in Earth orbit to determine atmospheric density and conduct geodetic measurements. Malfunction in first s... More

Vanguard rocket explodes on launch pad

Vanguard rocket explodes on launch pad

Test of Vanguard launch vehicle for U.S. International Geophysical Year (IGY) program to place satellite in Earth orbit to determine atmospheric density and conduct geodetic measurements. Malfunction in first s... More

NASA Jupiter rocket - Early Rockets, Army ballistic missile agency

NASA Jupiter rocket - Early Rockets, Army ballistic missile agency

The Jupiter rocket was designed and developed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA). ABMA launched the Jupiter-A at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 1, 1957. The Jupiter vehicle was a direct derivative o... More

Photograph of the Delta Launch Vehicle on Launch Complex 17B with the Relay II Communications Satellite

Photograph of the Delta Launch Vehicle on Launch Complex 17B with the ...

Original caption: Cape Kennedy, Florida - On Launch Complex 17B stands the Delta launch vehicle with the Relay II communications satellite mated to its third stage. If a successful launch is achieved, it will ... More

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

Photograph of the Delta Launch Vehicle on Launch Complex 17B with the Relay II Communications Satellite

Photograph of the Delta Launch Vehicle on Launch Complex 17B with the ...

Original caption: Cape Kennedy, Florida - On Launch Complex 17B stands the Delta launch vehicle with the Relay II communications satellite mated to its third stage. If a successful launch is achieved, it will ... More

Shadowgraph Images of Re-entry Vehicles

Shadowgraph Images of Re-entry Vehicles

These four shadowgraph images represent early re-entry vehicle concepts. A shadowgraph is a process that makes visible the disturbances that occur in a fluid flow at high velocity, in which light passing throug... More

Delta 174 Launch. NASA public domain image colelction.

Delta 174 Launch. NASA public domain image colelction.

The Delta launch vehicle family started development in 1959. The Delta was composed of parts from the Thor, an intermediate-range ballistic missile, as its first stage, and the Vanguard as its second. The first... More

Saturn I - Saturn Apollo Program

Saturn I - Saturn Apollo Program

The H-1 engines for the Saturn I vehicle in the alignment fixture. A cluster of eight H-1 engines were used to thrust the first stage of the Saturn I launch vehicle. The H-1 engine was developed under the direc... More

Little Joe Launch Vehicle, NASA Mercury project

Little Joe Launch Vehicle, NASA Mercury project

Launching of the Little Joe launch vehicle on November 4, 1959 took place at Wallops Island, Va. This was the first attempt to launch an instrumented capsule with a Little Joe booster. Only the LJ1A and the LJ6... More

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

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

In this photograph, the lunar and planetary exploration satellite, Pioneer III, is being prepared for installation to Juno II (AM-11) launch vehicle. AM-11 was launched on December 5, 1959, but the mission was ... More

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

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

Wernher von Braun and his team were responsible for the Jupiter-C hardware. The family of launch vehicles developed by the team also came to include the Juno II, which was used to launch the Pioneer IV satellit... More

Thor/Able 3 Launch Vehicle. NASA public domain image colelction.

Thor/Able 3 Launch Vehicle. NASA public domain image colelction.

The launch of Thor/Able 3 launch vehicle on August 6, 1959, from the Atlantic Missile Range. The payload was Explorer VI for meteorology study.

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

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

The Juno II launch vehicle, shown here, was a modified Jupiter Intermediate-Range Ballistic missionile, developed by Dr. Wernher von Braun and the rocket team at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Between... More

XV-3 HOVERING ON RAMP. Flight Test of Bell XV-3 Convertiplane. Bell VTOL tilt-rotor aircraft hovering along side Hangar One at Moffett Field. The XV-3 design combined a helicopter rotor and a wing. A 450 horsepower Pratt & Whitney piston engine drove the two rotors. The XV-3, first flown in 1955 , was the first tilt-rotor to achieve 100% tilting of rotors. The vehicle was underpowered, however, and could not hover out of ground effect. Note the large ventral fin, which was added to imrpove directional stability in cruse (Oct 1962) ARC-1959-A-25685-14

XV-3 HOVERING ON RAMP. Flight Test of Bell XV-3 Convertiplane. Bell ...

XV-3 HOVERING ON RAMP. Flight Test of Bell XV-3 Convertiplane. Bell VTOL tilt-rotor aircraft hovering along side Hangar One at Moffett Field. The XV-3 design combined a helicopter rotor and a wing. A 450 hors... More

XV-3 HOVERING ON RAMP. Flight Test of Bell XV-3 Convertiplane. Bell VTOL tilt-rotor aircraft hovering in front of building N-211 at Moffett Field. The XV-3 design combined a helicopter rotor and a wing. A 450 horsepower Pratt & Whitney piston engine drove the two rotors. The XV-3, first flown in 1955 , was the first tilt-rotor to achieve 100% tilting of rotors. The vehicle was underpowered, however, and could not hover out of ground effect. Note the large ventral fin, which was added to imrpove directional stability in cruse (Oct 1962) ARC-1959-AC-25685

XV-3 HOVERING ON RAMP. Flight Test of Bell XV-3 Convertiplane. Bell ...

XV-3 HOVERING ON RAMP. Flight Test of Bell XV-3 Convertiplane. Bell VTOL tilt-rotor aircraft hovering in front of building N-211 at Moffett Field. The XV-3 design combined a helicopter rotor and a wing. A 450... More

Big Joe launch vehicle after launching at Cape Canaveral

Big Joe launch vehicle after launching at Cape Canaveral

B59-00556 (9 Sept. 1959) --- U.S. Air Force photo of Big Joe launch vehicle after launching at Cape Canaveral, Florida, for a suborbital test of the Mercury capsule. The capsule was recovered successfully after... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Ares IX upper stage segments’ ballast assemblies are positioned along the floor of high bay 4 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, part of the preparations for the test of the Ares IX rocket. These ballast assemblies will be installed in the upper stage 1 and 7 segments and will mimic the mass of the fuel. Their total weight is approximately 160,000 pounds. The test launch of the Ares IX in 2009 will be the first designed to determine the flight-worthiness of the Ares I rocket. Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low-Earth orbit. The Ares I first stage will be a five-segment solid rocket booster based on the four-segment design used for the space shuttle. Ares I’s fifth booster segment allows the launch vehicle to lift more weight and reach a higher altitude before the first stage separates from the upper stage, which ignites in midflight to propel the Orion spacecraft to Earth orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-08pd3248

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Ares IX upper stage segments’ ballast assemblie...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Ares IX upper stage segments’ ballast assemblies are positioned along the floor of high bay 4 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, part of the preparations for... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hardware that will be used in the launch of the Ares I-X rocket is being offloaded from the C-5 aircraft. The hardware consists of a precisely machined, full-scale simulator crew module and launch abort system to form the tip of NASA's Ares I-X rocket. The launch of the 321-foot-tall, full-scale Ares I-X, targeted for July 2009, will be the first in a series of unpiloted rocket launches from Kennedy. When fully developed, the 16-foot diameter crew module will furnish living space and reentry protection for the astronauts, while their launch abort system will provide safe evacuation if a launch vehicle failure occurs. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2009-1405

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kenne...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hardware that will be used in the launch of the Ares I-X rocket is being offloaded from the C-5 aircraft. The ha... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Morpheus lander, a vertical test bed vehicle, is being transported out from its checkout building for a short trip to a launch position at the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Morpheus is designed to demonstrate new green propellant propulsion systems and autonomous landing and an Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology, or ALHAT, system. Checkout of the prototype lander has been ongoing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for its first free flight. The SLF site will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing. 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/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2012-4110

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Morpheus lander, a vertical test bed veh...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Morpheus lander, a vertical test bed vehicle, is being transported out from its checkout building for a short trip to a launch position at the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the mobile launcher parking area behind the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the new mobile launcher, or ML, for the Ares rockets is under construction. The ML will be the base to launch the Orion crew exploration vehicle and the cargo vehicle. The base is being made lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the added load of the 345-foot tower and taller rocket. When the structural portion of the new mobile launcher is complete, umbilicals, access arms, communications equipment and command/control equipment will be installed. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2009-3140

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the mobile launcher parking area behind the ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the mobile launcher parking area behind the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the new mobile launcher, or ML, for the Ares rockets is under construc... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Ground support equipment technicians monitor the progress as crawler-transporter 1 begins its trek to Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New jacking, equalizing and leveling, or JEL, hydraulic cylinders were installed on CT-1 and are being tested for increased load carrying capacity and reliability. The Vehicle Assembly Building is visible in the background. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy continues to upgrade the crawler-transporter as part of its general maintenance. CT-1 could be available to carry a variety of launch vehicles to the launch pad. Two crawler-transporters were used to carry the mobile launcher platform and space shuttle to Launch Complex 39 for space shuttle launches for 30 years. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper KSC-2013-4203

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Ground support equipment technicians monitor t...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Ground support equipment technicians monitor the progress as crawler-transporter 1 begins its trek to Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New jacking, equalizing an... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Fire Station No. 2 near the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Fire Rescue Services personnel have deployed and extended the ladder on the aerial fire truck during training in order to be certified in the operation and use of the vehicle. The center’s Fire Rescue Services recently achieved Pro Board Certification in aerial fire truck operations. Pro Board Certification is a globally recognized certification that puts on multiple courses that all fire departments throughout the world recognize and use to train their personnel. The unique aerial truck contains a 100-foot extendable ladder with a bucket at the end of it that can be used for rescues from taller buildings or aircraft rescue firefighting. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2013-3735

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Fire Station No. 2 near the Shuttle Landing ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Fire Station No. 2 near the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Fire Rescue Services personnel have deployed and extended the ladder on the aerial fire ... More

Under the goals of the Vision for Space Exploration, Ares I is a chief component of the cost-effective space transportation infrastructure being developed by NASA's Constellation Program. This transportation system will safely and reliably carry human explorers back to the moon, and then onward to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. The Ares I effort includes multiple project element teams at NASA centers and contract organizations around the nation, and is managed by the Exploration Launch Projects Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MFSC). ATK Launch Systems near Brigham City, Utah, is the prime contractor for the first stage booster. ATK's subcontractor, United Space Alliance of Houston, is designing, developing and testing the parachutes at its facilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston hosts the Constellation Program and Orion Crew Capsule Project Office and provides test instrumentation and support personnel. Together, these teams are developing vehicle hardware, evolving proven technologies, and testing components and systems. Their work builds on powerful, reliable space shuttle propulsion elements and nearly a half-century of NASA space flight experience and technological advances. Ares I is an inline, two-stage rocket configuration topped by the Crew Exploration Vehicle, its service module, and a launch abort system. This HD video image depicts friction stir welding used in manufacturing aluminum panels that will fabricate the Ares I upper stage barrel. The aluminum panels are subjected to confidence panel tests during which the bent aluminum is stressed to breaking point and thoroughly examined. The panels are manufactured by AMRO Manufacturing located in El Monte, California. (Highest resolution available) n/a

Under the goals of the Vision for Space Exploration, Ares I is a chief...

Under the goals of the Vision for Space Exploration, Ares I is a chief component of the cost-effective space transportation infrastructure being developed by NASA's Constellation Program. This transportation sy... 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 the Parachute Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, parachutes for the Ares rockets are being prepared for packing. Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low-Earth orbit. The Ares I first stage will be a five-segment solid rocket booster based on the four-segment design used for the shuttle. As with the shuttle, this booster will fall away when spent, lowered by parachute into the Atlantic Ocean where it can be retrieved for re-use. Unlike the shuttle, the booster will be flying faster, at Mach 6, when its separation from the rest of Ares I occurs. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-08pd1801

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Parachute Refurbishment Facility at N...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Parachute Refurbishment Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, parachutes for the Ares rockets are being prepared for packing. Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that wil... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - As night settles over Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, xenon lights reveal the Ares I-X rocket awaiting the approaching liftoff of its flight test. This is the first time since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired that a vehicle other than the space shuttle has occupied the pad. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I. The Ares I-X flight test is set for Oct. 27. For information on the Ares I-X vehicle and flight test, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2009-5857

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - As night settles over Launch Complex 39B at NAS...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - As night settles over Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, xenon lights reveal the Ares I-X rocket awaiting the approaching liftoff of its flight test. This is... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the NASA Railroad Yard at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations are under way for the departure of a train made up of tank cars. The railroad’s track runs past Kennedy’s 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building in the background. The train is headed for the Florida East Coast Railway interchange in Titusville, Fla., where the train’s helium tank cars, a liquid oxygen tank car, and a liquid hydrogen dewar or tank car will be transferred for delivery to the SpaceX engine test complex outside McGregor, Texas. The railroad cars were needed in support of the Space Shuttle Program but currently are not in use by NASA following the completion of the program in 2011. Originally, the tankers belonged to the U.S. Bureau of Mines. At the peak of the shuttle program, there were approximately 30 cars in the fleet. About half the cars were returned to the bureau as launch activity diminished. Five tank cars are being loaned to SpaceX and repurposed to support their engine tests in Texas. Eight cars previously were shipped to California on loan to support the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Space Launch Complex-4 on Vandenberg Air Force Base. SpaceX already has three helium tank cars previously used for the shuttle program at Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/spacex. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-3033a

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the NASA Railroad Yard at NASA’s Kennedy Spa...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the NASA Railroad Yard at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations are under way for the departure of a train made up of tank cars. The railroad’s track runs past Kennedy’... 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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is towed into the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MDD will be used to lift and connect the shuttle to the top of NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft SCA, a modified 747 jetliner. The shuttle has been fitted with an aerodynamic tailcone for its flight aboard the SCA to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display. The shuttle was towed from the Vehicle Assembly Building. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-5105

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is towed into the Mate-...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is towed into the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MDD will be used to lift and connect the shuttle to the top of NASA's ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis dwarfs the crowd gathered around it in Space Florida's Exploration Park during its 10-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Atlantis stopped in the park for a viewing opportunity for visitor complex guests before completing the trip to its new home. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis will be displayed in a new exhibit hall at the visitor complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles, completing 33 missions during 307 days in space. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-6085

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, spac...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis dwarfs the crowd gathered around it in Space Florida's Exploration Park during its 10-mile journey from the Vehicle Assem... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The hazard field for the Project Morpheus lander is conveniently located near the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the distance is the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building. 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-2012-3360

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The hazard field for the Project Morpheus lande...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The hazard field for the Project Morpheus lander is conveniently located near the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the distance is the 525-foot-tall... More

Photograph of a Scientist Operating a Vehicle to Transport a Rocket Part inside of a Warehouse

Photograph of a Scientist Operating a Vehicle to Transport a Rocket Pa...

SCOUT (Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test) Project Office Files Public domain photograph of the US industrial development, work of U.S. government, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Members of the media get an up close view of space shuttle Atlantis in her new home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The shuttle is wrapped in a protective plastic to protect it from dust and debris while being prepared for display. Atlantis was lifted 26 feet from the ground level and slowly tilted to exactly a 43.21 angle to its portside to allow optimum viewing of the vehicle with its payload bay doors open. Atlantis is being prepared for display in the new 90,000-square-foot facility under construction at the visitor complex which is managed by Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2012-6364

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Members of the media get an up close view of sp...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Members of the media get an up close view of space shuttle Atlantis in her new home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The shuttle is wrapped in a protective plastic ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a full-size mock-up of the Orion spacecraft and launch abort system were transported to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. In the background are full-size replicas of the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters that mark the entranceway to the new Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit. Crane operators and technicians practice de-stacking operations on mock-ups of Orion and the launch abort system in the Vehicle Assembly Building in order to keep processing procedures and skills current. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry crews to space beyond low Earth orbit. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orion’s first unpiloted test flight is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket. A second uncrewed flight test is scheduled for 2017 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2013-2903

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a full-size mock-up of the Orion spacecraft and launch abort system were transported to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. In the backgro... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the RLV Hangar near NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, in Florida, students and their flight instructors from Florida Tech, FIT, in Melbourne view F104 Starfighter aircraft and hear a presentation from Starfighter Director Rick Svetkoff. The group arrived at the SLF in Cherokee Warrior and Cessna 172S lightweight aircraft. The middle and high school students are participating in FIT’s Av/Aero summer camp experience. They and their flight instructors toured the SLF midfield control tower, viewed F104 Starfighters and NASA Huey helicopters in the RLV Hangar, viewed the runway plaques marking wheels stop for each of the three space shuttles, and toured the Vehicle Assembly Building where space shuttle Atlantis currently is stored. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-3992

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the RLV Hangar near NASA Kennedy Space C...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the RLV Hangar near NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, in Florida, students and their flight instructors from Florida Tech, FIT, in Melbourne view F104 S... More

A distinguished group look at the solid rocket booster in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Starting second from left are Gen. Ralph Everhart, Commander, Space Command; Center Director Roy Bridges, Dave King, director of Shuttle Processing, and Brig. Gen. Donald Pettit, Commander of the 45th Space Wing, Cape Canaveral KSC01pp0378

A distinguished group look at the solid rocket booster in the Vehicle ...

A distinguished group look at the solid rocket booster in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Starting second from left are Gen. Ralph Everhart, Commander, Space Command; Center Director Roy Bridges, Dave King, dire... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space Shuttle Discovery’s move from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, is complete as the sun comes up over NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A tail cone has been installed over its three replica shuttle main engines to reduce aerodynamic drag and turbulence during its upcoming ferry flight. At the SLF, Discovery will be hoisted onto a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, with the aid of a mate-demate device. The SCA, a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. For more information on shuttle transition and retirement activities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis KSC-2012-2100

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space Shuttle Discovery’s move from the Vehicle...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space Shuttle Discovery’s move from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, is complete as the sun comes up over NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A t... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first of four new emergency egress vehicles, called Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protection, or MRAP, vehicles arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida from the U.S. Army Red River Depot in Texarkana, Texas. Each vehicle will be processed in and then transported to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility near the Vehicle Assembly Building for temporary storage. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy led the efforts to an emergency egress vehicle that future astronauts could quickly use to leave the Launch Complex 39 area in case of an emergency. During crewed launches of NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, the MRAP will be stationed by the slidewire termination area at the pad. In case of an emergency, the crew will ride a slidewire to the ground and immediately board the MRAP for safe egress from the pad. The new vehicles replace the M-113 vehicles that were used during the Space Shuttle Program. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2013-4300

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first of four new emergency egress vehicle...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first of four new emergency egress vehicles, called Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protection, or MRAP, vehicles arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida from the U.S. Army Red River Depot ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A representative of the 301st Rescue Squadron and a volunteer from the NASA Vehicle Integration Test Team office get ready to demonstrate rescue equipment that is used by participants in the Mode VIII exercise being conducted at Patrick Air Force Base. In the background is an HH-60G helicopter. In support of, and with logistical support from, NASA, USSTRATCOM is hosting a major exercise involving Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, search and rescue (SAR) forces, including the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, which support space shuttle astronaut bailout contingency operations, known as Mode VIII. This exercise tests SAR capabilities to locate, recover and provide medical treatment for astronauts following a space shuttle launch phase open-ocean bailout. Participants include members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, and NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center. This will be the 15th Mode VIII exercise conducted in the past 20 years. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-08pd1347

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A representative of the 301st Rescue Squadron ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A representative of the 301st Rescue Squadron and a volunteer from the NASA Vehicle Integration Test Team office get ready to demonstrate rescue equipment that is used by participants in... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A memorial erected by the Hemphill, Texas, community commemorates a location where remains of a fallen Columbia astronaut were found. Kennedy Space Center workers are participating in the Columbia Recovery efforts at the Lufkin (Texas) Command Center, four field sites in East Texas, and the Barksdale, La., hangar site. KSC is working with representatives from other NASA Centers and with those from a number of federal, state and local agencies in the recovery effort. KSC provides vehicle technical expertise in the field to identify, collect and return Shuttle hardware to KSC. KSC-03pd1109

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A memorial erected by the Hemphill, Texa...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A memorial erected by the Hemphill, Texas, community commemorates a location where remains of a fallen Columbia astronaut were found. Kennedy Space Center workers are participating... More

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft is removed from the Air Force C-17 cargo airplane that brought it from Denver, Colo.., location of the Lockheed Martin plant where the spacecraft was built. Mars Odyssey will be moved on a transport trailer from KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility to the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility 2 (SAEF-2) located in the KSC Industrial Area. In the SAEF it will undergo final assembly and checkout. This includes installation of two of the three science instruments, integration of the three-panel solar array, and a spacecraft functional test. It will be fueled and then mated to an upper stage booster, the final activities before going to the launch pad. Launch is planned for April 7, 2001 the first day of a 21-day planetary window. Mars Odyssey will be inserted into an interplanetary trajectory by a Boeing Delta II launch vehicle from Pad A at Complex 17 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The spacecraft will arrive at Mars on Oct. 20, 2001, for insertion into an initial elliptical capture orbit. Its final operational altitude will be a 250-mile-high, Sun-synchronous polar orbit. Mars Odyssey will spend two years mapping the planet's surface and measuring its environment KSC01pp0033

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft is removed from the Air Force C-17 cargo a...

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft is removed from the Air Force C-17 cargo airplane that brought it from Denver, Colo.., location of the Lockheed Martin plant where the spacecraft was built. Mars Odyssey will be move... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the sixth tower segment is lifted toward five segments already secured to a new mobile launcher, or ML, being constructed to support the Constellation Program. When completed, the tower will be approximately 345 feet tall and have multiple platforms for personnel access. The construction is under way at the mobile launcher park site area north of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building. The launcher will provide a base to launch the Ares I rocket, designed to transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle, its crew and cargo to low Earth orbit. Its base is being made lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the heavier load of the tower and taller rocket. For information on the Ares I, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ares. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2009-6788

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the sixth tower segment is lifted toward five segments already secured to a new mobile launcher, or ML, being constructed to support the Constel... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building's high bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, framework is lifted to the 16th floor for modifications related to the Ares I-X. The refurbishment of the facility is for the Constellation Program's Ares vehicles. The Ares I and Ares V rockets will be 325 feet and 360 feet tall, respectively, considerably taller than the space shuttle atop its mobile launcher platform. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder KSC-2009-1397

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building's high bay 3...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building's high bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, framework is lifted to the 16th floor for modifications related to the Ares I-X. The refurbishme... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, equipment is moved that will be used to continue erecting the lightning towers. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire catenary system. This improved lightning protection system allows for the taller height of the Ares I compared to the space shuttle. Pad B will be the site of the first Ares vehicle launch, including Ares I-X which is targeted for summer of 2009, as part of NASA’s Constellation Program. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-08pd3860

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Cen...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, equipment is moved that will be used to continue erecting the lightning towers. Each of the three new lightning towers will ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the tower on a new mobile launcher, or ML, for the Constellation Program grows as the fourth section is lowered into position. The tower will be approximately 345 feet tall when completed and have multiple platforms for personnel access. The ML is being built at the mobile launcher park site area north of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building. The launcher will provide a base to launch the Ares I, designed to transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle, its crew and cargo to low Earth orbit. The base is being made lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the heavier load of the tower and taller rocket. For information on the Ares I, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ares. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2009-6225

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the tower on a new mobile launcher, or ML, for the Constellation Program grows as the fourth section is lowered into position. The tower will... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Morpheus lander, a vertical test bed vehicle is being checked out. A rock and crater-filled planetary scape, has been built so engineers can test the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology, or ALHAT, system on the Project Morpheus lander. Checkout of the prototype lander has been ongoing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for its first free flight. The SLF site will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing. 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-2012-4163

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facilit...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Morpheus lander, a vertical test bed vehicle is being checked out. A rock and crat... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Fire Station No. 2 near the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Fire Rescue Services personnel have deployed the ladder on the aerial fire truck during training in order to be certified in the operation and use of the vehicle. The center’s Fire Rescue Services recently achieved Pro Board Certification in aerial fire truck operations. Pro Board Certification is a globally recognized certification that puts on multiple courses that all fire departments throughout the world recognize and use to train their personnel. The unique aerial truck contains a 100-foot extendable ladder with a bucket at the end of it that can be used for rescues from taller buildings or aircraft rescue firefighting. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2013-3733

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Fire Station No. 2 near the Shuttle Landing ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Fire Station No. 2 near the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Fire Rescue Services personnel have deployed the ladder on the aerial fire truck during ... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In this view of the launch from the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building, the liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis challenges the early dawn. The light is reflected in waters all around the Launch Pad 39A while clouds of steam and smoke roll away from the pad. Liftoff occurred at 6:11:10 a.m. EDT. The mission is taking the crew of seven to the International Space Station to deliver logistics and supplies as well as to prepare 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 and will reboost the space station from 230 statute miles to 250 statute miles. This will be the third assembly flight to the Space Station. After a 10-day mission, landing is targeted for May 29 at 2:19 a.m. EDT. This is the 98th Shuttle flight and the 21st flight for Shuttle Atlantis KSC00pp0649

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In this view of the launch from the roof...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In this view of the launch from the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building, the liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis challenges the early dawn. The light is reflected in waters all aro... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is towed to the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after being backed out of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The MDD is located at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy. The shuttle will be lifted and connected to the top of NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft SCA, a modified 747 jetliner. The shuttle has been fitted with an aerodynamic tailcone for its flight aboard the SCA to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-5066

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is towed to the Mate-De...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is towed to the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after being backed out of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The MDD is located a... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crawler-transporter moves toward NASA's new mobile launcher (ML) support structure. The crawler will transport the ML from a construction site, north of the Vehicle Assembly Building, to the Mobile Launcher east park site. Once there, the ML can be outfitted with ground support equipment, such as umbilicals and access arms, for future rocket launches. It took about two years to construct the 355-foot-tall structure, which will support NASA's future human spaceflight program. The base of the launcher is lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the heavier load of the tower and a taller rocket. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2010-4877

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crawler-transporter moves toward NASA's new mobile launcher (ML) support structure. The crawler will transport the ML from a construction sit... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building, United Space Alliance technicians Brenda Morris and Brian Williams are applying foam and molds on Space Shuttle Atlantis' external tank to areas damaged by hail. The white hole with a red circle around it (upper right) is a hole prepared for molding and material application. The red material is sealant tape so the mold doesn't leak when the foam rises against the mold. The white/translucent square mold is an area where the foam has been applied and the foam has risen and cured against the mold surface. In late February, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area. The hail caused visible divots in the giant tank's foam insulation as well as minor surface damage to about 26 heat shield tiles on the shuttle's left wing. The March launch was postponed and has not yet been rescheduled due to the repair process. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton KSC-07pd0849

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building, Unite...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building, United Space Alliance technicians Brenda Morris and Brian Williams are applying foam and molds on Space Shuttle Atlantis' external tank to areas ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, testing of the Tilt-Up Umbilical Arm (TUUA) prototype's Environmental Control System Quick Disconnect takes place in the Launch Equipment Test Facility's 6,000-square-foot high bay. The prototype is used to demonstrate the safe disconnect and retraction of ground umbilical plates and associated hardware of a launch vehicle's upper stage and service module. The Environmental Control System consists of regulated air, which would be used to purge an inner tank and crew module. Since 1977, the facility has supported NASA’s Launch Services, shuttle, International Space Station, and Constellation programs, as well as commercial providers. The facility recently underwent a major upgrade to support even more programs, projects and customers. It houses a cable fabrication and molding shop, pneumatics shop, machine and weld shop and full-scale control room. Outside, the facility features a water flow test loop, vehicle motion simulator, 600-ton test fixture, launch simulation towers and a cryogenic system. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2010-5293

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, testing of the Tilt-Up Umbilical Arm (TUUA) prototype's Environmental Control System Quick Disconnect takes place in the Launch Equipment Test ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2, is on its way to the Park Site west of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The transporter has new brakes and mufflers and a recently-painted white roof deck. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program office at Kennedy is overseeing the upgrades to CT-2 so that it can carry NASA’s Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, which is under design, and new Orion spacecraft to the launch pad. The crawler-transporters were used to carry the mobile launcher platform and space shuttle to Launch Complex 39 for space shuttle launches for 30 years. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2013-1510

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crawler-transporter 2, or CT-2, is on its way to the Park Site west of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The transporter has new brakes and muf... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crawler-transporter moves NASA's new mobile launcher (ML) support structure from a construction site, north of the Vehicle Assembly Building, to the Mobile Launcher east park site. The base of the launcher is lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the heavier load of the tower and a taller rocket. Once there, the ML can be outfitted with ground support equipment, such as umbilicals and access arms, for future rocket launches. It took about two years to construct the 355-foot-tall structure, which will support NASA's future human spaceflight program. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph KSC-2010-4958

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crawler-transporter moves NASA's new mobile launcher (ML) support structure from a construction site, north of the Vehicle Assembly Building,... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers monitor the progress of a crawler-transporter as it moves NASA's new mobile launcher (ML) support structure from a construction site, north of the Vehicle Assembly Building, to the Mobile Launcher east park site. The base of the launcher is lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the heavier load of the tower and a taller rocket. Once there, the ML can be outfitted with ground support equipment, such as umbilicals and access arms, for future rocket launches. It took about two years to construct the 355-foot-tall structure, which will support NASA's future human spaceflight program. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray KSC-2010-4969

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

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers monitor the progress of a crawler-transporter as it moves NASA's new mobile launcher (ML) support structure from a construction site, n... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first free-flight test of NASA's Morpheus prototype lander was conducted at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 10:02 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet. The vehicle, with its autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1,300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the test field. 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/Mike Chambers KSC-2014-2707

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first free-flight test of NASA's Morpheus ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first free-flight test of NASA's Morpheus prototype lander was conducted at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 10:02 ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is towed into the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MDD will be used to lift and connect the shuttle to the top of NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft SCA, a modified 747 jetliner. The shuttle has been fitted with an aerodynamic tailcone for its flight aboard the SCA to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display. The shuttle was towed from the Vehicle Assembly Building. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-2012-5104

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is towed into the Mate-...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Endeavour is towed into the Mate-Demate Device, or MDD, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The MDD will be used to lift and connect the shuttle to the top of NASA's ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Morpheus lander, a vertical test bed vehicle, is moved into a building at the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Morpheus is designed to demonstrate new green propellant propulsion systems and autonomous landing and an Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology, or ALHAT, system. Checkout of the prototype lander has been ongoing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for its first free flight. The SLF site will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing. 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/ Charisse Nahser KSC-2012-4029

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Morpheus lander, a vertical test bed veh...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Morpheus lander, a vertical test bed vehicle, is moved into a building at the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Morpheus is designed to demo... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the heat shield for the agency's Orion spacecraft arrived aboard the Super Guppy aircraft. The largest of its kind ever built, the heat shield is planned for installation on the Orion crew module in March next year. The Orion spacecraft is scheduled to make its first unpiloted flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1 EFT-1, in September 2014. The Orion spacecraft is designed to meet requirements for traveling beyond low-Earth orbit. The spacecraft will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry crews to space, sustain the astronauts during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/orion Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston KSC-2013-4238

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kenne...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the heat shield for the agency's Orion spacecraft arrived aboard the Super Guppy aircraft. The largest of its ki... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander performed a free-flight test from a launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 97-second test began at 2:30 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, sensors surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1,300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. 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/Kim Shiflett KSC-2014-2665

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander perform...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander performed a free-flight test from a launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 97-s... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - These laptop computers in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center reveal data being relayed from the avian radars recently set up on Launch Pad 39B. On the left is an associated camera image. On the right is the radar image. When birds, especially vultures, are near the shuttle during a launch, impact on a critical area is possible and could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle. Already proven affective for aviation where threats posed by bird strikes have been a problem, the avian radar, known as Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar, provides horizontal and vertical scanning and can monitor either launch pad for movement of vultures around them. If data relayed from the avian radar indicates large birds are dangerously close to the vehicle, controllers could hold the countdown. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton KSC-06pd1341

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - These laptop computers in Firing Room ...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - These laptop computers in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center reveal data being relayed from the avian radars recently set up on Launch Pad 39B. On the left is an associat... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is lowered alongside the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters already stacked on the mobile launcher platform. Discovery will be mated with the stack. After additional preparations are made, the shuttle will be rolled out to Launch Pad 39A for a targeted launch on Feb. 12. Discovery will carry the final starboard truss (S6) in the assembly of the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2009-1055

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Ken...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is lowered alongside the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters already stacked ... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A piece of metal lies on the ground near the NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building following the wrath of hurricane Wilma as it crossed the state Oct. 24. Kennedy’s facilities sustained minor structural damage, primarily to roofs or from water intrusion. The Vehicle Assembly Building lost some panels on the east and west sides. Some facilities lost power. A total of 13.6 inches of rain was recorded at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The highest wind gust recorded was 94 mph from the north-northwest at Launch Pad 39B, while the maximum sustained wind was 76 mph from the north-northwest at the top of the 492-foot weather tower located north of the Vehicle Assembly Building. KSC-05pd2349

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A piece of metal lies on the ground nea...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A piece of metal lies on the ground near the NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building following the wrath of hurricane Wilma as it crossed the state Oct. 24. Kennedy... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly get a close look at a Space Shuttle main engine in the Vehicle Assembly Building during their tour of KSC. The Parliamentarians are meeting in Orlando this year for their 49th annual gathering. They chose to visit KSC with their families during their one-day excursion break from meetings.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the North American Treaty Orga...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly get a close look at a Space Shuttle main engine in the Vehicle Assembly Building during their tour o... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A representative of the 301st Rescue Squadron and a volunteer (in the stretcher) from the NASA Vehicle Integration Test Team office get ready to demonstrate rescue equipment on the HH-60G helicopter that is used by participants in the Mode VIII exercise being conducted at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. In support of, and with logistical support from, NASA, USSTRATCOM is hosting a major exercise involving Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, search and rescue (SAR) forces, including the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, which support space shuttle astronaut bailout contingency operations, known as Mode VIII. This exercise tests SAR capabilities to locate, recover and provide medical treatment for astronauts following a space shuttle launch phase open-ocean bailout. Participants include members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, and NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center. This will be the 15th Mode VIII exercise conducted in the past 20 years. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-08pd1348

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A representative of the 301st Rescue Squadron ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A representative of the 301st Rescue Squadron and a volunteer (in the stretcher) from the NASA Vehicle Integration Test Team office get ready to demonstrate rescue equipment on the HH-60... More

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Across the expanse of the turn basin, Space Shuttle Atlantis is seen as it creeps toward Launch Pad 39A. At left is the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion was at 8:19 a.m. The 3.4-mile trip 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/Kim Shiflett KSC-07pd0383

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Across the expanse of the turn basin, S...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Across the expanse of the turn basin, Space Shuttle Atlantis is seen as it creeps toward Launch Pad 39A. At left is the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion was ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis’ arrival at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida is marked by celebration and fireworks. Atlantis made the 10-mile trip from Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building to the visitor complex where it will be put on public display. As part of transition and retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, Atlantis will be displayed at Kennedy’s Visitor Complex beginning in the summer of 2013. Over the course of its 26-year career, Atlantis traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in space over 33 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann KSC-2012-6136

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis’ arrival at the Kennedy ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis’ arrival at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida is marked by celebration and fireworks. Atlantis made the 10-mile trip from Kennedy’s Vehicle Assemb... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hardware that will be used in the launch of the Ares I-X rocket is being offloaded from the C-5 aircraft. The hardware consists of a precisely machined, full-scale simulator crew module and launch abort system to form the tip of NASA's Ares I-X rocket. The launch of the 321-foot-tall, full-scale Ares I-X, targeted for July 2009, will be the first in a series of unpiloted rocket launches from Kennedy. When fully developed, the 16-foot diameter crew module will furnish living space and reentry protection for the astronauts, while their launch abort system will provide safe evacuation if a launch vehicle failure occurs. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2009-1406

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kenne...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hardware that will be used in the launch of the Ares I-X rocket is being offloaded from the C-5 aircraft. The ha... More

Display of a Scout Satellite Launch Vehicle

Display of a Scout Satellite Launch Vehicle

This item is a photograph of a Scientist Standing next to a display of a Scout Satellite Launch Vehiclethat was part of an exhibit display at the British Science Museum in 1984. SCOUT (Solid Controlled Orbital ... More

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery looms against the pre-dawn, cloud-streaked sky as it makes the slow 3.4-mile journey to Launch Pad 39A. The shuttle sits atop the mobile launcher platform, which are being moved by the massive crawler-transporter beneath. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 5:17 a.m. EST. Discovery is targeted to launch to the International Space Station Feb. 12. During Discovery's 14-day mission, the crew will install the S6 truss segment and its solar arrays to the starboard side of the station, completing the station's backbone, or truss, enabling a six-person crew to live there starting in May. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder KSC-2009-1119

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery looms against the pre-...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery looms against the pre-dawn, cloud-streaked sky as it makes the slow 3.4-mile journey to Launch Pad 39A. The shuttle sits atop the mobile launcher platform, which... More

Mercury Project - The Little Joe launch vehicle for the LJ1 mission

Mercury Project - The Little Joe launch vehicle for the LJ1 mission

The Little Joe launch vehicle for the LJ1 mission on the launch pad at the wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia, on January 21, 1960. This mission achieved the suborbital Mercury cupsule test, test... More

NASA officials, (left to right) Charles W. Mathews; Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC); Dr. George E. Mueller, Associate Administrator for Marned Space Flight; and Air Force Lt. General Samuel C. Phillips, Apollo Program Director celebrate the successful launch of Apollo 11 in the control room at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on July 16, 1969. Boosted by the Saturn V launch vehicle, the Apollo 11 mission with a crew of three: Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin, made the first manned lunar landing. The Saturn V vehicle was developed by Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) under the direction of Dr. von Braun. n/a

NASA officials, (left to right) Charles W. Mathews; Dr. Wernher von Br...

NASA officials, (left to right) Charles W. Mathews; Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC); Dr. George E. Mueller, Associate Administrator for Marned Space Flight; and Air Force Lt... More

Saturn 1 launch vehicle - Apollo Program

Saturn 1 launch vehicle - Apollo Program

Pictured in front of the Saturn 1 launch vehicle are (L to R): Dr. Rocco Petrone, Director of Launch Operations at Kennedy Space Center; Dr. Werher von Braun, Director of Marshall Space Flight Center; Dr. Oswal... More

Dyna-Soar (Dynamic Soaring) vehicle - Early Program Development

Dyna-Soar (Dynamic Soaring) vehicle - Early Program Development

A Dyna-Soar (Dynamic Soaring) vehicle clears the launch tower atop an Air Force Titan II launch vehicle in this 1961 artist's concept. Originally conceived by the U.S. Air Force in 1957 as a marned, rocket-prop... More

Photograph of an Man Securing a Rocket Part in the Bed of an Official Vehicle

Photograph of an Man Securing a Rocket Part in the Bed of an Official ...

SCOUT (Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test) Project Office Files Public domain photograph of NASA experimental aircraft development, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Photograph of Five Men Attempting to Secure a Rocket Part to a Vehicle for Transport

Photograph of Five Men Attempting to Secure a Rocket Part to a Vehicle...

SCOUT (Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test) Project Office Files Public domain photograph of NASA experimental aircraft development, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Mercury-Atlas Test Launch, NASA Mercury project

Mercury-Atlas Test Launch, NASA Mercury project

(April 25, 1961) A NASA Project Mercury spacecraft was test launched at 11:15 AM EST on April 25, 1961 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in a test designed to qualify the Mercury Spacecraft and all systems, which m... More

Photograph of Five Men Attempting to Secure a Rocket Part to a Vehicle for Transport

Photograph of Five Men Attempting to Secure a Rocket Part to a Vehicle...

SCOUT (Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test) Project Office Files Public domain photograph of NASA experimental aircraft development, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Launch of Mercury-Atlas, NASA Mercury project

Launch of Mercury-Atlas, NASA Mercury project

(February 21, 1961) In this Project Mercury test, a spacecraft booster by a modified Atlas was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Mercury capsule reached a peak altitude of 107 statute miles and landed ... More

Unloading Atlas Launch Vehicle, NASA Mercury project

Unloading Atlas Launch Vehicle, NASA Mercury project

(April 23, 1961) The Atlas launch vehicle is shown being unloaded at Cape Canaveral, Florida. This vehicle was expected to launch a Mercury spacecraft (without any astronauts aboard), built by McDonnell Aircraf... More

Saturn I launch vehicle - Saturn Apollo Program

Saturn I launch vehicle - Saturn Apollo Program

A completed Saturn I launch vehicle in the Fabrication and Assembly Engineering Division at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The Saturn I launch vehicle is composed of an S-I first stage or booster (rear), pow... More

Pad 6. Launch of US Army Redstone (2040) for accuracy and vehicle re-entry observation, at 9: 30 P.M. EST. (Lift-off) Photo by: Bundy. LOD-KSC-61C-413

Pad 6. Launch of US Army Redstone (2040) for accuracy and vehicle re-...

Pad 6. Launch of US Army Redstone (2040) for accuracy and vehicle re-entry observation, at 9: 30 P.M. EST. (Lift-off) Photo by: Bundy.

Mercury-Redstone Booster Development vehicle (MR-BD) - Mercury Project

Mercury-Redstone Booster Development vehicle (MR-BD) - Mercury Project

The Mercury-Redstone Booster Development vehicle (MR-BD) lifts off from Cape Canaveral March 24, 1961. This test flight evaluated changes incorporated in the booster designed to reduce vehicle oscillations and ... More

Mating of Little Joe 5B vehicle with Mercury Capsule #14

Mating of Little Joe 5B vehicle with Mercury Capsule #14

S61-01673 (23 April 1961) --- View of the mating of Little Joe-5B launch vehicle with Mercury capsule #14. Photo credit: NASA

Module Nova concept - Solid C-3 Basis - Early Program Development

Module Nova concept - Solid C-3 Basis - Early Program Development

This artist's concept illustrates the Module Nova concept - Solid C-3 Basis. From 1960 to 1962, the Marshall Space Flight Center considered the Nova launch vehicle as a means to achieve a marned lunar landing w... More

Saturn Apollo Program. NASA public domain image colelction.

Saturn Apollo Program. NASA public domain image colelction.

On October 27, 1961, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the Nation marked a high point in the 3-year-old Saturn development program when the first Saturn vehicle flew a flawless 215-mile ballistic traj... More

Saturn I - Saturn Apollo Program

Saturn I - Saturn Apollo Program

This image depicts the Saturn I launch vehicle placed in the dynamic test stand at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). A dummy booster was moved to the dynamic test stand early in June, and, for the first ... More

Launch of Mercury-Redstone vehicle 2 on Jan. 21, 1961

Launch of Mercury-Redstone vehicle 2 on Jan. 21, 1961

S61-01942 (31 Jan. 1961) --- Launch of the Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) vehicle on Jan. 31, 1961. The 16-minute suborbital flight carried biomedical test subject chimpanzee (Ham) aboard. Photo credit: NASA

Early Program Development Module Nova concept

Early Program Development Module Nova concept

This artist's concept illustrates the Module Nova concept - Solid C-3 Basis. From 1960 to 1962, the Marshall Space Flight Center considered the Nova launch vehicle as a means to achieve a marned lunar landing w... More

M2-F1 mounted in NASA Ames Research Center 40x80 foot wind tunnel

M2-F1 mounted in NASA Ames Research Center 40x80 foot wind tunnel

(1962) After the first attempted ground-tow tests of the M2-F1 in March 1963, the vehicle was taken to the Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, for wind-tunnel testing. During these tests, Milt Thompson and... More

Test Pilot John A. Manke and M2-F3 Lifting Body

Test Pilot John A. Manke and M2-F3 Lifting Body

(1972) NASA research pilot John A. Manke is seen here in front of the M2-F3 lifting body. Manke was hired by NASA on May 25, 1962, as a flight research engineer. He was later assigned to the pilot's office and ... More

Photograph of Astronauts M. Scott Carpenter and John H. Glenn, Jr. Overlooking the Erection of the Launch Vehicle

Photograph of Astronauts M. Scott Carpenter and John H. Glenn, Jr. Ove...

Original caption: Cape Canaveral, FLA. - Two vitally interested spectators at the erection of the launch vehicle were Astronauts M. Scott Carpenter and John H. Glenn, Jr. scheduled to be respectively, back-up p... More

Nova rocket - Early Program Development

Nova rocket - Early Program Development

In this 1962 artist's concept , a proposed Nova rocket, shown at right, is compared to a Saturn C-1, left, and a Saturn C-5, center. The Marshall Space Flight Center directed studies of Nova configuration from ... More

Saturn I - Saturn Apollo Program

Saturn I - Saturn Apollo Program

The second flight of the Saturn I vehicle, the SA-2, was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on April 15, 1962. This vehicle had a secondary mission. After the first stage shutoff, at a 65-mile a... More

Previous

of 104

Next