Technicians remove the protective casing covering NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory on Monday, July 21, 2025, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a small satellite set to operate at Lagrange Point 1 (L1), an orbit point between the Earth and Sun about one million miles away. Carruthers will use its ultraviolet cameras to monitor how space weather from the Sun impacts the exosphere, the outermost part of Earth’s atmosphere. The observatory will launch as a rideshare with NASA’s (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) no earlier than September 2025.
Technicians use a crane to place the Sentinel-6B spacecraft onto a work stand ahead of prelaunch operations at the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans and will extend out to a decade the record of atmospheric temperatures begun by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.
NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) identical dual spacecraft are inspected and processed on dollies in a high bay of the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. As the first multi-spacecraft orbital science mission to Mars, ESCAPADE’s twin orbiters will take simultaneous observations from different locations around the planet and reveal the real-time response to space weather and how the Martian magnetosphere changes over time.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe solar arrays are deployed for testing at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, June 3, 2018. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Inside the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers inspect the NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M, after it was encapsulated in its payload fairing. TDRS-M is the latest spacecraft destined for the agency's constellation of communications satellites that allows nearly continuous contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled to take place from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 8:03 a.m. EDT Aug. 18, 2017.
Technicians and engineers encapsulate the Sentinel-6B spacecraft within a protective payload fairing inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. NASA is targeting launch no earlier than Sunday, Nov. 16, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe, secured in its shipping container, arrives at the Astrotech processing facility near the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft arrived aboard a U.S. Air Force C-5 transport aircraft at Space Coast Regional Airport in Titusville, Florida. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in July 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
In the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians remove protective wrapping from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) payload fairing for NASA's upcoming Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft designed to land on Mars. InSight is the first mission to explore the Red Planet's deep interior. It will investigate processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system including Earth. Liftoff atop a ULA Atlas V rocket is scheduled for May 5, 2018.
Technicians integrate the Sentinel-6B spacecraft to the payload attach fitting inside the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. The payload attach fitting is part of the system that connects Sentinel-6B to the second stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will carry it to orbit. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. NASA is targeting launch no earlier than Sunday, Nov. 16, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg.
Technicians test the spring-activated door on the Interstellar Dust Experiment (IDEX) instrument of NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory inside the high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The door will remain closed to protect IDEX from contamination during integration and launch. Once in space, the door will swing open permanently to allow interstellar and interplanetary dust to flow into the instrument for measurement. The IMAP observatory will study how the Sun shapes the boundaries of the heliosphere, the protective bubble around our solar system. Launch is targeted for no earlier than September 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
In the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians and engineers encapsulate NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander in its payload fairing. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. The spacecraft will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. InSight is scheduled for liftoff May 5, 2018.
Technicians transfer the Sentinel-6B spacecraft from the NASA hangar to the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans and will extend out to a decade the record of atmospheric temperatures begun by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.
Technicians offloaded NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory following the spacecraft’s arrival on Sunday, July 20, 2025, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a small satellite set to operate at Lagrange Point 1 (L1), an orbit point between the Earth and Sun about one million miles away, to study the Earth’s exosphere, the outermost part of the atmosphere. Carruthers will use its ultraviolet cameras to monitor how space weather from the Sun impacts the exosphere.
Inside the Astrotech facility near NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency's TDRS-M satellite, enclosed in its payload fairing, is being prepared for lifting to a transport vehicle. The TDRS-M is the latest spacecraft destined for the agency's constellation of communications satellites that allows nearly continuous contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled to take place from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 18 at 8:03 a.m. EDT.
Antenna's on NASA's Parker Solar Probe are deployed for testing at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, April 19, 2018. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Technicians assist as a crane rotates NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) into position for removal and lift to a work stand in the high bay of the Astrotech Space Operations facility on June 14, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. ICESat-2 was shipped from the Northrop Grumman facility in Gilbert, Arizona, where it was built and tested. The satellite is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg on the final United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, is changing in a warming climate.
At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) is rotated to a vertical position after it was uncrated from its shipping container. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe solar arrays are deployed for testing at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, June 3, 2018. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Technicians install protective solar array covers for the Sentinel-6B spacecraft inside the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans and will extend out to a decade the record of atmospheric temperatures begun by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.
Technicians remove protective coverings form NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) inside the high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, May 29,2025. The observatory will study how the Sun shapes the boundaries of the heliosphere, the bubble protecting around our solar system, and is targeted for launch this fall aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
Technicians at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install the two-panel solar array on Thursday, July 17, 2025, that will help power the agency’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory on its upcoming journey one million miles away from Earth. Each panel of the solar array, located on the top of IMAP, consists of 16 strings of solar cells, with 36 cells per string, and combined will convert sunlight into 500 watts of power, more than enough for the observatory, which as a system uses less power than five 100-watt incandescent light bulbs.
In the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft is placed on a spin table during preflight processing. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. The spacecraft will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. InSight is scheduled for liftoff May 5, 2018.
Technicians use a crane to place the Sentinel-6B spacecraft onto a work stand ahead of prelaunch operations at the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans and will extend out to a decade the record of atmospheric temperatures begun by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.
At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft is uncrated inside the Astrotech processing facility. InSight was developed and built by Lockheed-Martin Space Systems in Denver, Colorado, and is scheduled for liftoff is May 5, 2018. InSight is the first mission to land on Mars and explore the Red Planet's deep interior. It will investigate processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system including Earth.
At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) has been rotated to a vertical position after it was uncrated from its shipping container. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, at right, is in a clean room inside the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The spacecraft's protective heat shield is in view at left. InSight is scheduled for liftoff on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket May 5, 2018. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.
Technicians transfer the Sentinel-6B spacecraft from the NASA hangar to the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans and will extend out to a decade the record of atmospheric temperatures begun by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.
In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Monday, July 16, 2018, NASA's Parker Solar Probe is being encapsulated in its payload fairing. The spacecraft is mated to its third stage, built and tested by Northrup Grumman in Chandler, Arizona. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Technicians remove NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) spacecraft from its shipping container inside the high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, May 29, 2025. The observatory will study how the Sun shapes the boundaries of the heliosphere, the bubble protecting around our solar system, and is targeted for launch this fall aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
Technicians transfer the Sentinel-6B spacecraft from the NASA hangar to the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans and will extend out to a decade the record of atmospheric temperatures begun by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) payload fairing for NASA's upcoming Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, mission to land on Mars has just arrived at the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. InSight is the first mission to explore the Red Planet's deep interior. It will investigate processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system including Earth. Liftoff atop a ULA Atlas V rocket is scheduled for May 5, 2018.
In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Wednesday, June 27, 2018, technicians and engineers install the heat shield on NASA's Parker Solar Probe. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
NOAA's Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) arrives at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, to prepare it for launch. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, is in a clean room inside the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. InSight is scheduled for liftoff on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket May 5, 2018. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.
NOAA's Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) arrives inside Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, to prepare it for launch. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Thursday, July 19, 2018, NASA's Parker Solar Probe has been encapsulated in its payload fairing. The spacecraft is mated to its third stage, built and tested by Northrup Grumman in Chandler, Arizona. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) has been positioned on a work stand. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Technicians integrate the Sentinel-6B spacecraft to the payload attach fitting inside the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. The payload attach fitting is part of the system that connects Sentinel-6B to the second stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will carry it to orbit. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. NASA is targeting launch no earlier than Sunday, Nov. 16, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg.
In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, technicians and engineers perform light bar testing on NASA's Parker Solar Probe. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Technicians integrate the Sentinel-6B spacecraft to the payload adapter inside the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. The payload adapter is part of the system that connects Sentinel-6B to the second stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will carry it to orbit. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. NASA is targeting launch no earlier than Sunday, Nov. 16, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg.
Inside the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Florida, the payload fairing for NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M, is positioned to encapsulate the spacecraft. TDRS-M is the latest spacecraft destined for the agency's constellation of communications satellites that allows nearly continuous contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled to take place from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 8:03 a.m. EDT Aug. 18, 2017.
NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) is moved into the high bay of the Astrotech processing facility on June 13, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. ICESat-2 was shipped from the Northrop Grumman facility in Gilbert, Arizona, where it was built and tested. The satellite is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg on the final United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, is changing in a warming climate.
NOAA's Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) arrives at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, to prepare it for launch. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Technicians transfer the Sentinel-6B spacecraft from the NASA hangar to the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The spacecraft is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. Sentinel-6B also will extend the record of atmospheric temperatures, begun by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, out to a decade.
In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, technicians and engineers deploy the magnetometer boom on NASA's Parker Solar Probe. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
A photographer captures a photo of NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, following arrival and unboxing of the observatory at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a small satellite set to operate at Lagrange Point 1 (L1), an orbit point between the Earth and Sun about one million miles away. Carruthers will use its ultraviolet cameras to monitor how space weather from the Sun impacts the exosphere, the outermost part of Earth’s atmosphere. The observatory will launch as a rideshare with NASA’s (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) no earlier than September 2025.
Two small spacecrafts satellites that make up NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission to Mars arrived at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2024. Set to launch from Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, the Rocket Lab spacecraft will study the solar wind and how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape.
At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers inspect NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) after it was positioned on a work stand. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
On Friday, May 18, 2018, at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a computer chip is installed on NASA's Parker Solar Probe. Throughout its seven-year mission, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will swoop through the Sun’s atmosphere, carrying more than scientific instruments on this historic journey — it will also hold more than 1.1 million names submitted by the public to go to the Sun. The submitted names were loaded into a memory card and mounted on a plaque bearing a dedication to the mission’s namesake, heliophysicist Dr. Eugene Parker. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
In a clean room at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers monitor progress as NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S, or GOES-S, is encapsulated in its payload fairing. It soon will be moved to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mounting atop the Atlas V rocket that will boost the satellite to orbit. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites that will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Technicians remove NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) spacecraft from its shipping container inside the high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, May 29, 2025. The observatory will study how the Sun shapes the boundaries of the heliosphere, the bubble protecting around our solar system, and is targeted for launch this fall aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Wednesday, July 11, 2018, technicians and engineers mate NASA's Parker Solar Probe to its third stage, built and tested by Northrup Grumman in Chandler Arizona. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Technicians inspect the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Observatory on Thursday, July 24, 2025, following the arrival and unboxing of the observatory at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SWFO-L1 mission will monitor the Sun and near-Earth environment using a suite of instruments that provide real-time measurements of solar activity. The observatory will launch as a rideshare with NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) no earlier than September 2025.
NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory arrives at Building 2 where technicians will load 317 pounds (or 144 kilograms) of hydrazine into three tanks into the spacecraft at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. IMAP will explore and map the boundaries of the heliosphere — a huge bubble created by the Sun’s wind that encapsulates our entire solar system — and study how the heliosphere interacts with the local galactic neighborhood beyond.
Technicians and engineers encapsulate the Sentinel-6B spacecraft within a protective payload fairing inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. NASA is targeting launch no earlier than Sunday, Nov. 16, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg.
Technicians reintegrate the Compact Dual Ion Composition Experiment (CoDICE) instrument of NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory inside the high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, June 20, 2025. CoDICE will measure solar wind particles flowing from the Sun and pickup ions that entered the heliosphere from outside the solar system, as well as the direction of travel, and types of specific species of pickup ions. Launch of the IMAP mission is targeted for no earlier than September 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
Technicians conduct an illumination test by flashing a bright light that simulates the Sun into the solar array for NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory inside the high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, June 20, 2025. The IMAP solar array converts sunlight into approximately 500 watts of power, and IMAP’s spin axis, which comes through the center of the solar arrays, points sunward to provide constant power. Launch is targeted for no earlier than September 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida encapsulate NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), along with the agency’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) spacecraft on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, inside a SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing. The missions will each focus on different effects of the solar wind — the continuous stream of particles emitted by the Sun — and space weather — the changing conditions in space driven by the Sun — from their origins at the Sun to their farthest reaches billions of miles away at the edge of our solar system. Liftoff of the missions on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is targeted for 7:32 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, Sept. 23, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
Technicians remove the protective casing covering NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory on Monday, July 21, 2025, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a small satellite set to operate at Lagrange Point 1 (L1), an orbit point between the Earth and Sun about one million miles away. Carruthers will use its ultraviolet cameras to monitor how space weather from the Sun impacts the exosphere, the outermost part of Earth’s atmosphere. The observatory will launch as a rideshare with NASA’s (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) no earlier than September 2025.
NOAA's Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) arrives at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, to prepare it for launch. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Technicians and engineers encapsulate the Sentinel-6B spacecraft within a protective payload fairing inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. NASA is targeting launch no earlier than Sunday, Nov. 16, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Observatory, set to provide quicker and more accurate space weather forecasts, arrived Sunday, July 20, 2025, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SWFO-L1 mission will monitor the Sun and near-Earth environment using a suite of instruments that provide real-time measurements of solar activity.
Antenna's on NASA's Parker Solar Probe are deployed for testing at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, April 19, 2018. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Technicians at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida install the two-panel solar array on Thursday, July 17, 2025, that will help power the agency’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory on its upcoming journey one million miles away from Earth. Each panel of the solar array, located on the top of IMAP, consists of 16 strings of solar cells, with 36 cells per string, and combined will convert sunlight into 500 watts of power, more than enough for the observatory, which as a system uses less power than five 100-watt incandescent light bulbs.
In the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft is placed on a spin table during preflight processing. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. The spacecraft will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. InSight is scheduled for liftoff May 5, 2018.
NOAA's Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) arrives at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, to prepare it for launch. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Technicians conduct an illumination test by flashing a bright light that simulates the Sun into the solar array for NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory inside the high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, June 20, 2025. The IMAP solar array converts sunlight into approximately 500 watts of power, and IMAP’s spin axis, which comes through the center of the solar arrays, points sunward to provide constant power. Launch is targeted for no earlier than September 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Monday, July 16, 2018, technicians and engineers prepare NASA's Parker Solar Probe for encapsulation in its payload fairing. The spacecraft is mated to its third stage, built and tested by Northrup Grumman in Chandler, Arizona. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Technicians integrate NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On Lagrange - 1 (SWFO-L1) satellite to the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter Array Ring (ESPA) inside the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. The integration of the rideshares prepares for the next milestone of attaching NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) Sun mapping observatory to a payload adapter and stacking all three observatories together to prepare them for encapsulation in the payload fairing.
Inside the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Florida, the payload fairing for NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M, is moved into position to encapsulate the spacecraft. TDRS-M is the latest spacecraft destined for the agency's constellation of communications satellites that allows nearly continuous contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled to take place from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 8:03 a.m. EDT Aug. 18, 2017.
Technicians install multi-layer insulation on the Sentinel-6B spacecraft on a work stand inside the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. Critical for protecting spacecraft from extreme temperatures and environmental conditions in space, the thin, reflective multi-layer insulation will create a barrier to help reduce heat transfer through radiation while Sentinel-6B is in orbit. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. NASA is targeting launch no earlier than Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg.
At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) is rotated to a vertical position after it was uncrated from its shipping container. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) identical dual spacecraft are inspected and processed on dollies in a high bay of the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. As the first multi-spacecraft orbital science mission to Mars, ESCAPADE’s twin orbiters will take simultaneous observations from different locations around the planet and reveal the real-time response to space weather and how the Martian magnetosphere changes over time.
Technicians monitor the progress as NASA's TDRS-M satellite, enclosed in its payload fairing, is lowered onto a transport vehicle inside the Astrotech facility near NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The TDRS-M is the latest spacecraft destined for the agency's constellation of communications satellites that allows nearly continuous contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled to take place from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 18 at 8:03 a.m. EDT.
At the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians and engineers remove NASA's Parker Solar Probe from its shipping container on Wednesday, April 4, 2018. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Technicians use a crane to lift the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Observatory onto a work stand on Friday, July 25, 2025, during prelaunch processing at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SWFO-L1 mission will observe solar eruptions, and monitor incoming space weather 24/7, providing early warnings and validating forecasts that protect vital communication and navigation infrastructure, economic interests, and national security, both on Earth and in space. The observatory will launch as a rideshare with NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) no earlier than September 2025.
Technicians test the spring-activated door on the Interstellar Dust Experiment (IDEX) instrument of NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory inside the high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The door will remain closed to protect IDEX from contamination during integration and launch. Once in space, the door will swing open permanently to allow interstellar and interplanetary dust to flow into the instrument for measurement. The IMAP observatory will study how the Sun shapes the boundaries of the heliosphere, the protective bubble around our solar system. Launch is targeted for no earlier than September 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
Technicians prepare to transport NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory to Building 2 where they will load 317 pounds (or 144 kilograms) of hydrazine into three tanks into the spacecraft at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. IMAP will explore and map the boundaries of the heliosphere — a huge bubble created by the Sun’s wind that encapsulates our entire solar system — and study how the heliosphere interacts with the local galactic neighborhood beyond.
NOAA's Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) arrives at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, to prepare it for launch. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
On Friday, May 18, 2018, at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, scientists and engineers from the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University install a computer chip on NASA's Parker Solar Probe. Throughout its seven-year mission, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will swoop through the Sun’s atmosphere, carrying more than scientific instruments on this historic journey — it will also hold more than 1.1 million names submitted by the public to go to the Sun. The submitted names were loaded into a memory card and mounted on a plaque bearing a dedication to the mission’s namesake, heliophysicist Dr. Eugene Parker. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, technicians and engineers prepare NASA's Parker Solar Probe for light bar testing. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Wednesday, July 11, 2018, technicians and engineers use a crane to move NASA's Parker Solar Probe into position for mating to its third stage, built and tested by Northrup Grumman in Chandler Arizona. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Technicians use a crane to lift the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Observatory onto a work stand on Friday, July 25, 2025, during prelaunch processing at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SWFO-L1 mission will observe solar eruptions, and monitor incoming space weather 24/7, providing early warnings and validating forecasts that protect vital communication and navigation infrastructure, economic interests, and national security, both on Earth and in space. The observatory will launch as a rideshare with NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) no earlier than September 2025.
In the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, on Wednesday, July 11, 2018, technicians and engineers use a crane to move NASA's Parker Solar Probe into position for mating to its third stage, built and tested by Northrup Grumman in Chandler Arizona. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
The payload fairing containing NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S), secured on a transporter, departs the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida. GOES-S will be transported to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The payload fairing will be lifted and mated to the ULA Atlas V rocket. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. GOES-S is slated to launch aboard the ULA Atlas V on March 1.
A crane lifts NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory on Thursday, July 24, 2025, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a small satellite set to operate at Lagrange Point 1 (L1), an orbit point between the Earth and Sun about one million miles away. Carruthers will use its ultraviolet cameras to monitor how space weather from the Sun impacts the exosphere, the outermost part of Earth’s atmosphere. The observatory will launch as a rideshare with NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) no earlier than September 2025.
Inside the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft is prepared to be lifted on to a rotation fixture for further testing. InSight was developed and built by Lockheed-Martin Space Systems in Denver, Colorado, and is scheduled for liftoff is May 5, 2018. InSight is the first mission to land on Mars and explore the Red Planet's deep interior. It will investigate processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system including Earth.
Technicians use a crane to place the Sentinel-6B spacecraft onto a work stand ahead of prelaunch operations at the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans and will extend out to a decade the record of atmospheric temperatures begun by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.
Technicians test the solar arrays during processing of the Sentinel-6B spacecraft during prelaunch operations at the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans.
Workers transport the international Sentinel-6B satellite, encapsulated in the SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing, from the Astrotech Space Operations Facility to Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. NASA is targeting Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, for launch.
At the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians and engineers remove NASA's Parker Solar Probe from its shipping bag on Wednesday, April 4, 2018. The Parker Solar Probe will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida no earlier than Aug. 4, 2018. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.
Technicians rotate the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Observatory vertically and use a crane to lift it from its transport container on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, following the arrival and unboxing of the observatory at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SWFO-L1 mission will monitor the Sun and near-Earth environment using a suite of instruments that provide real-time measurements of solar activity. The observatory will launch as a rideshare with NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) no earlier than September 2025.
In the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft is lifted for placement on a spin table during preflight processing. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. The spacecraft will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created. InSight is scheduled for liftoff May 5, 2018.
Technicians inspect the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) Observatory on Thursday, July 24, 2025, following the arrival and unboxing of the observatory at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SWFO-L1 mission will monitor the Sun and near-Earth environment using a suite of instruments that provide real-time measurements of solar activity. The observatory will launch as a rideshare with NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) no earlier than September 2025.
Technicians reintegrate the Solar Wind and Pickup Ions (SWAPI) instrument of NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) observatory inside the high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, June 23, 2025. As IMAP spins in space, solar wind particles are swept into SWAPI through a special opening called “sunglasses,” an opening covered by a screen with very tiny precise holes that cut down the brightness of the very intense solar wind. SWAPI collects and counts particles from the solar wind flowing from the Sun and particles called pick-up ions that have entered the heliosphere from outside the solar system and traveled inwards where IMAP orbits near Earth. Launch of the IMAP mission is targeted for no earlier than September 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy.
At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida, technicians and engineers inspect NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) after it was positioned on a work stand. The facility is located near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. The GOES-R series - consisting of the GOES-R, GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U spacecraft - will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property and the nation's economic health and prosperity. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Technicians use a crane to place the Sentinel-6B spacecraft onto a work stand ahead of prelaunch operations at the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans and will extend out to a decade the record of atmospheric temperatures begun by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich.
Inside the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft is rotated on a fixture for further testing. InSight was developed and built by Lockheed-Martin Space Systems in Denver, Colorado, and is scheduled for liftoff is May 5, 2018. InSight is the first mission to land on Mars and explore the Red Planet's deep interior. It will investigate processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system including Earth.
Members of the Airbus team preparing the Solar Orbiter spacecraft for launch pause for a photo inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida. Solar Orbiter aims to study the Sun, its outer atmosphere and solar wind, and will provide the first images of the Sun’s poles. Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA. The spacecraft has been developed by Airbus. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is managing the launch. Liftoff is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2020, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Inside the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Florida, the NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-M, has been encapsulated in its payload fairing. TDRS-M is the latest spacecraft destined for the agency's constellation of communications satellites that allows nearly continuous contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled to take place from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 8:03 a.m. EDT Aug. 18, 2017.