Tammy Long, NASA Communications, addresses the audience during a prelaunch news conference for the Lucy mission held inside the TV Auditorium at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 13, 2021. The mission is targeted to launch at 5:34 a.m. EDT Saturday, Oct. 16, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Lucy is the first space mission to study the Trojan asteroids, which hold vital clues to the formation of our solar system.
In the Press Site auditorium at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Taraji P. Henson speaks to members of the media during a news conference with other key individuals involved in the upcoming motion picture "Hidden Figures." The movie is based on the book of the same title, by Margot Lee Shetterly. It chronicles the lives of Katherine Johnson (played by Henson), Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, three African-American women who worked for NASA as human "computers.” Their mathematical calculations were crucial to the success of Project Mercury missions including John Glenn’s orbital flight aboard Friendship 7 in 1962. The film is due in theaters in January 2017.
Kennedy Space Center Deputy Director Janet Petro participates in a virtual town hall at the Florida spaceport’s Press Site auditorium on June 10, 2020, to share the plan for employees to safely return to on-site work during the time of COVID-19. Also participating were Center Director Bob Cabana and Dr. David Tipton, chief medical officer, not pictured.
Andres Bratt-Leal, Ph.D., of Aspen Neuroscience, talks to NASA Social participants during a What’s On Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 23, 2019. Bratt-Leal is a principal investigator for the Effects of Microgravity on Microglia 3-Dimensional Models of Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis (Space Tango-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells) payload. The briefing was held for SpaceX’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-18) mission to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and uncrewed Dragon spacecraft are scheduled to launch July 24, 2019, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Tory Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance, listens during a briefing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida following launch of Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test, Dec. 20, 2019. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:36 a.m. EST. The uncrewed Orbital Flight Test is the Starliner’s first flight for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Dr. Nicole Wagner president and CEO for LambdaVision Inc. in Farmington, Connecticut, speaks to members of the media in the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium. The briefing focused on research planned for launch to the International Space Station. The scientific materials and supplies will be aboard a Dragon spacecraft scheduled for liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the company's 16th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the space station.
In the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, agency and industry leaders speak to members of the media at a prelaunch news conference for the SpaceX CRS-10 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Jessica Jensen, director of Dragon mission management for SpaceX, answers questions.
In the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, Mike McAleenan, launch weather officer for the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron, speaks to members of the media during a prelaunch news conference for the SpaceX CRS-11 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. A Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to be launched from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A on June 1 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the company's 11th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the space station.
In the Press Site auditorium at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the media participate in a news conference with key individuals from the upcoming motion picture "Hidden Figures." From the left are: Ted Melfi (partially visible), writer and director of “Hidden Figures”; Octavia Spencer, who portrays Dorothy Vaughan; Taraji P. Henson, who portrays Katherine Johnson in the film; Janelle Monáe, who portrays Mary Jackson; Pharrell Williams, musician and producer of “Hidden Figures"; and Bill Barry, NASA's chief historian. The movie is based on the book of the same title, by Margot Lee Shetterly. It chronicles the lives of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, three African-American women who worked for NASA as human "computers.” Their mathematical calculations were crucial to the success of Project Mercury missions including John Glenn’s orbital flight aboard Friendship 7 in 1962. The film is due in theaters in January 2017.
In the Press Site auditorium at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the media participate in a news conference with key individuals involved in the upcoming motion picture "Hidden Figures." From the left are: Janelle Monáe, who portrays Mary Jackson; Pharrell Williams, musician and producer of “Hidden Figures;" and Bill Barry, NASA's chief historian. The movie is based on the book of the same title, by Margot Lee Shetterly. It chronicles the lives of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, three African-American women who worked for NASA as human "computers.” Their mathematical calculations were crucial to the success of Project Mercury missions including John Glenn’s orbital flight aboard Friendship 7 in 1962. The film is due in theaters in January 2017.
Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, participates in a news conference Sept. 3, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after launch of Artemis I was waived off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. Teams encountered a liquid hydrogen leak while loading propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
NASA Communications’ Jasmine Hopkins moderates a Mars 2020 Facebook live event inside the Press Site auditorium at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 12, 2021. Participants included United Launch Alliance (ULA) Launch Conductor Dillon Rice and NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) Launch Director Tim Dunn. During the event, Rice and Dunn discussed the partnership between ULA and LSP, as well as major milestones that led to the Mars 2020 launch, and how launches to Mars have changed over time. NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on July 30, 2020, and is slated to touch down on the Red Planet Feb. 18, 2021.
Inside the Press Site auditorium at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA and industry leaders conduct a virtual prelaunch news conference Nov. 13, 2020, ahead of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission. From left are Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy Space Center; Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, Johnson Space Center; Kirt Costello, chief scientist, International Space Station Program, Johnson; Norm Knight, deputy manager, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson; Arlena Moses, launch weather officer, U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron; and Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs, SpaceX. Crew-1 is the first regular crew mission of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience capsule will launch atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A to the space station for a six-month science mission.
In the Press Site auditorium of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Ven Feng, NASA's manager of the International Space Station Transportation Integration Office, speaks to media at a post-launch news conference following the liftoff of SpaceX CRS-11, a commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-11 lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A at 5:07 p.m. EDT.
Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, participates in a briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 17, 2020, prior to launch of SpaceX’s uncrewed In-Flight Abort Test. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped by the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft will lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, then begin the launch-abort sequence. The spacecraft will demonstrate its escape capabilities in preparation for crewed flights to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
Kathy Lueders, NASA Commercial Crew Program, at left, and John Mulholland, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program, speak during a prelaunch briefing for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dec. 17, 2019. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The uncrewed Orbital Flight Test will be the Starliner’s first flight to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Annemarie Eldering, project scientist for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, talks to NASA Social participants during a What’s On Board science briefing at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 29, 2019. The briefing was held for SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-17) mission to the International Space Station. OCO-3 will be robotically installed on the exterior of the space station’s Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility Unit, where it will measure and map carbon dioxide from space to provide further understanding of the relationship between carbon and climate. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo module are scheduled to launch no earlier than May 3, 2019, from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager, Kathy Lueders, participates in a postlaunch news conference inside the Press Site auditorium at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30, 2020, following the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, occurred at 3:22 p.m. EDT from historic Launch Complex 39A. Behnken and Hurley are the first astronauts to launch to the space station from U.S. soil since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. Part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, this will be SpaceX’s final flight test, paving the way for the agency to certify the crew transportation system for regular, crewed flights to the orbiting laboratory.
NASA holds a prelaunch media briefing on the status of the Artemis I countdown on Sept. 2, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Participants are, from left, Megan Cruz, moderator, NASA Communications; Jeremy Parsons, Exploration Ground Systems, deputy program manager, NASA Kennedy; and Melody Lovin, weather officer, Space Launch Delta 45. Artemis I is scheduled to launch at 2:17 p.m. EDT on Sept. 3, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. Launch was waved off on Aug. 29 due to an issue during tanking. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate NASA’s capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
Antonia Jaramillo, NASA Communications, moderates a What’s On Board Science Briefing on June 2, 2021, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for SpaceX’s 22nd Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA to the International Space Station. On screen, principal investigator Dr. Thomas Boothby describes the Cell Science-04 experiment that will be delivered to the space station. Cell Science-04 will research the effects of microgravity on tardigrades, more commonly known as water bears. The results could advance understanding of the stress factors affecting humans in space. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule atop is scheduled to launch at 1:29 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 3, from the center’s Launch Complex 39A. Dragon will deliver more than 7,300 pounds of cargo and science experiments to the space station.
Officials from NASA, Boeing, ULA (United Launch Alliance) , and the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron participate in a prelaunch briefing for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Friday, May 3, 2024. From left to right at the dais are Megan Cruz, NASA Communications; Bill Nelson, NASA administrator; Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program; Dana Weigel, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program; Jennifer Buchli, chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program; Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program; Gary Wentz, vice president, Government and Commercial Programs, ULA; Brian Cizek, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force, 45th Weather Squadron. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are the first to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop a ULA Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled for 10:34 p.m. ET on Monday, May 6.
After the first launch attempt of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, a news conference is held on Monday, May 6, 2024, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, the first crewed launch to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was targeted for 10:34 p.m. ET but scrubbed for the day. Participants, from left to right are, Megan Cruz, NASA Communications; NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Ken Bowersox; NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich; NASA International Space Station Program Manager Dana Weigel; ULA (United Launch Alliance) President and CEO, Tory Bruno; and Vice President and Program Manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program Mark Nappi.
Rick Doe, payload program manager at SRI International, discusses the Enhanced Tandem Beacon Experiment during a NASA prelaunch technology TV show for the Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 23, 2019. The experiment’s two CubeSats will work with six other satellites to study irregularities in Earth’s upper atmosphere that interfere with GPS and communications signals. It is one of NASA payloads scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A beginning at 11:30 p.m. EDT on June 24, 2019. STP-2 is managed by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.
Howard Hu, Orion Program Manager, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, participates in a prelaunch media briefing following completion of NASA’s Flight Readiness Review for Artemis I on Aug. 22, 2022, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis I is scheduled to launch at 8:33 a.m. EDT on Aug. 29, 2022, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
In the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, NASA and industry leaders speak to members of the media during a prelaunch news conference for the agency’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, spacecraft. From left are: Christine Bonniksen, CYGNSS program executive in the Earth Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.; and Tim Dunn, NASA launch director at Kennedy. The eight CYGNSS satellites will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data will help scientists probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a crucial role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.
A prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T) is held on Feb. 26, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Scott Messer, program manager, NASA Launch Services, United Launch Alliance, answers questions during the news conference. GOES-T is scheduled to lift off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on March 1, 2022, at 4:38 p.m. GOES-T is the third satellite in the GOES-R series that will continue to help meteorologists observe and predict local weather events that affect public safety. The launch is being managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, America’s multi-user spaceport.
A scale model of NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft is on display during a payload briefing for IXPE on Dec.7, 2021 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. IXPE is scheduled to launch no earlier than 1 a.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 9, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. NASA’s Launch Services Program is managing this launch. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the IXPE mission. Ball Aerospace, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, manages spacecraft operations with support from the University of Colorado at Boulder. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Explorers Program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 provides range support for this launch. SpaceX is providing the launch vehicle for this mission.
In the Press Site auditorium of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Vern Thorp, United Space Alliance's program manager for NASA missions, speaks to members of the news media at a post-launch news conference following the liftoff of Orbital ATK CRS-6, a commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station, or ISS. The Cygnus spacecraft lifted off atop an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:05 p.m. EDT.
Julian Rubinfien, student winner of the Genes in Space competition, discusses his Genes in Space II winning experiment during a "What's on Board" science briefing to NASA Social participants at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The briefing was for Orbital ATK's seventh commercial resupply services mission, CRS-7, to the International Space Station. Orbital ATK's Cygnus pressurized cargo module is set to launch on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on April 18. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:11 a.m. EDT.
Kathy Lueders, NASA Commercial Crew Program, speaks during a prelaunch briefing for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dec. 17, 2019. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The uncrewed Orbital Flight Test will be the Starliner’s first flight to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Jill Seubert, deputy principal investigator, from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, explains the payload during a NASA prelaunch technology TV broadcast for the Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 23, 2019. The new space clock could improve how we navigate on the Moon, to Mars and beyond. The space clock is one of four NASA payloads scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A beginning at 11:30 p.m. EDT on June 24, 2019. STP-2 is managed by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.
Joel Montalbano, deputy manager, International Space Station Program, speaks to members of the media during a prelaunch news conference with NASA, SpaceX and the 45th Weather Squadron leaders Thursday, Feb. 28, prior to the Saturday, March 2 launch of the SpaceX Demo-1 Commercial Crew Program (CCP) mission to the International Space Station. The inaugural flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, known as Demo-1, is scheduled to lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A Saturday at 2:49 EST. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the uncrewed spacecraft on a mission designed to validate end-to-end systems and capabilities, leading to certification to fly crew. NASA has worked with SpaceX and Boeing in developing the Commercial Crew Program spacecraft to facilitate new human spaceflight systems launching from U.S. soil with the goal of safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit destinations, such as the International Space Station.
In the Press Site auditorium of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA and industry leaders speak to media at a post-launch news conference following the liftoff of SpaceX CRS-10, a commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. From left are: George Diller, NASA Communications; William Spetch, deputy manager of the International Space Station Transportation Office; Jessica Jensen, Dragon mission manager for SpaceX; and Pam Underwood, manager of the Operations Integration Division of the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation. SpaceX CRS-10 lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A at 9:39 a.m. EST.
Jim Free, NASA associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, participates in a prelaunch media briefing on the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration plans on Aug. 27, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as the clock counts down to the launch of Artemis I scheduled for Aug. 29, at 8:33 a.m. EDT from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
Junichi Sakai, manager, International Space Station Program, JAXA, participates in the SpaceX Crew-2 prelaunch news conference held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 20, 2021. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will fly on Crew-2, the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. They will launch aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, powered by the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff is set for Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, at 6:11 a.m. EDT.
Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, participates in a postlaunch news conference following the liftoff of NASA Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) on May 19, 2022. Liftoff occurred at 6:54 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Boeing’s uncrewed flight test is designed to test the system’s end-to-end capabilities for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program providing valuable data towards NASA certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for regular crewed flights to and from the International Space Station.
In the Kennedy Space Center's Press Site auditorium, Matthew Kamlet of NASA Communications at the Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, speaks to members of the media at a news conference to discuss upcoming flight tests to study the effects of sonic booms. Kennedy is partnering with Armstrong, Langley and Space Florida for a program called SonicBAT for Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence. Starting in August, NASA F-18 jets will take off from the Shuttle Landing Facility and fly at supersonic speeds while agency researchers on the ground measure the effects of low-altitude turbulence on sonic booms. The study could lead to technology mitigating the annoying sonic booms making possible supersonic flights over populated areas.
Joel Montalbano, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program, participates in a post-launch news conference following the liftoff of NASA Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) on May 19, 2022. Liftoff occurred at 6:54 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Boeing’s uncrewed flight test is designed to test the system’s end-to-end capabilities for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program providing valuable data towards NASA certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for regular crewed flights to and from the International Space Station.
Director of Safety and Mission Assurance Ronnie Rodriguez participates in the Safety Starts With You Leadership Panel on Jan. 25, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The panel discussion featured senior leaders from the spaceport addressing ways employees can focus on safely completing mission objectives in the new year. Other panelists included Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro, Director of Spaceport Integration and Services Nancy Bray, and Exploration Ground Systems Chief of Staff Sasha Sims.
From left, Josh Santora, moderator with NASA Communications; Kenny Todd, manager, International Space Station Operations and Integration at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston; and Hans Koenigsmann, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability with SpaceX, speak to members of the news media during a postlaunch news conference at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 4, 2019, for SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-17) mission to the International Space Station for the agency. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo module lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 2:48 a.m. EDT. The Dragon cargo module will deliver about 5,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew.
Bob Cabana, NASA Associate Administrator, participates in a prelaunch media briefing following completion of NASA’s Flight Readiness Review for Artemis I on Aug. 22, 2022, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis I is scheduled to launch at 8:33 a.m. EDT on Aug. 29, 2022, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
Tara Ruttley, NASA associate scientist for the International Space Station Program, left, and Patrick O'Nell, Marketing and Communications manager for the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), speak to members of social media in the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium. The briefing focused on research planned for launch to the International Space Station. The scientific materials and supplies will be aboard a Dragon spacecraft scheduled for launch from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A on Feb. 18 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the company's 10th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the space station.
Officials from NASA participate in a crew and science media briefing ahead or Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, July 29, 2021. From left to right are Megan Cruz, NASA Communications; Chris Ferguson, director, Starliner Mission Operations and Integration/Crew Systems; Barry “Butch” Wilmore, NASA astronaut, Crew Flight Test; E. Michael “Mike” Fincke, NASA astronaut, Crew Flight Test; Nicole Mann, NASA astronaut, Crew Flight Test; Jennifer Buchli, deputy chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will launch atop a ULA Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a mission to dock with the space station. The uncrewed OFT-2 will be the Starliner’s second flight for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
In Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, agency and industry leaders speak to members of the media during a post launch news conference following the March 2, 2:49 a.m. EST launch of the SpaceX Demo-1 Commercial Crew Program (CCP) mission to the International Space Station. From left are: Steve Stich, NASA launch manager, Commercial Crew Program; Kirk Shireman, manager, International Space Station Program; Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator; Elon Musk, CEO and lead designer, SpaceX; Bob Behnken, NASA astronaut and Doug Hurley, NASA astronaut. The Crew Dragon’s trip to the space station is designed to validate end-to-end systems and capabilities, leading to certification to fly crew. NASA has worked with SpaceX and Boeing in developing the CCP spacecraft to facilitate new human spaceflight systems launching from U.S. soil with the goal of safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit destinations, such as the space station.
From left, Megan Cruz, NASA Communications; Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, NASA Headquarters; Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Kennedy Space Center; Melissa Jones, recovery director, Exploration Ground Systems Program, Kennedy; Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters; and Melody Lovin, weather officer, Space Launch Delta 45, participate in an Artemis I mission status press briefing at Kennedy on Aug. 27, 2022. NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are targeted to lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B no earlier than Aug. 29, 2022, at 8:33 a.m. EDT.
NASA Public Affairs Specialist Kristi Irastorza hosts a “Mars 2020 Social Media Q&A: En Español” program on Wednesday, July 22, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The event featured representatives from NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to lift off aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Thursday, July 30. The two-hour window opens at 7:50 a.m. EDT. LSP, based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.
Karen Fox, NASA Communications, moderates a payload briefing for NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft on Dec.7, 2021 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. IXPE is scheduled to launch no earlier than 1 a.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 9, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. NASA’s Launch Services Program is managing this launch. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the IXPE mission. Ball Aerospace, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, manages spacecraft operations with support from the University of Colorado at Boulder. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Explorers Program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 provides range support for this launch. SpaceX is providing the launch vehicle for this mission.
A prelaunch media briefing is held following completion of NASA’s Flight Readiness Review for Artemis I on Aug. 22, 2022, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Participants are, from left, Megan Cruz, NASA Communications; Bob Cabana, NASA Associate Administrator; Janet Petro, Director, Kennedy Space Center; Jim Free, Associate Administrator, Exploration Systems Development; Mike Sarafin, Mission Manager, Artemis I; Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Launch Director, Artemis I; Howard Hu, Manager, Orion Program; Chris Cianciola, Deputy Manager, SLS Program. Artemis I is scheduled to launch at 8:33 a.m. EDT on Aug. 29, 2022, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
International Space Station Program Manager Joel Montalbano participates in a postlaunch news conference for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission inside the News Auditorium at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 5, 2022. SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance is carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, commander; Josh Cassada, pilot; and Mission Specialists Koichi Wakata, of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the International Space Station for a science expedition mission as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at noon EDT from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A.
In Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, agency and industry leaders speak to members of the media on Friday, Feb. 22, during the post-flight readiness review briefing for the SpaceX Demo-1 Commercial Crew Program (CCP) mission to the International Space Station. From left are: Josh Finch of NASA Communications; William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator, NASA Human Exploration and Operations; and Kathy Lueders, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program. The inaugural uncrewed flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, known as Demo-1, is targeted to lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A on Saturday, March 2. EST. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Crew Dragon on a mission designed to validate end-to-end systems and capabilities, leading to certification to fly crew.
Sourzv Sinha, with Oconolinx, discusses the ADCs(antibody-drug conjugates) in Microgravity experiment during a "What's on Board' science breifing to NASA Social participants at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The briefing was for Orbital ATK's seventh commercial resupply services mission, CRS-7, to the International Space Station. Orbital ATK's Cygnus pressurized cargo module is set to launch on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on April 18. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:11 a.m. EDT.
In the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, agency and industry leaders speak to members of the media during a prelaunch news conference for the SpaceX CRS-11 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. From left are: Mike Curie of NASA Communications, Kirk Shireman, NASA's International Space Station Program manager, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of Flight Reliability for SpaceX, Camille Alleyne, associate program scientist for the International Space Station at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and Mike McAleenan, launch weather officer for the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron. A Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to be launched from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A on June 1 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the company's 11th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the space station.
Jackie McGuinness, NASA press secretary, moderates a news conference Sept. 3, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after launch of Artemis I was waived off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. Teams encountered a liquid hydrogen leak while loading propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich is photographed during a news conference held on Monday, May 6, 2024, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida following the first launch attempt of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, the first crewed launch to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was targeted for 10:34 p.m. ET but scrubbed for the day.
NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana speaks to the media ahead of Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, July 29, 2021. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The uncrewed OFT-2 will be the Starliner’s second flight for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Launch Director, Artemis I, participates in a prelaunch media briefing following completion of NASA’s Flight Readiness Review for Artemis I on Aug. 22, 2022, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis I is scheduled to launch at 8:33 a.m. EDT on Aug. 29, 2022, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
NASA Press Secretary Jackie McGuinness moderates a prelaunch media briefing on the NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration plans on Aug. 27, 2022, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as the clock counts down to the launch of Artemis I scheduled for Aug. 29, at 8:33 a.m. EDT from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
A news conference is held Sept. 3, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after launch of Artemis I was waived off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. Teams encountered a liquid hydrogen leak while loading propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket. Participants are, from left, Jackie McGuinness, NASA press secretary; Bill Nelson, NASA administrator; Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate; and Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
In the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, Tim Dunn, NASA launch manager at Kennedy, speaks to members of the media at a prelaunch news conference for the agency’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
Jeremy Banik, principle investigator the Roll-Out Solar Array, or ROSA, demonstration, speaks to members of social media in the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium. The briefing focused on experiments and instruments to be delivered to the International Space Station on SpaceX CRS-11. A Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to be launched from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A on June 1 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the company's 11th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the space station.
John Elbon, Chief Operating Officer, United Launch Alliance, is introduced during a prelaunch news conference for the Lucy mission held inside the TV Auditorium at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 13, 2021. The mission is targeted to launch at 5:34 a.m. EDT Saturday, Oct. 16, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. During its 12-year primary mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids, flying by one asteroid in the solar system’s main belt and seven Trojan asteroids. Additionally, Lucy’s path will circle back to Earth three times for gravity assists, making it the first spacecraft to return to the vicinity of Earth from the outer solar system.
From left, Jeremy Parsons, Exploration Ground Systems, deputy program manager, NASA Kennedy; and Melody Lovin, weather officer, Space Launch Delta 45, participate in a prelaunch media briefing on the status of the Artemis I countdown on Sept. 2, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis I is scheduled to launch at 2:17 p.m. EDT on Sept. 3, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. Launch was waved off on Aug. 29 due to an issue during tanking. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate NASA’s capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
Salem AlMarri, director general, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, speaks to members of the news media during a postlaunch news conference for the SpaceX Crew-6 mission at Kennedy’s NASA News Center in Florida on March 2, 2023. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon spacecraft Endeavour for NASA’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station lifted off at 12:34 a.m. EST. Aboard Dragon are NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, spacecraft commander, and Warren Hoburg, pilot, along with mission specialists Sultan Alneyadi, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut, and Andrey Fedyaev, Roscosmos cosmonaut. Crew-6 is the sixth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station, and the seventh flight of Dragon with people as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
In Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, agency and industry leaders speak to members of the media on Friday, Feb. 22, during the post-flight readiness review briefing for the SpaceX Demo-1 Commercial Crew Program (CCP) mission to the International Space Station. From left are: Josh Finch of NASA Communications; William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator, NASA Human Exploration and Operations; Kathy Lueders, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program; Hans Koenigsmann, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX; Kirk Shireman, International Space Station Program manager; and Norm Knight, deputy director, NASA Johnson Space Center Flight Operations. The inaugural uncrewed flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, known as Demo-1, is targeted to lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A on Saturday, March 2. EST. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Crew Dragon on a mission designed to validate end-to-end systems and capabilities, leading to certification to fly crew.
Mark Kirasich, Orion Program manager, participates in a prelaunch news conference for NASA’s Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 1, 2019. For AA-2, a test version of the Orion spacecraft attached to a fully functional Launch Abort System (LAS) will launch atop a Northrop Grumman provided booster on July 2, 2019, from Launch Pad 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. During AA-2, the booster will send the LAS and Orion to an altitude of 31,000 feet, traveling at more than 1,000 mph. The LAS’ three motors will work together to pull the crew module away from the booster and prepare it for splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. The flight test will prove that the abort system can pull crew to safety in the unlikely event of an emergency during ascent.
Jim Free, Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, participates in a prelaunch media briefing following completion of NASA’s Flight Readiness Review for Artemis I on Aug. 22, 2022, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis I is scheduled to launch at 8:33 a.m. EDT on Aug. 29, 2022, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
From left, high school student Aarthi Vijayakumar, MIT student David Li, and high school students Michelle Sung and Rebecca Li talk about their winning Genes in Space experiment for NASA during a What’s On Board science briefing to NASA Social participants at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 29, 2019. The briefing was held for SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-17) mission to the International Space Station. NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) and Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) are two of the experiments that also will be delivered to the space station on CRS-17. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo module are scheduled to launch no earlier than May 3, 2019, from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Tara Ruttley, left, associate program scientist with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and Dr. Mike Roberts, with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), speak to NASA Social participants during a "What's on Board" science briefing at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The briefing is for Orbital ATK's seventh commercial resupply services mission, CRS-7, to the International Space Station. Orbital ATK's Cygnus pressurized cargo module is set to launch on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on April 18. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:11 a.m. EDT.
Josef Aschbacher, director general, ESA (European Space Agency), is introduced during a Crew-4 press briefing April 26, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-4 launch. Crew-4 is the fourth crew rotation flight to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will launch atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A to the space station on Wednesday, April 27, at 3:52 a.m. EDT.
In the Press Site auditorium of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials speak to media about efforts to recover from Hurricane Matthew. From the left are Mike Curie of NASA Communications, Center Director Bob Cabana and Bob Holl, chief of the Kennedy Damage Assessment and Recovery Team. Officials determined that the center received some isolated roof damage, damaged support buildings, a few downed power lines, and limited water intrusion. Beach erosion also occurred, although the storm surge was less than expected. NASA closed the center ahead of the storm’s onset and only a small team of specialists known as the Ride-out Team was on the center as the storm approached and passed.
Officials from NASA, Boeing, United Launch Alliance and the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron participate in a prelaunch briefing for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dec. 17, 2019. From left are Kathy Lueders, NASA Commercial Crew Program; John Mulholland, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program; and John Elbon, chief operating officer, United Launch Alliance. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The uncrewed Orbital Flight Test will be the Starliner’s first flight to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA Public Affairs Specialist Kristi Irastorza hosts a “Mars 2020 Social Media Q&A: En Español” program on Wednesday, July 22, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The event featured representatives from NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to lift off aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Thursday, July 30. The two-hour window opens at 7:50 a.m. EDT. LSP, based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.
A prelaunch status briefing for Orbital ATK's seventh commercial resupply mission, CRS-7, to the International Space Station, is held at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Press Site in Florida. Participating in the briefing is Frank Culbertson, Space Systems Group president, Orbital ATK. Orbital ATK's Cygnus pressurized cargo module is set to launch atop the ULA Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on April 18. Cygnus will deliver 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:11 a.m. EDT.
Joshua Santora, with NASA Communications, moderates a NASA Social Facebook Live briefing inside the Press Site auditorium on May 26, 2020, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 launch. At the counter, from left are NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Kjell Lindgren, and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft are scheduled to lift off from historic Launch Complex 39A on Wednesday, May 27, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station. This will mark the first launch of astronauts from U.S. soil to the space station since the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. Part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, this will be SpaceX’s final flight test, paving the way for NASA to certify the crew transportation system for regular, crewed flights to the orbiting laboratory. Liftoff is scheduled for 4:33 p.m. EDT.
A payload briefing for NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft is held on Dec.7, 2021 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Participants from left are Brian Ramsey, deputy principal investigator, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center; Elisabetta Cavazzuti, ASI IXPE program manager, Italian Space Agency; Luca Baldini, Italian co-principal investigator, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center; and MacKenzie Ferrie, IXPE program manager, Ball Aerospace. IXPE is scheduled to launch no earlier than 1 a.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 9, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. NASA’s Launch Services Program is managing this launch. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the IXPE mission. Ball Aerospace, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, manages spacecraft operations with support from the University of Colorado at Boulder. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Explorers Program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The U.S. Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45 provides range support for this launch. SpaceX is providing the launch vehicle for this mission.
From left, Stephen Volz, assistant administrator for satellite and information services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Greg Mandt, GOES-R system program director, NOAA; and Sandra Smalley, director, Joint Agency Satellite Division, NASA Headquarters, speak to members of the news media during a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) prelaunch news conference in the Kennedy Space Center's Press Site auditorium.
As part of NASA’s NextGen STEM project, students from Florida’s Montverde Academy, Storm Grove Middle School, and Whispering Pines School, as well as a homeschool collective from Georgia, participate in an environmentally focused Earth Day briefing inside the News Auditorium at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 20, 2023. Along with the students participating in person, middle- and high-school students across the country had the opportunity to ask questions of the panel via phone to discuss how technology and science coexist with nature at Kennedy.
Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Program, SpaceX, speaks to members of the news media during a postlaunch news conference for the SpaceX Crew-6 mission at Kennedy’s NASA News Center in Florida on March 2, 2023. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon spacecraft Endeavour for NASA’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station lifted off at 12:34 a.m. EST. Aboard Dragon are NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, spacecraft commander, and Warren Hoburg, pilot, along with mission specialists Sultan Alneyadi, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut, and Andrey Fedyaev, Roscosmos cosmonaut. Crew-6 is the sixth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station, and the seventh flight of Dragon with people as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
Megan Cruz, NASA Communications, moderates a prelaunch media briefing following completion of NASA’s Flight Readiness Review for Artemis I on Aug. 22, 2022, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Artemis I is scheduled to launch at 8:33 a.m. EDT on Aug. 29, 2022, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
Vice President and Program Manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program Mark Nappi,is photographed during a news conference held on Monday, May 6, 2024, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida following the first launch attempt of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, the first crewed launch to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was targeted for 10:34 p.m. ET but scrubbed for the day.
In the Press Site auditorium of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dan Hartman, NASA deputy manager of the International Space Station Program, speaks to media at a post-launch news conference following the liftoff of SpaceX CRS-12, a commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-12 lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A at 12:31 p.m. EDT.
In the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, Clay Flinn, launch weather officer for the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida speaks to members of the media abouth the weather forecast at a prelaunch news conference for the agency’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. To Flinn’s right is Rich Kuhns, OSIRIS-REx program manager for Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver.
NASA Public Affairs Specialist Kristi Irastorza, left, and NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) Chief of Flight Projects Office Albert Sierra, participate in a “Mars 2020 Social Media Q&A: En Español” program on Wednesday, July 22, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The event featured representatives from LSP and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to lift off aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Thursday, July 30. The two-hour window opens at 7:50 a.m. EDT. LSP, based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.
Melody C. Lovin, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, speaks to members of the media during a prelaunch news conference with NASA, SpaceX and the 45th Weather Squadron leaders Thursday, Feb. 28, prior to the Saturday, March 2 launch of the SpaceX Demo-1 Commercial Crew Program (CCP) mission to the International Space Station. The inaugural flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, known as Demo-1, is scheduled to lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A Saturday at 2:49 EST. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the uncrewed spacecraft on a mission designed to validate end-to-end systems and capabilities, leading to certification to fly crew. NASA has worked with SpaceX and Boeing in developing the Commercial Crew Program spacecraft to facilitate new human spaceflight systems launching from U.S. soil with the goal of safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit destinations, such as the International Space Station.
In the Press Site auditorium at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the media participate in a news conference with key individuals from the upcoming motion picture "Hidden Figures." From the left are: former CNN space correspondent John Zarrella, serving as moderator; Ted Melfi, writer and director of “Hidden Figures”; Octavia Spencer, who portrays Dorothy Vaughan; Taraji P. Henson, who portrays Katherine Johnson in the film; Janelle Monáe, who portrays Mary Jackson; Pharrell Williams, musician and producer of “Hidden Figures"; and Bill Barry, NASA's chief historian. The movie is based on the book of the same title, by Margot Lee Shetterly. It chronicles the lives of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, three African-American women who worked for NASA as human "computers.” Their mathematical calculations were crucial to the success of Project Mercury missions including John Glenn’s orbital flight aboard Friendship 7 in 1962. The film is due in theaters in January 2017.
Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA, participates in a postlaunch news conference following the liftoff of NASA Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) on May 19, 2022. Liftoff occurred at 6:54 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Boeing’s uncrewed flight test is designed to test the system’s end-to-end capabilities for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program providing valuable data towards NASA certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for regular crewed flights to and from the International Space Station.
Paul Escalera, Orbital ATK staff systems engineer, speaks to NASA Social participants about the Cygnus pressurized cargo module during a "What's on Board" science briefing at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The briefing was for Orbital ATK's seventh commercial ressuply services mission, CRS-7, to the International Space Station. Orbital ATK's Cygnus module is set to launch on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on April 18. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:11 a.m. EDT.
Sarah Walker, director, Dragon mission management, SpaceX, is introduced during a prelaunch news conference for SpaceX’s 24th commercial resupply services mission at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 20, 2021. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Dragon spacecraft on board is targeted for Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, at 5:07 a.m. EST. The mission will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the crew on board the International Space Station.
Dr. Edward Kelly, with the University of Washington School of Pharmacy, discusses The Tissue Chips in Space project during a What’s On Board science briefing to NASA Social participants at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 29, 2019. The briefing was held for SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-17) mission to the International Space Station. Kelly and other researchers will send kidney tissue chip models to the space station to understand how microgravity affects kidney function, such as changes in vitamin D metabolism and formation of kidney stones. NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) and Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) are two of the experiments that also will be delivered to the space station on CRS-17. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo module are scheduled to launch no earlier than May 3, 2019, from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
NASA Kennedy Space Center Associate Director, Management Burt Summerfield participates in a virtual town hall meeting on Aug. 20, 2020, inside the Florida spaceport’s Press Site auditorium. During the town hall, Kennedy’s senior leaders answered questions submitted by the workforce and discussed a wide range of topics, including upcoming milestones, updates on the criteria for returning to onsite work, and diversity and inclusion at the multi-user spaceport.
Jason Mitchell, project manager for the Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology, or SEXTANT, instrument, left, and Keith Gendreau, principle investigator for the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER, speak to members of social media in the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium. The briefing focused on the purpose of their experiments and instruments to be delivered to the International Space Station on SpaceX CRS-11. A Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to be launched from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A on June 1 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the company's 11th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the space station.
Megan Cruz, NASA Communications, participates in a prelaunch briefing for NASA’s uncrewed Boeing Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, May 17, 2022. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner is targeted to launch at 6:54 p.m. EDT on Thursday, May 19, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station.
Members of NASA Kennedy Space Center leadership hold a virtual town hall at the Florida spaceport’s Press Site auditorium on June 10, 2020, to share the plan for employees to safely return to on-site work during the time of COVID-19. From left to right are Dr. David Tipton, Kennedy’s Chief Medical Officer (participating via monitor), event moderator Marie Lewis of NASA Communications, Center Director Bob Cabana and Deputy Director Janet Petro.
NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) Chief of Flight Projects Office Albert Sierra participates in a “Mars 2020 Social Media Q&A: En Español” program on Wednesday, July 22, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The event featured representatives from LSP and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to lift off aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 on Thursday, July 30. The two-hour window opens at 7:50 a.m. EDT. LSP, based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.
In the Press Site auditorium of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA and industry leaders speak to media at a post-launch news conference following the liftoff of SpaceX CRS-10, a commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. From left are: George Diller, NASA Communications; William Spetch, deputy manager of the International Space Station Transportation Office; Jessica Jensen, Dragon mission manager for SpaceX; and Pam Underwood, manager of the Operations Integration Division of the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation. SpaceX CRS-10 lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A at 9:39 a.m. EST.
In the Press Site auditorium of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA and industry leaders speak to media at a post-launch news conference following the liftoff of SpaceX CRS-10, a commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. From left are: William Spetch, deputy manager of the International Space Station Transportation Office; Jessica Jensen, Dragon mission manager for SpaceX; and Pam Underwood, manager of the Operations Integration Division of the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation. SpaceX CRS-10 lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A at 9:39 a.m. EST.
Hans Koenigsmann, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX, speaks to members of the media during a prelaunch news conference with NASA, SpaceX and the 45th Weather Squadron leaders Thursday, Feb. 28, prior to the Saturday, March 2 launch of the SpaceX Demo-1 Commercial Crew Program (CCP) mission to the International Space Station. The inaugural flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, known as Demo-1, is scheduled to lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A Saturday at 2:49 EST. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the uncrewed spacecraft on a mission designed to validate end-to-end systems and capabilities, leading to certification to fly crew. NASA has worked with SpaceX and Boeing in developing the Commercial Crew Program spacecraft to facilitate new human spaceflight systems launching from U.S. soil with the goal of safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit destinations, such as the International Space Station.
A press conference is held on Aug. 29, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after waving-off of the launch of the agency’s Artemis I mission. Participants from left, are NASA Press Secretary Jackie McGuiness; Bill Nelson, NASA administrator; Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, NASA Headquarters; and Jim Free, associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
NASA’s International Space Station Program Manager, Kirk Shireman, participates in a postlaunch news conference inside the Press Site auditorium at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30, 2020, following the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, occurred at 3:22 p.m. EDT from historic Launch Complex 39A. Behnken and Hurley are the first astronauts to launch to the space station from U.S. soil since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. Part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, this will be SpaceX’s final flight test, paving the way for the agency to certify the crew transportation system for regular, crewed flights to the orbiting laboratory.
Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, participates in an Artemis I mission status press briefing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 27, 2022. NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are targeted to lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B no earlier than Aug. 29, 2022, at 8:33 a.m. EDT.