From left, Joe Pavicic, operations project engineer, and Mike Guzman, main propulsion systems engineer participate in an Artemis II launch countdown simulation inside Firing Room 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. The simulations go through launch day scenarios to help launch team members test software and make adjustments if needed during countdown operations. For Artemis II, four astronauts will venture around the Moon, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence for science and exploration through Artemis.
After successfully arriving at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B, Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher continues its journey atop crawler-transporter 2 up to the pad surface on June 28, 2019. The mobile launcher began its final solo trek to the pad at midnight on June 27, departing from NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building. The mobile launcher will remain at the pad over the summer, undergoing final testing and checkouts. Its next roll to the pad will be with the agency’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1.
A crane is used to lift the Orbital ATK OA-7 Cygnus spacecraft's service module off a flatbed truck after arrival at the Space Station Processing Facility of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The service module is sealed in an environmentally controlled shipping container. Scheduled to launch on March 19, 2017, the Orbital ATK OA-7 mission will lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station will deliver thousands of pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials that improve life on Earth and drive progress toward future space exploration.
Katie Mortensen, a mechanical engineering technician, machines test article materials inside the Prototype Development Laboratory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 21, 2020. The prototype laboratory designs, fabricates, and tests prototypes, test articles and test support equipment. It has a long history of providing fast solutions to complex operations problems. The lab’s teams of engineers use specialized equipment to produce exacting, one-of-a-kind items made from a range of materials depending on the design. The lab supports projects at Kennedy and at the agency level.
The transport carrier containing the five-panel solar arrays for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft arrives at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. The solar array travelled by air from Leiden, Netherlands, where Airbus workers assembled them over the last year, and then put on a barge to travel to the Port of Miami in Florida and loaded onto a semi-truck to be driven to Kennedy. The solar arrays will attach to the spacecraft to power it for the 1.8-billion-mile journey to study Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. Launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is no earlier than October 2024.
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane is used to lift the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder high up in the transfer aisle on Oct. 16, 2019. The pathfinder will be lifted up to the 16th level and lowered into High Bay 3. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived on NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 27, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The pathfinder is being used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy through at least the month of October before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.
NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft is seen from underneath a lightning tower at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. At nearly 600 feet, three towers are positioned around the perimeter of the pad to provide lightning protection for launch vehicles. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth.
A technician inspects the first half of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing for NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T) inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Feb. 7, 2022. The satellite will be secured inside the payload fairing, which will protect it during launch. GOES-T is scheduled to launch on March 1, 2022, atop the Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. 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 variety of space hardware for the Orion crew module is in view in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 3, 2017. Orion is undergoing processing to prepare it for its first uncrewed integrated flight atop the Space Launch System rocket on Artemis I.
Inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, red romaine lettuce seeds are affixed to seed film – a new seed handling material – on Jan. 15, 2020. The seed film is being prepared for the VEG-03 J experiment that will fly to the International Space Station on Northrop Grumman’s 13th resupply services (NG-13) mission. This seed film experiment involves crew aboard the orbiting laboratory planting the seeds into plant pillows – a common method used to grow plants in space – themselves for the first time ever. The water-soluble, dissolving film addresses the challenge of handling seeds in a microgravity environment and also can be used to deliver fertilizers and other beneficial substances that help plants grow. NG-13 is scheduled to launch from the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Feb. 9, 2020, at 5:39 p.m. EST.
The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is being prepared for its move from the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. The payload will be moved to the SpaceX facility where it will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.
A solid rocket booster (SRB) is prepared for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage in the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The SRB will be help boost NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S, 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.
Inside the Booster Fabrication Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Artemis I aft skirts for the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s twin solid rocket boosters are being readied for their move to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 9, 2020. In view at left is the left aft skirt assembly. Behind it to the right is the right aft skirt assembly. Also in view at far right, are the Artemis I forward assemblies, with the left assembly in front and the right assembly behind it. The aft skirts were refurbished by Northrop Grumman. They house the thrust vector control system, which controls 70 percent of the steering during initial ascent of the SLS rocket. The segments will remain in the RPSF until ready for stacking with the forward and aft parts of the boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Through the Artemis Program, NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.
Artemis I Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson stands at her console in Firing Room 1 as Artemis teams conduct a launch simulation for the Artemis I mission inside the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 27, 2022. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. During the flight, Orion will launch atop the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever flown, paving the way for human deep space exploration and demonstrating our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond.
Inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Lockheed Martin technicians attach lines from a crane to the Orion crew module structural test article (STA). The STA arrived aboard NASA's Super Guppy aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility operated by Space Florida. The test article will be lifted out of its container and moved to a test tool called the birdcage for further testing. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket on EM-1, its first deep space mission, in late 2018.
NASA’s upgraded crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) returns to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) from its trek to Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. CT-2 was driven along the crawlerway and onto Pad 39B to test recently completed upgrades and modifications for NASA’s journey to Mars. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy oversaw upgrades to the crawler in the VAB. The crawler will carry the mobile launcher with Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket to Pad 39B for Exploration Mission 1.
Will Ulrich, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force, 45th Weather Squadron, participates in a prelaunch briefing for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, July 27, 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 NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, carrying NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON), has arrived at the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Oct. 1, 2019. The rocket is attached beneath the company’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.
The mobile launcher with NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High Bay 3 to Launch Complex 39B on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As part of the agency’s Artemis I flight test, the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft is scheduled to liftoff on Monday, Aug. 29. 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 launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
Crowds of spectators watch from Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 2, 2019, as a Northrop Grumman provided booster launches from Launch Pad 46 carrying, a fully functional Launch Abort System with a test version of Orion attached for NASA’s Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2). Launch time was 7 a.m. EDT. During AA-2, the booster will send the LAS and Orion to an altitude of 31,000 feet, traveling at Mach 1.15 (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.
A Common Gallinule wades in a waterway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 22, 2020. The center shares a border with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. More than 330 native and migratory bird species, along with 25 mammal, 117 fish and 65 amphibian and reptile species call Kennedy and the wildlife refuge home.
Photographers at NASA capture the sunset on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, two cranes are used to lift the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder into the vertical position in the transfer aisle on Oct. 15, 2019. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived on NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 27, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The pathfinder is being used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy through at least the month of October before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.
Inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a protective cover is installed around the Orion crew module adapter (CMA) for Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) for its move to a clean room. The CMA will undergo propellant and environmental control and life support system tube installation and welding. The adapter will connect the Orion crew module to the European Space Agency-provided service module. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket on EM-1, its first deep space mission, in late 2018.
Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians lift the right aft motor segment – one of five segments that make up one of two solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) – onto an inspection stand on June 23, 2020. While in the RPSF, the boosters will be mated to the rocket’s two aft skirts before they are moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. The boosters, manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, recently arrived at Kennedy for processing ahead of the Artemis I launch. Together, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.
Airbus workers unpack the Bartolomeo platform in the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 30, 2020. Bartolomeo was manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. The platform will be delivered to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission for the agency. The platform will attach to the exterior of the space station’s European Columbus Module. Named for the younger brother of Christopher Columbus, the platform has the capability to host external payloads in low-Earth orbit on the station. CRS-20 is scheduled to launch aboard SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket in March 2020.
The Artemis I aft skirts for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s twin solid rocket boosters are transported to the Rotation Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 10, 2020. The aft skirts were refurbished by Northrop Grumman. They house the thrust vector control system, which controls 70 percent of the steering during initial ascent of the SLS rocket. The segments will remain in the RPSF until ready for stacking with the forward and aft parts of the boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Through the Artemis Program, NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.
A view from above shows NASA’s Artemis I Orion capsule secured on a platform inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 6, 2023. Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:40 p.m. EST on Dec. 11, 2022. The spacecraft was secured inside the well deck of the USS Portland for the voyage to U.S. Naval Base Sand Diego, arriving on Dec. 13, 2022. Orion was offloaded and transported back to Kennedy for deservicing inside the MPPF. Orion launched atop the Space Launch System rocket on Nov. 16, 2022 at 1:47 a.m. EST from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B for a 25-day trip beyond the Moon and back. During the flight, Orion flew farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever flown, paving the way for human deep space exploration and demonstrating NASA’s commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond.
A crane is used to lift the third of four solid rocket boosters (SRB) for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket into the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida on June 8, 2020. The SRB will be lifted up and mated to the Atlas V booster in the VIF. NASA’s Mars 2020 mission with the Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch on July 20, 2020, atop the Atlas V rocket from Pad 41. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover’s seven instruments will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft launches NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin aboard at 10:53 p.m. EST on Sunday, March 3, 2024, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission is the eighth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station, and the ninth flight of Dragon with people as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. It is being prepared for its move to the SpaceX facility where it will be will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.
Technicians dressed in clean room suits move NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) on a test stand inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside the PHSF, the satellite will be processed and prepared for its flight. TESS is scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. TESS is the next step in NASA's search for planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. TESS is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission led and operated by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Dr. George Ricker of MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research serves as principal investigator for the mission. Additional partners include Orbital ATK, NASA’s Ames Research Center, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Space Telescope Science Institute. More than a dozen universities, research institutes and observatories worldwide are participants in the mission. NASA’s Launch Services Program is responsible for launch management.
Technicians dressed in clean room suits monitor the progress as a crane lowers NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) onto a test stand inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside the PHSF, the satellite will be processed and prepared for its flight. TESS is scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. TESS is the next step in NASA's search for planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. TESS is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission led and operated by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Dr. George Ricker of MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research serves as principal investigator for the mission. Additional partners include Orbital ATK, NASA’s Ames Research Center, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the Space Telescope Science Institute. More than a dozen universities, research institutes and observatories worldwide are participants in the mission. NASA’s Launch Services Program is responsible for launch management.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket, carrying NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter, rolls out from the Vertical Integration Facility and moves along to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on July 28, 2020. First motion was at 10:24 a.m. EDT. Launch of the Mars 2020 mission is scheduled for July 30. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.
A view from inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 9, 2022, as the mobile launcher, carried atop the crawler-transporter 2, arrives at the entrance to the transfer aisle, following the successful launch of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I flight test on Nov. 16, 2022. The mobile launcher will stay inside the VAB and remain there for several weeks as teams get it ready for the Artemis II crewed mission. Following its stay in the VAB, it will go to the mobile launcher park site location at Kennedy where it will undergo emergency egress modifications and testing to support future Artemis missions.
The Launch Abort System for the Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) Flight Test is vertical and integrated with the crew module test article at the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at Kennedy Space Center on March 13, 2019.
During sunrise on Oct. 20, 2020, the mobile launcher for the Artemis I mission, atop crawler-transporter 2, nears the top of Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The nearly 400-foot-tall mobile launcher will remain at the pad, while engineers with Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs will perform several tasks, including a timing test to validate the launch team’s countdown timeline, and a thorough, top-to-bottom wash down of the mobile launcher to remove any debris remaining from construction and installation of the umbilical arms. Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024.
Two American bald eagles sit perched on a tree branch while two eaglets sit in their nest at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 13, 2026. Bald eagle nesting surveys across NASA Kennedy, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Canaveral National Seashore are conducted annually to document the number of bald eagle active and inactive nests in support of wildlife management and regulatory compliance. Each year, eagles take up winter residence at the Florida spaceport, breeding and raising a new generation.
The right-hand aft assembly solid rocket booster segment for NASA’s Artemis III SLS (Space Launch System) rocket arrives at the agency’s Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, July 9, 2026, ahead of stacking on top of the mobile launcher for the Artemis III mission. The twin boosters, manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, will provide more than 75 percent of the SLS rocket’s total thrust at launch. The Artemis III mission will launch crew in the Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon.
Kennedy Space Center employees and guests receive their race numbers prior to the start of the Florida spaceport’s annual KSC Walk Run on March 26, 2019. Part of Kennedy’s Safety and Health Days, the event takes place at the Shuttle Landing Facility runway and offers participants the chance to partake in a two-mile walk or run, a 5K or a 10K.
Enclosed in its payload fairing, NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) departs from the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GOES-R will be transported to the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The satellite will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in November. GOES-R is the first satellite in a series of next-generation NOAA GOES Satellites.
Jacobs technicians, on the Test and Operations Support Contract, check bolt fittings as they practice crane operations with an inert booster rocket segment in the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility on June 22, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dual cranes are being used to move the segment from vertical to horizontal, a maneuver known as a "breakover rotation." As part of routine processing operations for the agency's Space Launch System (SS) rocket, the RPSF team will receive all of the solid rocket fuel segments for inspection and preparation prior to transporting them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Many pathfinding operations are being done to prepare for launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft on Exploration Mission-1 and deep space missions.
At the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a solid rocket booster (SRB) is lifted by a crane for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage. The SRB will help boost NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S, 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.
A construction worker wearing a safety harness and tethered lines prepares to assist with the installation of the second half of the B-level work platforms, B north, for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, high up in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The B platform will be installed on the north side of High Bay 3. The B platforms are the ninth of 10 levels of work platforms that will surround and provide access to the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission 1. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3, including installation of the new work platforms, to prepare for NASA’s Journey to Mars.
Cyclists ride away from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the starting point of the center’s annual Tour de KSC. The bicycle tour took place March 30, giving Kennedy employees and guests the opportunity to choose from three different routes that ranged from seven to 33 miles along some of the Florida spaceport’s most notable facilities such as the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Shuttle Landing Facility and historic Launch Pad 39A, among others.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with the Orion capsule atop, slowly makes its way along the crawlerway at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022/Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. Carried atop the crawler-transporter 2, NASA’s Moon rocket is venturing the 4.2 miles from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B ahead of the first flight test of the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, scheduled to liftoff on Monday, Aug. 29. 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 launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft stands vertical at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. PACE is NASA’s newest earth-observing satellite that will help increase our understanding of Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and climate by delivering hyperspectral observations of microscopic marine organisms called phytoplankton as well new data on clouds and aerosols. The successful liftoff took place 1:33 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024.
NASA’s mobile launcher, carried atop the crawler-transporter 2, arrives at the entrance to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mobile launcher left launch pad 39B on Dec. 8, 2022, following the successful launch of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I flight test on Nov. 16, 2022 and returned to the VAB on Dec. 9, 2022. The mobile launcher stay inside the VAB as teams get it ready for the Artemis II crewed mission. Following its stay in the VAB, it will go to the mobile launcher park site location at Kennedy where it will undergo emergency egress modifications and testing to support future Artemis missions.
The sun rises over NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying the agency’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Complex 39 turn basin wharf in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, after journeying from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage is the next piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at the spaceport and will be offloaded and moved to NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration ahead of the Artemis II launch.
A shark swims near the shore at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) on Oct. 27, 2020. CCSFS shares boundaries with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, featuring miles of pristine beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. The refuge contains coastal dunes, saltwater marshes, freshwater impoundments, scrub, pine flatwoods, and hardwood hammocks that provide habitat for more than 1,500 species of plants and animals.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing, containing the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, is hoisted up by crane at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Jan. 31, 2020. The payload fairing will be mated to the Atlas V rocket. Solar Orbiter is an international cooperative mission between ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA. The mission aims to study the Sun, its outer atmosphere and solar wind. The spacecraft will provide the first images of the Sun’s poles. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. The spacecraft has been developed by Airbus Defence and Space. Solar Orbiter will launch in February 2020 aboard the Atlas V rocket.
Painting of the NASA logo, also called the meatball, continues on the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 23, 2020. HM2 and H.I.S. Painting of Titusville, Florida, are repainting the meatball and the American Flag on the iconic building. The VAB was last painted in 2007 when the repairs were completed after 2004 Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne tore 845 panels off the building. It will take over 500 gallons of paint to paint the 209 X 110-foot flag and the 110’ X 132’ meatball.
A crane lifts a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket will be positioned on its launcher to boost the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S. It will be the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites and will significantly improve the detection and observation of environmental phenomena that directly affect public safety. GOES-S is slated to launch March 1, 2018.
An early sunrise view of a waterway surrounding Launch Complex 39 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 25, 2020. NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft will lift off from Launch Complex 39B on Artemis I, an uncrewed mission around the Moon.
The Sun rises behind NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth.
A heavy load transport truck from Tillett Heavy Hauling in Titusville, Florida, arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the first half of the A-level work platforms, A south, for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The A-level platforms are the topmost platforms for High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The platform will be delivered to the VAB staging area in the west parking lot. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing.
Jeffrey Richards, a project science coordinator working with the Exploration Research and Technology programs at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, prepares containers Feb. 11, 2021, for a Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE). The containers, carrying sets of seeds, will fly aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft as part of NG-15, a NASA commercial resupply mission to the orbiting laboratory targeted for Feb. 20, 2021. They will be placed in the MISSE testing facility, located near the space station’s solar arrays, where they will be exposed to the extreme environment of for six months before returning to Earth for further study.
In the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a solid rocket booster (SRB) is lifted by a crane for mating to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V first stage. The SRB will help boost NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-S, 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.
Inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the second of four solid rocket boosters (SRB) for the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is lifted up by crane on June 3, 2020. The SRB will be mated to the Atlas V booster. NASA’s Mars 2020 mission with the Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch on July 20, 2020, atop the Atlas V rocket from Pad 41. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover’s seven instruments will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Once inside, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch.
After arriving at the Shuttle Landing Facility operated by Space Florida at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency's Super Guppy aircraft was opened and the container holding the Orion crew module structural test article (STA) was offloaded. A crane has lifted the container for placement on a transporter. The test article will be moved to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay for further testing. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket on EM-1, its first deep space mission, in late 2018.
An emergency medical technician cares for an astronaut with simulated injuries during a joint emergency escape and triage exercise led by NASA, along with Boeing and United Launch Alliance, at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on July 24, 2019. The simulation is part of a series in preparation for upcoming crew flights to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Josh Cassada, currently in training for the second flight with crew aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, and Eric Boe, along with astronaut candidate Jasmin Moghbeli, served as the flight crew. The astronauts practiced emergency egress from the nearly 200-foot-tall crew access tower at the launch pad. They also rehearsed escape from the launch complex in an armored vehicle, and decontamination and triage at a nearby helipad.
A section of the second half of the C-level platforms, C North, for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, arrives at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platform was offloaded from a heavy lift transport truck and secured in a staging area in the west parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing.
Sam Dove, crawler-transporter operations engineer and driver, Jacobs Engineering, is seen inside the operator cab of the crawler-transporter during rollout operations for NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. The crawler-transporter is under the Artemis I stack atop the mobile launcher and will carry it 4.2 miles via the crawlerway that connects the VAB to the launch pad. The agency’s Artemis I flight test is scheduled to liftoff on Monday, Aug. 29. 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 launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
The Artemis I aft skirts for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s twin solid rocket boosters are transported to the Rotation Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 10, 2020. The aft skirts were refurbished by Northrop Grumman. They house the thrust vector control system, which controls 70 percent of the steering during initial ascent of the SLS rocket. The segments will remain in the RPSF until ready for stacking with the forward and aft parts of the boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Through the Artemis Program, NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.
NASA and contractor workers attend a Black History Month celebration at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 18, 2020. James Jennings, former NASA associate administrator for Institutions and Management and former Kennedy Space Center deputy director, was the keynote speaker. The program was organized by the Black Employee Strategy Team (BEST), one of the center’s employee resource groups. This year’s theme was “African Americans and the Vote.” Jennings shared advice with workers and managers.
One half of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing is positioned for installation around the Solar Orbiter spacecraft inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Jan. 20, 2020. The fairing provides a protective, aerodynamic covering to the payload inside during the early minutes of ascent. Solar Orbiter is an international cooperative mission between ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA. The mission aims to study the Sun, its outer atmosphere and solar wind. The spacecraft will provide the first images of the Sun’s poles. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is managing the launch. The spacecraft has been developed by Airbus Defence and Space. Solar Orbiter will launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2020.
Technicians with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems unveil on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, the America 250 logo on the twin SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters for the Artemis II mission inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft will carry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission around the Moon and back in early 2026 from Launch Complex 39B at NASA Kennedy. America 250 commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with NASA celebrating the “Spirit of Innovation” theme to inspire future generations.
Painting of the NASA logo, also called the meatball, continues on the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 23, 2020. HM2 and H.I.S. Painting of Titusville, Florida, are repainting the meatball and the American Flag on the iconic building. The VAB was last painted in 2007 when the repairs were completed after 2004 Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne tore 845 panels off the building. It will take over 500 gallons of paint to paint the 209 X 110-foot flag and the 110’ X 132’ meatball.
A side view shows one of the twin SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters, core stage, Orion spacecraft, and launch abort system of NASA’s Artemis II rocket at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth.
The engine service platform that will provide access to the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is moved beneath the mobile launcher (ML) in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 14, 2019. The large work platform is designed to provide unrestricted access to the RS-25 engines on the SLS core stage from the ML. The service platform will be used for Artemis 1 and subsequent missions. For Artemis 1, the Orion spacecraft will launch atop the SLS rocket from Launch Pad 39B and begin an approximately three-week mission that will send Orion thousands of miles beyond the Moon. Exploration Ground Systems is overseeing work on the ML.
A crane is used to lift the Orbital ATK OA-7 Cygnus spacecraft's service module off a flatbed truck after arrival at the Space Station Processing Facility of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The service module is sealed in an environmentally controlled shipping container. Scheduled to launch on March 19, 2017, the Orbital ATK OA-7 mission will lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station will deliver thousands of pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials that improve life on Earth and drive progress toward future space exploration.
A sunrise view of Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on July 1, 2019. A fully functional Launch Abort System (LAS) mated to a test version of the Orion spacecraft are on a Northrop Grumman provided booster on the pad for launch on NASA’s Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test on July 2, 2019. The vertical integration facility surrounding the test vehicle will begin to roll back from the pad. 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.
The rising Sun illuminates the sky on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, as NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft stand vertical at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth with launch opportunities beginning in April 2026.
High up in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers the second half of the B-level work platforms, B north, for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, for installation in High Bay 3. The B platform will be installed on the north side of high bay. In view below are several levels of previously installed platforms. The B platforms are the ninth of 10 levels of work platforms that will surround and provide access to the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission 1. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3, including installation of the new work platforms, to prepare for NASA’s Journey to Mars.
Members of the Artemis launch team participate in a terminal countdown simulation for Artemis II in Firing Room 1 inside the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. Four astronauts will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence for science and exploration through Artemis.
The forward skirt for one of the Space Launch System’s (SLS) two solid boosters is inside the Booster Fabrication Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 16, 2019. Segments of the boosters are being inspected and prepared for Artemis I, the agency’s first uncrewed flight of Orion atop the SLS. The forward skirt houses booster avionics that communicate with the SLS avionics to monitor booster conditions and steer the booster exhaust nozzle.
One of several Environmental Continuous Air Monitors, or ECAMS, is located in the Space Coast area on July 27, 2020, in preparation for launch of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission on July 30. The ECAMS are updated versions of those that were used for the launch of Curiosity. The Data Collection and Assessment Center uses information from the network of remote monitoring devises, including several that are located in areas for specific weather forecasting reported back to the operations center.
NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard, at left, and Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana participate in a NASA Advisory Council meeting at the center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.
A pair of sandhill cranes explore a paved parking area near the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 24, 2021. Kennedy shares space with the Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge, which is home to more than 1,000 species of plants, 117 species of fish, 68 amphibians and reptiles, 330 birds, and 31 different mammals. The refuge provides a favorable environment for the cranes as it contains shallow freshwater habitats for nesting, along with a variety of vegetation and prey to feed on.
Officials from NASA, Boeing, United Launch Alliance (ULA) and the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron participate in a prelaunch briefing for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, July 27, 2021. From left to right are Kyle Herring, NASA Communications; Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program; Joel Montalbano, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program; Jennifer Buchli, deputy chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program; John Vollmer, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program; Gary Wentz, vice president, Government and Commercial Programs, ULA; Will Ulrich, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force, 45th Weather Squadron. 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.
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Once inside, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch.
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder into High Bay 3 on Oct. 16, 2019. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived on NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 27, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The pathfinder is being used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy through at least the month of October before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.
NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard, standing, addresses members of the NASA Advisory Council during a meeting at the Kennedy Space Center’s Central Campus Headquarters Building in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. Committee members conduct fact-finding sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans.
An aerial view of processing facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 13, 2021.
NASA’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft stand vertical on mobile launcher 1 at Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth.
The sunrise casts a golden glow on the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 23, 2022. The SLS and Orion atop the mobile launcher were transported to the pad on crawler-transporter 2 for a prelaunch test called a wet dress rehearsal. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.
Inside the Booster Fabrication Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Artemis I aft skirts for the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s twin solid rocket boosters are being readied for their move to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on June 9, 2020. In view at left is the left aft skirt assembly, and at far right is the right aft skirt assembly. The aft skirts were refurbished by Northrop Grumman. They house the thrust vector control system, which controls 70 percent of the steering during initial ascent of the SLS rocket. The segments will remain in the RPSF until ready for stacking with the forward and aft parts of the boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Through the Artemis Program, NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.
A memorial wreath placed in the Apollo-Saturn V Center of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, honors former NASA astronaut Alan Bean. He was the fourth person to walk on the Moon as lunar module pilot on Apollo 12 in November 1969. He went on to command the 59-day Skylab 3 mission in 1973. In the background is a large mural of a painting by Bean who became an accomplished artist after leaving NASA. He died in Houston on May 26, 2018, at the age of 86.
Information from NASA's Tech Transfer Office is on display at Kennedy Space Center's 27th Business Opportunities Expo held at Cruise Terminal 5 at Port Canaveral in Florida. The event featured more than 180 businesses, large and small, and government exhibitors from throughout the Space Coast and the nation. The Business Opportunities Expo is sponsored by the NASA KSC Prime Contractor Board, KSC Industry Assistance Office, 45th Space Wing and Canaveral Port Authority. Exhibitors included vendors from a variety of product and service areas, such as computer technology, engineering services, communication equipment and services, and construction and safety products, to name a few. Representatives from the 45th Space Wing, KSC prime contractors, NASA and many more agencies and organizations were on hand to provide information and answer questions.
NASA and its partners work on the solar array wings for the agency’s Artemis III Orion spacecraft on Thursday, April 30, 2026, inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Orion’s solar arrays, manufactured and installed by ESA (European Space Agency) and its contractor Airbus, have been temporarily installed ahead of acoustic testing on the spacecraft. The Artemis III mission will launch astronauts in 2027 to Earth’s orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft on top of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land Artemis IV astronauts on the Moon in 2028.
Xenon lights illuminate the mobile launcher for the Artemis I mission, as it is carried slowly along the crawlerway atop crawler-transporter 2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 20, 2020. The nearly 400-foot-tall mobile launcher is being rolled to Launch Pad 39B. During its two-week stay at the pad, engineers with Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs will perform several tasks, including a timing test to validate the launch team’s countdown timeline, and a thorough, top-to-bottom wash down of the mobile launcher to remove any debris remaining from construction and installation of the umbilical arms. Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024.
A test version of the Orion crew module, at left, and the Launch Abort System (LAS) are inside the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 13, 2019, where they will be integrated. The fully functional LAS will be used for the Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) Flight Test, a full-stress test of the LAS that will launch from Space Launch Complex 46, carrying a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and contractors from Jacob's and Northrop Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch are performing flight operations for AA-2.
The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. It is being prepared for its move to the SpaceX facility where it will be will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.
A heavy load transport truck from Tillett Heavy Hauling in Titusville, Florida, arrives at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the first half of the A-level work platforms, A south, for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The platform will be offloaded at the VAB staging area in the west parking lot. The A-level platforms are the topmost platforms for High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing.
From left to right, Megan Cruz, NASA Communications; Kelvin Manning, Kennedy Space Center deputy director; Janet Petro, Kennedy director; and Burt Summerfield, Kennedy associate director, management participate in a virtual town hall meeting at the Florida spaceport on July 9, 2021. Topics included the center’s COVID-19 status, Kennedy missions and milestones, and the agency budget request. Employees at Kennedy had the opportunity to send in questions, which were answered by the center’s senior leaders.
Breanne Stichler, mechanical engineer I, is photographed inside the cab of NASA’s Crawler-Transporter 2 (CT-2) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 8, 2019. Stichler started working at Kennedy in June and is among one of the few females to have ever driven the crawler. CT-2 will carry the agency’s mobile launcher with the Space Launch System rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B for the launch of Artemis 1, the first in a series of complex missions that will provide the foundation for human deep space exploration.
Technicians ready two NASA Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket boosters for mating to the rocket’s two aft skirts on June 16, 2020, inside Kennedy Space Center’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility. Together, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Promontory, Utah, the boosters arrived at Kennedy via train. The cross-country journey was an important milestone for the agency’s Artemis I launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system prior to crewed missions to the Moon. Once the boosters are mated with the aft skirts, they will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is moved from the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41. A Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to deliver 7,700 pounds of supplies and research experiments on the Orbital ATK CRS-6 mission to the International Space Station.
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, two cranes are used to lift the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder horizontally above the transfer aisle on Oct. 15, 2019. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived on NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 27, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The pathfinder is being used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy through at least the month of October before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana.