Secretary Elaine L. Chao, of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), visits NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 24, 2019. She spoke to Kennedy’s leadership in the Operations and Support Building II and discussed the DOT’s role in enabling commercial space.
Secretary Elaine L. Chao, of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), visits NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 24, 2019. She spoke to Kennedy’s leadership in the Operations and Support Building II and discussed the DOT’s role in enabling commercial space.
Secretary Elaine L. Chao, of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), visits NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 24, 2019. She spoke to Kennedy’s leadership in the Operations and Support Building II and discussed the DOT’s role in enabling commercial space.
Cars drive over the newly completed westbound portion (right side of photo) of the NASA Causeway Bridge leading away from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) opened the span on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, alongside its twin on the eastbound side, which has accommodated traffic in both directions since FDOT opened it on June 9, 2023. The high-rise bridge spans the Indian River Lagoon and connects NASA Kennedy and the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the mainland via State Road 405/NASA Causeway in Titusville, replacing the two-lane drawbridge built in the mid-1960s to support the Apollo program.
Mr. Joel Szabat of Maryland appears before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as the nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the Department of Transportation on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018 in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Mr. Joel Szabat of Maryland appears before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as the nominee to be Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the Department of Transportation on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018 in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Alabama Department of Transportation workers utilize Convergent Spray Technology to resurface a bridge on Interstate 65 near Lacon, Alabama. Originally developed by USBI to apply a heat resistant coating to the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters, the environment-friendly technology reduces the required worktime from days to hours.
Alabama Department of Transportation workers utilize Convergent Spray Technology used to resurface a bridge on Interstate 65 near Lacon, Alabama. Originally developed by USBI to apply a heat resistant coating to the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters, the environment-friendly technology reduces the required worktime from days to hours.
Kevin O'Connell, Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce, testifies during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier," Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Kevin O'Connell, Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce, testifies during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier," Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Alabama Department of Transportation workers utilize Convergent Spray Technology to resurface a bridge on Interstate 65 near Lacon, Alabama. Originally developed by USBI to apply a heat resistant coating to the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters, the environment-friendly technology reduces the required worktime from days to hours.
Kevin O'Connell, Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce, testifies during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier," Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Dr. Elizabeth M. Robinson, nominee for Chief Financial Officer for NASA, center, answers questions during her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Robinson is flanked by Dr. Patrick Gallagher, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of the Transportation Security Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce, far left, and Paul K. Martin, nominee to be Inspector General at NASA. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)
Secured atop a transport vehicle, Orion moves along the route to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) on Jan. 16, 2021, after departing from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Jason Parrish, a mechanical technician, Crawler Transporter Systems, with Jacobs, is one of the workers assisting with the move. Inside the MPPF, Orion will undergo processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
Commercial Crew Program: The Commercial Crew Program at Kennedy Space Center is leading NASA’s efforts to develop the next United States capability for crew transportation and rescue services to and from the International Space Station ISS and other low Earth orbit destinations by the middle of the decade. The outcome of this capability is expected to stimulate and expand the U.S. space transportation industry. Poster designed by Kennedy Space Center Graphics Department/Greg Lee. Credit: NASA
Paul K. Martin, nominee for Inspector General at NASA, far right, answers questions during his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Looking on are Dr. Elizabeth M. Robinson, nominee for Chief Financial Officer for NASA, center, and Dr. Patrick Gallagher, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of the Transportation Security Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)
The Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module, enclosed in its payload fairing and secured on a KAMAG transporter, departs the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida secured on a KAMAG transporter. Cygnus will be transported to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mating to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch atop the Atlas V from pad 41. Cygnus will deliver 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A flatbed truck departs from the Orbiter Processing Facility-3 engine shop at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida transporting the last Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne space shuttle main engine, or SSME, to NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The first two groups of engines were shipped from Kennedy to Stennis in November 2011 and January 2012 the remaining engines departed today. Altogether, 15 shuttle-era engines will be stored at Stennis for reuse on NASA’s Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, under development. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The orbiter Endeavour, riding atop the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), landed at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at about 9:44 a.m. today, completing its cross-country ferry flight from Palmdale, Calif. Endeavour departed Palmdale at about 9 a.m. EST March 26 and stopped briefly for fuel at Ft. Worth Naval Air Station, Texas. The vehicle then proceeded to Warner Robbins Air Force Base, Ga., where it stayed overnight last night before departing for KSC this morning. Endeavour will be removed from the SCA today and transported to Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 early tomorrow morning
The orbiter Endeavour, riding atop the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), landed at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at about 9:44 a.m. today, completing is cross-country ferry flight from Palmdale, CA. Endeavour departed Palmdale at about 9 a.m. EST March 26 and stopped briefly for fuel at Ft. Worth Naval Air Station, TX. The vehicle then proceeded to Warner Robbins Air Force Base, GA, where it stayed overnight last night before departing for KSC this morning. Endeavour will be removed from the SCA today and transported to Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 early tomorrow morning
Deputy Head of the Search-and-Rescue Department of Rosaviatsiya (Russian Federal Air Transport Agency) Aleksey Lukiyanov waves farewell to colleagues as his helicopter departs the Zhezkazgan Airport in Kazakhstan for the Soyuz MS-17 landing of Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins of NASA, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, Saturday, April 17, 2021. Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov returned after 185 days in space having served as Expedition 63-64 crew members onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The orbiter Endeavour, riding atop the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), landed at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at about 9:44 a.m. today, completing is cross-country ferry flight from Palmdale, CA. Endeavour departed Palmdale at about 9 a.m. EST March 26 and stopped briefly for fuel at Ft. Worth Naval Air Station, TX. The vehicle then proceeded to Warner Robbins Air Force Base, GA, where it stayed overnight last night before departing for KSC this morning. Endeavour will be removed from the SCA today and transported to Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 early tomorrow morning
The payload fairing containing NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S), secured on a transporter, departs the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida. GOES-S will be transported to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The payload fairing will be lifted and mated to the ULA Atlas V rocket. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. GOES-S is slated to launch aboard the ULA Atlas V on March 1.
A KAMAG transporter with Orbital ATK's CYGNUS pressurized cargo module secured on top departs the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. CYGNUS will be transported to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility for final propellant loading and late cargo stowage. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 19, 2017. CYGNUS will deliver thousands of pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station.
The Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module, enclosed in its payload fairing and secured on a KAMAG transporter, departs the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Cygnus will be transported to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mating to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch atop the Atlas V from pad 41. Cygnus will deliver 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station.
The payload fairing containing NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S), secured on a transporter, departs the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida. GOES-S will be transported to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The payload fairing will be lifted and mated to the ULA Atlas V rocket. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. GOES-S is slated to launch aboard the ULA Atlas V on March 1.
Kennedy Space Center employees stand near NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B area in Florida on June 28, 2019. The crawler-transporter 2 successfully carried the Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher to the pad from the Vehicle Assembly Building, departing at midnight on June 27. On June 28, the mobile launcher continued its journey up to the pad surface, where it will remain for 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 flatbed truck with the Orion crew access arm secured atop travels along a road in Cocoa, Florida, after departing Precision Fabricating and Cleaning. The access arm will be transported to a storage location at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Later this month, the arm will be transported to the mobile launcher (ML) tower at the center. The crew access arm will be located at about the 274-foot level on the tower. It will rotate from its retracted position and interface with the Orion crew hatch location to provide entry to the Orion crew module. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing installation of umbilicals and launch accessories on the ML tower.
NASA astronauts Robert Behnken (left) and Douglas Hurley depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30, 2020, in preparation for transport to Launch Complex 39A ahead of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft occurred at 3:22 p.m. EDT. Behnken and Hurley are the first astronauts to launch to the International 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.
Secured on a transporter, the payload fairing containing NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) departs the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida. GOES-S will be transported to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The payload fairing will be lifted and mated to the ULA Atlas V rocket. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. GOES-S is slated to launch aboard the ULA Atlas V on March 1.
The Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module, enclosed in its payload fairing, is secured on a KAMAG transporter and ready to depart the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Cygnus will be transported to Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mating to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch atop the Atlas V from pad 41. Cygnus will deliver 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station.
The Orion crew access arm departs Precision Fabricating and Cleaning in Cocoa, Florida, atop a flatbed truck. The access arm will be transported to a storage location at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Later this month, the arm will be transported to the mobile launcher (ML) tower at the center. The crew access arm will be located at about the 274-foot level on the tower. It will rotate from its retracted position and interface with the Orion crew hatch location to provide entry to the Orion crew module. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing installation of umbilicals and launch accessories on the ML tower.
Secured on a transporter, the payload fairing containing NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S (GOES-S) departs the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida. GOES-S will be transported to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The payload fairing will be lifted and mated to the ULA Atlas V rocket. GOES-S is the second in a series of four advanced geostationary weather satellites. GOES-S is slated to launch aboard the ULA Atlas V on March 1.
A Kennedy Space Center employee walks near NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B area in Florida on June 28, 2019. The crawler-transporter 2 successfully carried Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher to the pad from the Vehicle Assembly Building, departing at midnight on June 27. On June 28, the mobile launcher continued its journey up to the pad surface, where it will remain for 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.
Deputy Director of Rosaviatsiya (Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport) Alexander Vedernikov, left, and Head of the Search-and-Rescue Department of Rosaviatsiya (Russian Federal Air Transport Agency) Aleksey Lukiyanov are seen during a meeting to discuss the readiness for the landing of Expedition 55 crew members Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Scott Tingle of NASA, Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Saturday, June 2, 2018. Shkaplerov, Tingle, and Kanai are returning after 168 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 54 and 55 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
On June 27, 2019, Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher, atop crawler-transporter 2, makes its last solo trek to Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B in Florida, where it will remain for the summer, undergoing final testing and checkouts. The mobile launcher departed from the Vehicle Assembly Building at midnight on June 27 for the 10-hour journey to the pad. Its next roll to the pad will be with the agency’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V Centaur second stage departs the Launch Vehicle Integration Facility aboard a transport trailer for delivery to the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) will launch aboard the Atlas V rocket in November. GOES-R is the first satellite in a series of next-generation NOAA GOES Satellites.
Orion is buttoned up and ready to march towards the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams ahead of the Artemis I launch. Shielded by a protective covering for transport, the spacecraft departs its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 16, 2021.
Head of the Search-and-Rescue Department of Rosaviatsiya (Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport) Sergey A. Prusov leads a meeting with NASA and Roscosmos to discuss the readiness for the landing of Expedition 56 crew members Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold of NASA, along with Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Feustel, Arnold, and Artemyev are returning after 197 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 55 and 56 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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.
Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
Orion is revealed for one of the final times on Jan. 14, as it is lowered by crane onto its transport pallet inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, along its path to the pad ahead of the Artemis I launch. Teams across the globe have worked tirelessly to assemble the spacecraft which will receive a protective covering prior to departing for the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, right, and Kevin O'Connell, Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce, left, are seen during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier," Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher is seen atop crawler-transporter 2 at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B in Florida on June 27, 2019. The mobile launcher departed from the Vehicle Assembly Building at midnight on June 27 for its last solo trek to the pad, where it will remain for 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 spacecraft in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1.
The Orion heat shield from Exploration Flight Test-1, secured on a transporter, departs the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, for its move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The heat shield is being transferred from the Orion Program to the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, Landing and Recovery Operations. In the VAB, the heat shield will be integrated with the Orion ground test article and used for future underway recovery testing.
Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. In view is Scott Wilson, manager of production operations for NASA’s Orion Program. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
A heavy-lift transport truck, carrying the Crew Access Arm for Space Launch Complex 41, departs from Oak Hill, Florida, and heads to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The arm will be installed on the Complex 41 Crew Access Tower at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It will be used as a bridge by astronauts to board Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as it stands on the launch pad atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Orion is buttoned up as it sits atop a transport vehicle ready to depart from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher makes its last solo trek along the crawlerway atop crawler-transporter 2 to Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B in Florida on June 27, 2019. The mobile launcher departed from the Vehicle Assembly Building at midnight on June 27 for the 10-hour journey to the pad and will remain there for 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 spacecraft in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, and Kevin O’Connell, Director, Office of Space Commerce, Department of Commerce testify before the Aviation and Space Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee during a hearing titled “The Emerging Space Environment: Operational, Technical, and Policy Challenges.”, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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.
JSC2003-E-34750 (2 May 2003) --- A container transport ship carrying is shown departing Yokohama Harbor, Yokohama, Japan, bound for the Port Canaveral, Florida. The Kibo Pressurized Module, built by National Space Development Agency (NASDA), is expected to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center for module integration tests with Node 2 and pre-launch processing in early June. Photo Credit: NASA
On Scene Commander of Recovery Jasmine Nakayama attaches the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to a helicopter for transport to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber
Orion is revealed for one of the final times on Jan. 14, as it is moved by crane to its transport pallet inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, along its path to the pad ahead of the Artemis I launch. Teams across the globe have worked tirelessly to assemble the spacecraft, which will receive a protective covering prior to departing for the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams.
Ryan Kiechle of Jacobs Technology gives a thumbs-up inside the transporter with Orion secured atop as the spacecraft prepares to depart the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion’s next stop will be the Multi-Payload Processing Facility where it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher makes its last solo trek along the crawlerway atop crawler-transporter 2 to Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B in Florida on June 27, 2019. The mobile launcher departed from the Vehicle Assembly Building at midnight on June 27 for the 10-hour journey to the pad and will remain there for 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 spacecraft in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1.
Secured atop a transport vehicle, Orion moves along the route to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) on Jan. 16, 2021, after departing from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the MPPF, Orion will undergo processing with the the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
On Scene Commander of Recovery Jasmine Nakayama attaches the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to a helicopter for transport to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber
Orion is revealed for one of the final times on Jan. 14, as it is readied atop its transport pallet from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, along its path to the pad ahead of the Artemis I launch. Teams across the globe have worked tirelessly to assemble the spacecraft which will receive a protective covering prior to departing for the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams.
On June 27, 2019, Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher, atop crawler-transporter 2, approaches Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B in Florida, where it will remain for the summer, undergoing final testing and checkouts. The mobile launcher departed from the Vehicle Assembly Building at midnight on June 27 for the 10-hour journey to the pad. Its next roll to the pad will be with the agency’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster departs building 7525 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on its way to Space Launch Complex 3. The rocket will launch NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, mission to land on Mars. InSight is the first mission to explore the Red Planet's deep interior. It will investigate processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system including Earth. Liftoff is scheduled for May 5, 2018.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-110 crew members (center and right) are in the Payload Changeout Room at the pad performing a final inspection of the S-Zero Truss_Mobile Transporter payload and checking for any sharp edges they may encounter during the mission's four scheduled spacewalks. The payload doors were closed after the astronauts departed for their crew quarters
Orion is revealed for one of the final times on Jan. 14, as it is readied atop its transport pallet from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, along its path to the pad ahead of the Artemis I launch. Teams across the globe have worked tirelessly to assemble the spacecraft which will receive a protective covering prior to departing for the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams.
After recently completing fueling and servicing checks, the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission departs from Kennedy Space Center’s Multi-Payload Processing on July 10, 2021. It is being transported to the Florida spaceport’s Launch Abort System Facility, where teams with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs will integrate components of the launch abort system onto the spacecraft. Launching later this year, Artemis I will be a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.
Deputy Head of the Search-and-Rescue Department of Rosaviatsiya (Russian Federal Air Transport Agency) Aleksey Lukiyanov, presents during a meeting with NASA, Roscosmos, and Russian Search and Recovery Forces at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, Friday, April 18, 2025. Teams discussed the readiness for the landing of Expedition 72 NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Orion is revealed for one of the final times on Jan. 14, as it is moved by crane to its transport pallet inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, along its path to the pad ahead of the Artemis I launch. Teams across the globe have worked tirelessly to assemble the spacecraft which will receive a protective covering prior to departing for the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, and Kevin O'Connell, Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce are seen during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier," Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
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.
A heavy-lift transport truck, carrying the Crew Access Arm for Space Launch Complex 41, departs from Oak Hill, Florida, and heads to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The arm will be installed on the Complex 41 Crew Access Tower at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It will be used as a bridge by astronauts to board Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as it stands on the launch pad atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
From left to right, Lockheed Martin Mission Operations Assurance Lead Graham Miller, Lockheed Martin Recovery Specialist Michael Kaye, and Lockheed Martin Recovery Specialist Levi Hanish, prepare the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission for transport, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, and Kevin O'Connell, Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce are seen during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier," Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Orion is buttoned up as it sits atop a transport vehicle ready to depart from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
A close-up view of Orion secured atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion’s next stop will be the Multi-Payload Processing Facility where it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion’s next stop will be the Multi-Payload Processing Facility where it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, and Kevin O'Connell, Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce are seen during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier," Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion’s next stop will be the Multi-Payload Processing Facility where it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
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.
After recently completing fueling and servicing checks, the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission departs from Kennedy Space Center’s Multi-Payload Processing on July 10, 2021. It is being transported to the Florida spaceport’s Launch Abort System Facility, where teams with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs will integrate components of the launch abort system onto the spacecraft. Launching later this year, Artemis I will be a test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.
Secured atop a transport vehicle, Orion moves along the route to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) on Jan. 16, 2021, after departing from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the MPPF, Orion will undergo processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
S91-50776 (18 Oct 1991) --- The Space Shuttle Atlantis is moved from the Orbital Processing Facility (OPF) Bay 2 to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The Atlantis will be mated with the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters before it is transported to Pad 39A, where it will launch a Department of Defense payload, Mission STS-44, in late 1991.
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.
Orion is buttoned up as it sits atop a transport vehicle ready to depart from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
On Scene Commander of Recovery Jasmine Nakayama attaches the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to a helicopter for transport to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber
Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, and Kevin O'Connell, Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce are seen during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier," Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Orion is revealed for one of the final times on Jan. 14, as it is readied atop its transport pallet from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, along its path to the pad ahead of the Artemis I launch. Teams across the globe have worked tirelessly to assemble the spacecraft, which will receive a protective covering prior to departing for the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams.
Secured atop a transport vehicle, Orion moves along the route to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) on Jan. 16, 2021, after departing from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the MPPF, Orion will undergo processing with the the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion’s next stop will be the Multi-Payload Processing Facility where it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine testifies along with Kevin O'Connell, Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier," Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
A heavy-lift transport truck, carrying the Crew Access Arm for Space Launch Complex 41, departs from Oak Hill, Florida, and heads to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The arm will be installed on the Complex 41 Crew Access Tower at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It will be used as a bridge by astronauts to board Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as it stands on the launch pad atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
Orion is buttoned up as it sits atop a transport vehicle ready to depart from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.
Kevin O’Connell, Director, Office of Space Commerce, Department of Commerce testifies before the Aviation and Space Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee during a hearing titled “The Emerging Space Environment: Operational, Technical, and Policy Challenges.”, Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Orion is buttoned up and ready to march towards the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams ahead of the Artemis I launch. Shielded by a protective covering for transport, the spacecraft departs its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 16, 2021.
Head of the Search-and-Rescue Department of Rosaviatsiya (Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport) Andrey Aleksandrovich, conducts a meeting with NASA, Roscosmos, and Russian Search and Recovery Forces at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, Friday, April 18, 2025. Teams discussed the readiness for the landing of Expedition 72 NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Recovery team members prepare the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission for transport to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, right, and Kevin O'Connell, Director of the Office of Space Commerce at the Department of Commerce, left, are seen during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation titled "The New Space Race: Ensuring U.S. Global Leadership on the Final Frontier," Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher makes its last solo trek along the crawlerway atop crawler-transporter 2 to Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B in Florida on June 27, 2019. The mobile launcher departed from the Vehicle Assembly Building at midnight on June 27 for the 10-hour journey to the pad, where it will remain for 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 spacecraft in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1.
Orion sits atop a transport vehicle as it departs from its home at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan.16, 2021. Orion will begin its trek to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility. There it will undergo ground processing with the Exploration Ground Systems team taking over ground processing ahead of the Artemis I launch.