In February 1970, MSFC Director Dr. von Braun was named NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Plarning and transferred to the Agency's Headquarters in Washington D.C. Prior to his departure, Huntsvillians, along with state local dignitaries, honored his years of service to the Army and NASA with a series of events. One included unveiling a plaque in von Braun's honor. Pictured with Dr. von Braun are (left to right), his daughter Iris, wife Maria, U.S. Senator John Sparkman and Alabama Governor Albert Brewer, Dr. von Braun, son Peter, and daughter Margrit.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy speaks alongside NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, and NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, right, during a NASA town hall to discuss the reorganization of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into two mission directorates: Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) and Space Operations Mission Directorate (SpaceOps), Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. NASA Associate Administrator for SpaceOps, Kathy Lueders, will lead launch and space operations including the International Space Station, the commercialization of low-Earth orbit, and eventually operations on and around the Moon. NASA Associate Administrator for the ESDMD, Jim Free, will lead efforts to define and manage systems development for programs critical to NASA’s Artemis program and the planning of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Panelists are seen from left to right, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson; NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy; NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana; NASA Associate Administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), Jim Free; and NASA Associate Administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate (SpaceOps), Kathy Lueders, during a NASA town hall to discuss the reorganization of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into two mission directorates: ESDMD and SpaceOps, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Kathy Lueders will lead SpaceOps in launch and space operations including the International Space Station, the commercialization of low-Earth orbit, and eventually operations on and around the Moon. Jim Free will lead ESDMD to define and manage systems development for programs critical to NASA’s Artemis program and in the planning of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, left, and NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate Thomas Zurbuchen give remarks during a briefing, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. The briefing focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, left, and NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate Thomas Zurbuchen give remarks during a briefing, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. The briefing focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, left, and NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate Thomas Zurbuchen give remarks during a briefing, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. The briefing focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

During the Apollo 15 pre-launch activity in the launch control center's firing room 1 at Kennedy Space Center, the then recently appointed NASA Administrator, Dr. James C. Fletcher (right) speaks with (Left to right) William Anders, executive secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council; Lt. General Sam Phillips, former Apollo Program Director; and Dr. Wernher von Braun, NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for planning.

NASA holds a prelaunch media briefing on the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration plans on Aug. 27, 2022, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as the clock counts down to the launch of Artemis I scheduled for Aug. 29, at 8:33 a.m. EDT from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. From left, are Jackie McGuinness, NASA press secretary; Bill Nelson, NASA administrator; Bhavya Lal, NASA associate administrator for technology, policy and strategy; Jim Free, NASA associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate; Kathy Lueders, NASA associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate; Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate; Prasun Desai, NASA deputy associate administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate; and Randy Bresnik, NASA astronaut. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.

NASA Press Secretary, Faith McKie, left, moderates the annual State of NASA address, as NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, and NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free, right, look on, Monday, March 11, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington. NASA leaders discussed plans for promoting U.S. leadership in space exploration, improving life on Earth through science and innovation, humanity’s return to the Moon under the Artemis campaign, aeronautics, and more. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Werner von Braun, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning, among a group from Headquarters touring the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Lewis Special Projects Chief Newell Sanders, left, describes a Short Takeoff and Landing wing-propulsion model. Lewis had recently converted the return leg of its 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel into the 9- by 15-Foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel to investigate Vertical and Short Takeoff and Landing propulsion systems. Gathered from the left near Sanders are James Daniels, Headquarters Executive Secretary; Oran Hicks, Acting Associate Administrator for the Headquarters Office of Advanced Research and Technology; Eugene Manganiello, Lewis Deputy Director; von Braun; Dr. Walter Olson, Lewis Assistant Director; Bruce Lundin, Lewis Director and Dr. Bernard Lubarsky, Lewis Assistant Director. Just months before this photograph, NASA asked von Braun to give up his post as Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center after nearly ten years in order to head up the strategic planning effort for the agency from Washington DC. Von Braun retired from NASA two years later.

This photograph was taken after Dr. von Braun moved from his post as Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning at NASA Headquarters. On June 27, 1970, he visited the MSFC again during the Center’s 10th anniversary to look at a mockup of the spacecraft that would later be known as Skylab. Others in the photograph are, from left to right: Karl Heimburg, director of the Astronautics Lab; Hermann K. Weidner, director of Science and Engineering, and George Hardy of the Astronautics Lab.

This photograph was taken after Dr. von Braun moved from his post as Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning at NASA Headquarters. On June 27, 1970, he visited the MSFC again during the center’s 10th anniversary to look at a mockup of the spacecraft that would later be known as Skylab. In this photo, he is examining an experiment in the mockup. With von Braun are (left to right): James R. Thompson, Richard T. Heckman, and Jack Stokes of the Center’s Astrionics Laboratory.

This photograph was taken after Dr. von Braun moved from his post as Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning at NASA Headquarters. On June 27, 1970, he visited the MSFC again during the center’s 10th anniversary to look at a mockup of the spacecraft that would later be known as Skylab. In this photograph, von Braun (left) and Fred W. Kelley examine an ST-100 stellar instrument platform in MSFC’s Astrionics Lab.

This photograph was taken after Dr. von Braun moved from his post as Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning at NASA Headquarters. On June 27, 1970, he visited the MSFC again during the center’s 10th anniversary to look at a mockup of the spacecraft that would later be known as Skylab. In this photograph, von Braun is talking with George Hardy of the MSFC Astronautics Lab.

This photograph was taken after Dr. von Braun moved from his post as Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning at NASA Headquarters. On June 27, 1970, he visited the MSFC again during the center’s 10th anniversary to look at a mockup of the spacecraft that would later be known as Skylab. With von Braun are (left to right): Herman K. Weidner, director of Science and Engineering at MSFC, and James R. Thompson of the center’s Astrionics Laboratory.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy speaks during a NASA town hall to discuss the reorganization of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into two mission directorates: Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) and Space Operations Mission Directorate (SpaceOps), Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. NASA Associate Administrator for SpaceOps, Kathy Lueders, will lead launch and space operations including the International Space Station, the commercialization of low-Earth orbit, and eventually operations on and around the Moon. NASA Associate Administrator for the ESDMD, Jim Free, will lead efforts to define and manage systems development for programs critical to NASA’s Artemis program and the planning of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy speaks during a NASA town hall to discuss the reorganization of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into two mission directorates: Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) and Space Operations Mission Directorate (SpaceOps), Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. NASA Associate Administrator for SpaceOps, Kathy Lueders, will lead launch and space operations including the International Space Station, the commercialization of low-Earth orbit, and eventually operations on and around the Moon. NASA Associate Administrator for the ESDMD, Jim Free, will lead efforts to define and manage systems development for programs critical to NASA’s Artemis program and the planning of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Manager Carl Starr gives a tour of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. Prior to the tour the NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate Thomas Zurbuchen spoke at a briefing that focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA dignitaries await their turns at the podium in Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Checkout Building high bay during an event marking the arrival of NASA's first space-bound Orion capsule in Florida. From left are Kennedy's Director Robert Cabana, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and Dan Dumbacher, NASA deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development. Slated for Exploration Flight Test-1, an uncrewed mission planned for 2014, the capsule will travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. The capsule was shipped to Kennedy from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the crew module pressure vessel was built. The Orion production team will prepare the module for flight at Kennedy by installing heat-shielding thermal protection systems, avionics and other subsystems. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

DAN DUMBACHER, LEFT, NASA'S DEPUTY ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR EXPLORATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT, MODERATES A PANEL TITLED "NASA HUMAN SPACE EXPLORATION PLANS AND UPDATE" AT THE 5TH VON BRAUN MEMORIAL SYMPOSIUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE ON OCT. 16. FEATURED PANELISTS INCLUDED, SEATED FROM LEFT, SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM PROGRAM MANAGER TODD MAY FROM THE MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, ORION CREW AND SERVICE MODULE MANAGER CHARLIE LUNDQUIST FROM THE JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, AND CHIEF ARCHITECT OF THE GROUND SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATIONS PROGRAM SCOTT COLLOREDO FROM THE KENNEDYSPACE CENTER.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - As a rosy dawn creeps over the horizon, Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration Operations Michael Foale (left) and astronaut Bill Readdy (center) talk to Steve Fossett about the anticipated flight of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. Fossett will pilot the GlobalFlyer on a record-breaking attempt by flying solo, non-stop without refueling, to surpass the current record for the longest flight of any aircraft. Fossett is expected to take off from the KSC SLF. Later, takeoff of the GlobalFlyer was postponed due to a fuel leak that appeared during the last moments of loading. The next planned takeoff attempt is 7 a.m. Feb. 8 from the SLF. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. At a news conference, NASA and United Launch Alliance officials discussed preparations for the planned launch of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, atop an Atlas V rocket. Among those participating in the briefing is Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator, Space Communications and Navigation SCaN, NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in Washington. Liftoff for the TDRS-K is planned for Jan. 30, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_tdrs_index.html Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier join workers under space shuttle Atlantis on the Shuttle Landing Facility. Atlantis wrapped up its 4.8-million-mile STS-132 mission to the International Space Station at 8:48 a.m. EDT The six-member STS-132 crew carried the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the space station. STS-132 is the 34th shuttle mission to the station, the 132nd shuttle mission overall and the last planned flight for Atlantis. For information on the STS-132 mission and crew, visit www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts132_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

S70-35748 (20 April 1970) --- Dr. Donald K. Slayton (center foreground), MSC director of flight crew operations, talks with Dr. Wernher von Braun (right), famed rocket expert, at an Apollo 13 postflight debriefing session. The three crewmen of the problem-plagued Apollo 13 mission (left to right) in the background are astronauts James A Lovell Jr., commander; John L. Swigert Jr., command module pilot; and Fred W. Haise Jr., lunar module pilot. The apparent rupture of oxygen tank number two in the Apollo 13 Service Module (SM) and the subsequent damage forced the three astronauts to use the Lunar Module (LM) as a "lifeboat" to return home safely after their moon landing was canceled. Dr. von Braun is the deputy associate administrator for planning of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, from left to right, Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana and Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier greet the STS-132 crew on the Shuttle Landing Facility. Commander Ken Ham, right, leads his crew, followed by Pilot Tony Antonelli, and Mission Specialists Steve Bowen, Piers Sellers, Garrett Reisman and Micheal Good. Atlantis wrapped up its 4.8-million-mile STS-132 mission to the International Space Station at 8:48 a.m. EDT. The six-member STS-132 crew carried the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 to the space station. STS-132 is the 34th shuttle mission to the station, the 132nd shuttle mission overall and the last planned flight for Atlantis. For information on the STS-132 mission and crew, visit www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts132_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA dignitaries await their turns at the podium in Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Checkout Building high bay during an event marking the arrival of NASA's first space-bound Orion capsule in Florida. From left are NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver Dan Dumbacher, NASA deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development and NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Nicole Stott. Slated for Exploration Flight Test-1, an uncrewed mission planned for 2014, the capsule will travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. The capsule was shipped to Kennedy from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the crew module pressure vessel was built. The Orion production team will prepare the module for flight at Kennedy by installing heat-shielding thermal protection systems, avionics and other subsystems. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Distinguished speakers are seated in the front row in Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Checkout Building high bay for an event marking the arrival of NASA's first space-bound Orion capsule in Florida. From left are Dan Dumbacher, NASA deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, Mark Geyer, Orion program manager, David Beaman, NASA Space Launch System spacecraft and payload integration manager, Pepper Phillips, program manager for NASA's Ground Systems Development and Operations, and John Karas, vice president and general manager of Human Spaceflight for Lockheed Martin Space Systems. Slated for Exploration Flight Test-1, an uncrewed mission planned for 2014, the capsule will travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. The capsule was shipped to Kennedy from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the crew module pressure vessel was built. The Orion production team will prepare the module for flight at Kennedy by installing heat-shielding thermal protection systems, avionics and other subsystems. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Dan Dumbacher, NASA deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, addresses the audience assembled in Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Checkout Building high bay for an event marking the arrival of NASA's first space-bound Orion capsule in Florida. Slated for Exploration Flight Test-1, an uncrewed mission planned for 2014, the capsule will travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. The capsule was shipped to Kennedy from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the crew module pressure vessel was built. The Orion production team will prepare the module for flight at Kennedy by installing heat-shielding thermal protection systems, avionics and other subsystems. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA Associate Administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Directorate William Gerstenmaier, left, NASA Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit, center, and NASA International Space Station Deputy Director Robyn Gatens announce the agency’s five-part plan to open the International Space Station to expanded commercial and marketing activities and private astronaut missions to the station and enable additional commercial destinations in low-Earth orbit, Friday, June 7, 2019 at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City. NASA will continue to maintain human presence and research in low-Earth orbit, and the long-term goal is to achieve a robust economy from which NASA can purchase services at a lower cost. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Public Affairs Officer Stephanie Schierholz, standing left, moderates a media briefing with NASA Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit, left, NASA International Space Station Deputy Director Robyn Gatens, center, and NASA Associate Administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Directorate William Gerstenmaier where they announced the agency’s five-part plan to open the International Space Station to expanded commercial and marketing activities and private astronaut missions to the station and enable additional commercial destinations in low-Earth orbit, Friday, June 7, 2019 at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City. NASA will continue to maintain human presence and research in low-Earth orbit, and the long-term goal is to achieve a robust economy from which NASA can purchase services at a lower cost. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, social media followers, at right, listen to NASA Social media coordinator Jason Townsend, far left, describe the SpaceX 2 Commercial Resupply Mission to the International Space Station. Standing next to Townsend, is Bob Jacobs, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Communications. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is planned for March 1, 2013, at 10:10 a.m. EST, from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Dragon will be making its third trip to the space station. It will carry supplies and experiments to the orbiting laboratory. The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/launch/spacex2-feature.html Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

Prasun Desai, NASA deputy associate administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate, participates in a prelaunch media briefing on the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration plans on Aug. 27, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as the clock counts down to the launch of Artemis I scheduled for Aug. 29, at 8:33 a.m. EDT from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site annex building in Florida, social media followers listen to NASA Social media coordinator Jason Townsend, far left, Bob Jacobs, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Communications, and Jack Fox, chief of the Surface Systems Office in Kennedy’s Engineering and Technology Directorate, describe the SpaceX 2 Commercial Resupply Mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is planned for March 1, 2013, at 10:10 a.m. EST, from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Dragon will be making its third trip to the space station. It will carry supplies and experiments to the orbiting laboratory. The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_station_structure_launch_spacex2-feature.html Photo credit: NASA_Frankie Martin

During the Apollo 15 launch activities in the launch control center's firing room 1 at Kennedy Space Center, Dr. Wernher von Braun, NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for planning, takes a closer look at the launch pad through binoculars. The fifth manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 15 (SA-510), carrying a crew of three astronauts: Mission commander David R. Scott, Lunar Module pilot James B. Irwin, and Command Module pilot Alfred M. Worden Jr., lifted off on July 26, 1971. Astronauts Scott and Irwin were the first to use a wheeled surface vehicle, the Lunar Roving Vehicle, or the Rover, which was designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, and built by the Boeing Company. Astronauts spent 13 days, nearly 67 hours, on the Moon's surface to inspect a wide variety of its geological features.

Dr. Wernher von Braun served as Marshall Space Flight Center's first director from July 1, 1960 until January 27, 1970, when he was appointed NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning. Following World War II, Dr. von Braun and his German colleagues arrived in the United States under Project Paper Clip to continue their rocket development work. In 1950, von Braun and his rocket team were transferred from Ft. Bliss, Texas to Huntsville, Alabama to work for the Army's rocket program at Redstone Arsenal and later, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Under von Braun's leadership, Marshall developed the Saturn V launch vehicle which took Apollo astronauts to the moon. Dr. von Braun died in Alexandria, Va., on June 16, 1977, seven years after his NASA appointment. This photo was taken at the site where he was laid to rest.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, right, takes questions from the media in Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Checkout Building high bay following an event marking the arrival in Florida of NASA's first space-bound Orion capsule. Behind Nelson are, from left, Dan Dumbacher, NASA deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, NASA Deputy Director Lori Garver, Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana and Mark Geyer, Orion program manager. Slated for Exploration Flight Test-1, an uncrewed mission planned for 2014, the capsule will travel farther into space than any human spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. The capsule was shipped to Kennedy from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the crew module pressure vessel was built. The Orion production team will prepare the module for flight at Kennedy by installing heat-shielding thermal protection systems, avionics and other subsystems. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Representatives of NASA’s New Horizons Mission to Pluto discuss the mission during a press briefing on the Draft environmental Impact Statement at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. From left are Orlando Figueroa, deputy association administrator for Programs, Science Mission Directorate; Earl Wahlquist, associate director for Space and Defense Power Systems, Department of Energy, in Germantown, Md.; Kurt Lindstrom, New Horizons Program executive, with NASA; Hal Weaver, New Horizons Project scientist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.; and Glen Fountain, New Horizons Project manager, also with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The spacecraft will explore Pluto, its moon Charon, and possibly one or more objects within the Kuiper Belt. New Horizons is planned for launch during a window from Jan. 11 to Feb. 14, 2006, on an Atlas V 551 booster with a Star 48B third stage. It will proceed to a Jupiter gravity assist between Feb. 25 and March 2, 2007, if launched during the first 23 days of the launch window. (If it is launched during the last 12 days of the launch window it will have a direct-to-Pluto trajectory. There is a backup launch opportunity in February 2007.)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Representatives of NASA’s New Horizons Mission to Pluto are ready to answer questions during a press briefing on the Draft environmental Impact Statement at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. From left are Orlando Figueroa, deputy association administrator for Programs, Science Mission Directorate; Earl Wahlquist, associate director for Space and Defense Power Systems, Department of Energy, in Germantown, Md.; Kurt Lindstrom, New Horizons Program executive, with NASA; Hal Weaver, New Horizons Project scientist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.; and Glen Fountain, New Horizons Project manager, also with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The spacecraft will explore Pluto, its moon Charon, and possibly one or more objects within the Kuiper Belt. New Horizons is planned for launch during a window from Jan. 11 to Feb. 14, 2006, on an Atlas V 551 booster with a Star 48B third stage. It will proceed to a Jupiter gravity assist between Feb. 25 and March 2, 2007, if launched during the first 23 days of the launch window. (If it is launched during the last 12 days of the launch window it will have a direct-to-Pluto trajectory. There is a backup launch opportunity in February 2007.)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –- At a news conference, NASA and United Launch Alliance officials discussed preparations for the planned launch of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, atop an Atlas V rocket. Participating in the briefing, from the left are, George Diller, NASA Public Affairs, Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator, Space Communications and Navigation SCaN, NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in Washington Tim Dunn, NASA launch director at the Kennedy Space Center Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA Missions for United Launch Alliance in Denver, Colo. Jeffrey Gramling, NASA TDRS-K project manager, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and Joel Tumbiolo, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff for the TDRS-K is planned for Jan. 30, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_tdrs_index.html Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –- At a news conference, NASA and United Launch Alliance officials discussed preparations for the planned launch of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, atop an Atlas V rocket. Participating in the briefing, from the left are, George Diller, NASA Public Affairs, Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator, Space Communications and Navigation SCaN, NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in Washington Tim Dunn, NASA launch director at the Kennedy Space Center Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA Missions for United Launch Alliance in Denver, Colo. Jeffrey Gramling, NASA TDRS-K project manager, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and Joel Tumbiolo, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff for the TDRS-K is planned for Jan. 30, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_tdrs_index.html Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –- At a news conference, NASA and United Launch Alliance officials discussed preparations for the planned launch of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, atop an Atlas V rocket. Participating in the briefing, from the left are, Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator, Space Communications and Navigation SCaN, NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in Washington Tim Dunn, NASA launch director at the Kennedy Space Center Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA Missions for United Launch Alliance in Denver, Colo. Jeffrey Gramling, NASA TDRS-K project manager, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and Joel Tumbiolo, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Liftoff for the TDRS-K is planned for Jan. 30, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_tdrs_index.html Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver addresses the participants of a NASA Tweetup in a tent set up at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Press Site in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launch. Former astronaut Leland Melvin, NASA associate administrator for Education, looks on at left. Participants in the Tweetup are given the opportunity to listen to agency briefings, tour locations on the center normally off limits to visitors, and get a close-up view of Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. The MSL mission will pioneer precision landing technology and a sky-crane touchdown to place a car-sized rover, Curiosity, near the foot of a mountain inside Gale Crater on Aug. 6, 2012. During a nearly two-year prime mission after landing, the rover will investigate whether the region has ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life, including the chemical ingredients for life. Liftoff of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from pad 41 is planned during a launch window which extends from 10:02 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. EST on Nov. 26. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

At a Sept. 26 all-hands meeting, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Director Todd May highlights some of the key moments from Vice President Mike Pence's visit to Marshall Sept. 25. "I'd like to thank all the people that prepared for the vice president's visit. I think it was a great day for the center," said May. "We were able to talk to him about NASA's Space Launch System as well as some other projects. As the chairman of the U.S. Space Council, he is going to be very influential in space policy and I think this was a great opportunity for us." May also commented on the nomination of U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, President Donald Trump's selection for NASA Administrator, and spoke about continuing to advance Marshall's Plan to Thrive – a strategic management agenda that focuses on human capital, organizational efficiency and bi-modal operations. Marshall Deputy Director Jody Singer updated the workforce on the results of the recent employee viewpoint survey. Singer also provided an overview of NASA's outreach during the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse, mentoring opportunities and the activities associated with the ongoing Safety Week 2017.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Headquarters in Washington and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA leaders spoke to members of the new media about how the first flight of the new Orion spacecraft is a first step in the agency's plans to send humans to Mars. Seen on a video monitor at Kennedy, Headquarter participants, from the left are: Trent Perrotto of NASA Public Affairs, Jason Crusan, director of Advanced Exploration Systems Division of Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Jim Reuther, deputy associate administrator for Programs, Space Technology Mission Directorate, and Jim Green, director of Planetary Division of the Science Mission Directorate. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted flight test of Orion is scheduled to launch Dec. 4, 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket, and in 2018 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Operations and Checkout Building OandC at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, news media representatives were updated progress on preparing the Orion spacecraft for its first uncrewed mission, Exploration Flight Test-1 EFT-1 in 2014. Speakers included, from left, Kennedy Director Bob Cabana Scott Colloredo, chief architect for the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program Keith Hefner, NASA's Space Launch System program planning and control manager Dan Dumbacher, NASA's deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development and Mark Geyer, NASA's Orion program manager. Launched atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket, Orion is now targeted to take astronauts in a sample return mission to an asteroid as early as 2021. On the third anniversary of President Barack Obama issuing his challenge to NASA to send astronauts to an asteroid, news media representatives were given an opportunity to see up-close the Orion spacecraft which could take astronauts on such a flight. They also heard from key leaders of that effort in Kennedy's OandC where Orion's assembly is taking place. Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

At NASA Headquarters in Washington and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA leaders spoke to members of the new media about how the first flight of the new Orion spacecraft is a first step in the agency's plans to send humans to Mars. Seen on a video monitor at Kennedy, Headquarter participants, from the left are: Trent Perrotto of NASA Public Affairs, Jason Crusan, director of Advanced Exploration Systems Division of Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Jim Reuther, deputy associate administrator for Programs, Space Technology Mission Directorate, and Jim Green, director of Planetary Division of the Science Mission Directorate. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted flight test of Orion is scheduled to launch Dec. 4, 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket, and in 2018 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – From left, Lars Perkins, chair of the Education and Public Outreach Committee of the NASA Advisory Council; Will.i.am, entertainer and member of the pop group The Black Eyed Peas; NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver; former astronaut Leland Melvin, NASA associate administrator for Education; and television personality Bill Nye the Science Guy share a light moment with the participants of a NASA Tweetup in a tent set up at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Press Site in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launch. Participants in the Tweetup are given the opportunity to listen to agency briefings, tour locations on the center normally off limits to visitors, and get a close-up view of Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. The MSL mission will pioneer precision landing technology and a sky-crane touchdown to place a car-sized rover, Curiosity, near the foot of a mountain inside Gale Crater on Aug. 6, 2012. During a nearly two-year prime mission after landing, the rover will investigate whether the region has ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life, including the chemical ingredients for life. Liftoff of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from pad 41 is planned during a launch window which extends from 10:02 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. EST on Nov. 26. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – From left, former astronaut Leland Melvin, NASA associate administrator for Education; Will.i.am, entertainer and member of The Black Eyed Peas; and NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver share a light moment with the participants of a NASA Tweetup in a tent set up at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Press Site in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launch. Participants in the Tweetup are given the opportunity to listen to agency briefings, tour locations on the center normally off limits to visitors, and get a close-up view of Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. The MSL mission will pioneer precision landing technology and a sky-crane touchdown to place a car-sized rover, Curiosity, near the foot of a mountain inside Gale Crater on Aug. 6, 2012. During a nearly two-year prime mission after landing, the rover will investigate whether the region has ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life, including the chemical ingredients for life. Liftoff of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from pad 41 is planned during a launch window which extends from 10:02 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. EST on Nov. 26. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – From left, Lars Perkins, chair of the Education and Public Outreach Committee of the NASA Advisory Council; former astronaut Leland Melvin, NASA associate administrator for Education; Will.i.am, entertainer and member of The Black Eyed Peas; and NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver talk to the participants of a NASA Tweetup in a tent set up at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Press Site in Florida during prelaunch activities for the agency’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) launch. Participants in the Tweetup are given the opportunity to listen to agency briefings, tour locations on the center normally off limits to visitors, and get a close-up view of Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The tweeters will share their experiences with followers through the social networking site Twitter. The MSL mission will pioneer precision landing technology and a sky-crane touchdown to place a car-sized rover, Curiosity, near the foot of a mountain inside Gale Crater on Aug. 6, 2012. During a nearly two-year prime mission after landing, the rover will investigate whether the region has ever offered conditions favorable for microbial life, including the chemical ingredients for life. Liftoff of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from pad 41 is planned during a launch window which extends from 10:02 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. EST on Nov. 26. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin