STS002-13-208 (12-14 Nov. 1981) --- This clear view of the aft section of the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Columbia's cargo bay and some of its cargo was photographed through the flight deck's aft windows. Visible in the center of the photo are the twin orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods. The vertical stabilizer or tail splits the top part of the image in half. The Induced Environment Contamination Monitor (IECM) Location experiment is located in the back center of the cargo bay, near the top. There is a grapple fixture attached to the side of the IECM. Various components of the Office of Space Terrestrial Applications (OSTA-1) payload are seen near the aft section of the cargo bay, such as the Feature Identification and Location Experiment (FILE) (the long cone shaped object on the right back), the Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) (on pallet base) and the SIR-A recorder in the right foreground. In the left foreground the Shuttle Imaging Radar-A (SIR-A) antenna can be seen. Photo credit: NASA
iss071e414653 (Aug. 1, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps processes blood and saliva samples aboard the International Space Station's Harmony module. She stowed the specimens in a science freezer and the Kubik research incubator for future retrieval and later analysis. The weightless environment of the orbital outpost allows investigators to explore how living in space long term affects humans and gain insights not possible in Earth’s gravity conditions.
iss057e080455 (11/12/2018) --- A view of the Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment - Attached Payload (SEDA-AP) located on the Japanese Experiment Module - Exposed Facility (JEM-EF). The SEDA-AP investigation consists of eight small instruments designed to measure the space environment. Five radiation and particle monitors, an electronic device performance monitor, a micro-particle capture , and a space environment exposure device will provide data to help researchers characterize the environment around space vehicles in low-Earth orbit, which will be used to develop shielding to ensure future spacecraft are safe.
Onboard photo of space shuttle Columbia (STS-73) crewmembers Fred Leslie (foreground) and Catherine Coleman aboard the United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML) conducting experiments in a microgravitational environment available in the Orbiter's cargo bay while in low earth orbit.
jsc2023e065214 (2/7/2023) --- Eighth grade student researchers work on their experiment, Microgreen Growth in Microgravity Environment, which will be included in the Nanoracks-National Center for Earth and Space Science Education-Orbiter-Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Mission 17 to ISS (Nanoracks-NCESSE-Orbiter-SSEP).
iss071e066956 (May 9, 2024) --- The inside of the Kibo laboratory module's airlock safely links the pressurized environment of the International Space Station to the vacuum of space. Astronauts load hardware, experiments, and CubeSats inside the airlock then depressurize it before the external hatch opens to the harsh environment of space. The Japanese robotic arm grapples the research hardware and installs it on an external pallet or points a small satellite deployer away from the station and deploys the CubeSats into Earth orbit.
jsc2020e040942 (4/18/2015) --- Copper zirconium alloy wire. The Exposure Experiment of Copper-Zirconium Antenna Metal Mesh to the Space Environment (ExHAM-Antenna Metal Mesh) investigation tests how well an antenna metal mesh, made from copper and zirconium, performs in the space environment in low-Earth orbit (LEO). While in space, the antenna metal mesh is exposed to cosmic rays and atomic oxygen in the LEO space environment - which can degrade antenna performance. Image Credit: NGK Insulators, Ltd., Taiyo Wire Cloth Co., Ltd., Technosolver Corporation, Koyo Materica Corporation, JAXA..
jsc2020e040941 (9/3/2018) --- Copper zirconium alloy wire being produced. The Exposure Experiment of Copper-Zirconium Antenna Metal Mesh to the Space Environment (ExHAM-Antenna Metal Mesh) investigation tests how well an antenna metal mesh, made from copper and zirconium, performs in the space environment in low-Earth orbit (LEO). While in space, the antenna metal mesh is exposed to cosmic rays and atomic oxygen in the LEO space environment - which can degrade antenna performance. Image Credit: NGK Insulators, Ltd., Taiyo Wire Cloth Co., Ltd., Technosolver Corporation, Koyo Materica Corporation, JAXA..
jsc2020e040944 (7/8/2020) --- Copper zirconium antenna metal mesh. The Exposure Experiment of Copper-Zirconium Antenna Metal Mesh to the Space Environment (ExHAM-Antenna Metal Mesh) investigation tests how well an antenna metal mesh, made from copper and zirconium, performs in the space environment in low-Earth orbit (LEO). While in space, the antenna metal mesh is exposed to cosmic rays and atomic oxygen in the LEO space environment - which can degrade antenna performance. Image Credit: NGK Insulators, Ltd., Taiyo Wire Cloth Co., Ltd., Technosolver Corporation, Koyo Materica Corporation, JAXA..
jsc2020e040943 (9/10/2020) --- An example of a copper zirconium antenna metal mesh on a deployable reflector. The Exposure Experiment of Copper-Zirconium Antenna Metal Mesh to the Space Environment (ExHAM-Antenna Metal Mesh) investigation tests how well an antenna metal mesh, made from copper and zirconium, performs in the space environment in low-Earth orbit (LEO). While in space, the antenna metal mesh is exposed to cosmic rays and atomic oxygen in the LEO space environment - which can degrade antenna performance. Image Credit: Technosolver Corporation, JAXA.
jsc2020e040945 (7/10/2020) --- Copper zirconium antenna metal mesh. The Exposure Experiment of Copper-Zirconium Antenna Metal Mesh to the Space Environment (ExHAM-Antenna Metal Mesh) investigation tests how well an antenna metal mesh, made from copper and zirconium, performs in the space environment in low-Earth orbit (LEO). While in space, the antenna metal mesh is exposed to cosmic rays and atomic oxygen in the LEO space environment - which can degrade antenna performance. Image Credit: NGK Insulators, Ltd., Taiyo Wire Cloth Co., Ltd., Technosolver Corporation, Koyo Materica Corporation, JAXA..
jsc2020e040940 (9/3/2018) --- Copper zirconium alloy wire being produced. The Exposure Experiment of Copper-Zirconium Antenna Metal Mesh to the Space Environment (ExHAM-Antenna Metal Mesh) investigation tests how well an antenna metal mesh, made from copper and zirconium, performs in the space environment in low-Earth orbit (LEO). While in space, the antenna metal mesh is exposed to cosmic rays and atomic oxygen in the LEO space environment - which can degrade antenna performance. Image Credit: NGK Insulators, Ltd., Taiyo Wire Cloth Co., Ltd., Technosolver Corporation, Koyo Materica Corporation, JAXA..
S73-23952 (May 1973) --- This is the official emblem for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Skylab Program. The emblem depicts the United States Skylab space station cluster in Earth orbit with the sun in the background. Skylab will evaluate systems and techniques designed to gather information on Earth resources and environmental problems. Solar telescopes will increase man's knowledge of our sun and the multitude of solar influences on Earth environment. Medical experiments will increase knowledge of man himself and his relationship to his earthly environment and adaptability to spaceflight. Additionally, Skylab will experiment with industrial processes which may be enhanced by the unique weightless, vacuum environment of orbital spaceflight. The 100-ton laboratory complex Skylab space station is composed of the Command/Service Module (CSM), Orbital Workshop (OW), Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), Multiple Docking Adapter (MDA), and Airlock Module (AM). The NASA insignia design for Skylab is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which we do not anticipate, it will be publicly announced. Photo credit: NASA
jsc2022e031226 (4/26/2022) --- A mission overview of the Protein Manufacturing investigation shows hardware, operations, and scientific details. The Protein Manufacturing project demonstrates and tests the operation of a novel bioreactor technology to support robust fungal growth for the production of high-protein food in a low-Earth orbit, space environment. Image courtesy of BioServe.
ISS034-E-051551 (21 Feb. 2013) --- Cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, Expedition 34 flight engineer, works with the Electronic Nose hardware in the Zvezda service module aboard the International Space Station in Earth orbit. This hardware is used to measure contamination in the environment should there be hard to detect chemical leaks or spills.
STS072-306-024 (11-20 Jan. 1996) --- Astronaut Daniel T. Barry sleeps on the middeck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Endeavour. The sleeping bag is considered advantageous primarily because it restricts movement in the microgravity environment, as Barry’s crew mates pointed out during a televised NASA briefing following the mission.
Astronaut Pierre J. Thuot, mission specialist, works with the Mid-deck 0-gravity Dynamics Experiment (MODE) aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-62). MODE studies the dynamics of liquids and skewed space structures in the microgravity environment.
S132-E-007185 (15 May 2010) --- NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman, STS-132 mission specialist, takes advantage of the weightless environment on the middeck of the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Atlantis to get creative with his posture during Flight Day 2 activities. Photo credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
STS093-345-008 (22-27 July 1999) --- Close-up view of the Plant Growth Investigations in Microgravity (PGIM-1) payload experiment onboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. The PGIM-1 monitors the space flight environment for stressful conditions that affect plant growth.
STS027-10-021 (2-6 Dec. 1988) --- Astronaut Richard M. (Mike) Mullane, STS-27 mission specialist, is able to handle a number of cameras with the aid of the microgravity in the shirt sleeve environment of the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Atlantis. Photo credit: NASA
s115e06407 (9/17/2006) --- The Materials International Space Station Experiment-5 (MISSE-5) was an external payload that flew on-board the ISS from August 2005 until September 2006. MISSE-5 provided an opportunity for researchers to test a wide range of samples in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment.
ISS034-E-062050 (3 March 2013) --- Taking advantage of a weightless environment onboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station, Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford juggles some tomatoes, which he probably considers to be among the more delicious components of a recent "package" that arrived from Earth on March 3. The SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft brought up a large shipment of food and other supplies, and the spacecraft will remain docked to the station for three weeks. Ford is in Node 1 or Unity. The U.S. lab or Destiny is in the background.
s114e7235 (8/6/2005) --- Backdropped by a colorful Earth, this aft view of the International Space Station was photographed during the flyaround by the Space Shuttle Discovery following the undocking of the two spacecraft. Visible in the frame are the P6 Truss / Photovoltaic Solar Arrays and MISSE-5. The Materials International Space Station Experiment-5 (MISSE-5) was an external payload that flew on-board the ISS from August 2005 until September 2006. MISSE-5 provided an opportunity for researchers to test a wide range of samples in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment.
iss073e0917008 (Oct. 21, 2025) --- JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui removes a small satellite orbital deployer from the airlock of the Kibo laboratory module. The deployer houses CubeSats, which are released into Earth orbit after the mechanism is transferred to the external microgravity environment outside the International Space Station.
The payload bay doors of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia were opened for the first time today using the orbiter's onboard door operation system. The hinges of the payload bay doors are not designed to support the weight of the doors while open horizontally in the Earth's one 'g' environment and a counterweight zero 'g' device supports the weight of the doors while they are open for processing in the OPF.
The payload bay doors of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia were opened for the first time today using the orbiter's onboard door operation system. The hinges of the payload bay doors are not designed to support the weight of the doors while open horizontally in the Earth's one 'g' environment and a counterweight zero 'g' device supports the weight of the doors while they are open for processing in the OPF.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - MESSENGER, a NASA Discovery mission. The MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) mission is a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury. MESSENGER will be launched in the summer of 2004 and will enter Mercury orbit in March of 2011, after one Earth flyby, two flybys of Venus, and three of Mercury along the way. The flyby and orbital phases of the mission will provide global mapping and detailed characterization of the planet's surface, interior, atmosphere and magnetosphere.
S68-55391 (11 Dec. 1968) --- Astronaut Russell L. Schweickart, lunar module pilot of the Apollo 9 (Spacecraft 104/Lunar Module 3/Saturn 504) space mission, is seen inside Chamber "A," Space Environment Simulation Laboratory, Building 32, participating in dry run activity in preparation for extravehicular activity which is scheduled in Chamber "A." The purpose of the scheduled training is to familiarize the crewmen with the operation of EVA equipment in a simulated space environment. In addition, metabolic and workload profiles will be simulated on each crewman. Astronauts Schweickart and Alan L. Bean, backup lunar module pilot, are scheduled to receive thermal-vacuum training simulating Earth-orbital EVA.
Spacecraft: The Kennedy Space Center has processed and launched many scientific missions to study Earth, the moon, other planets, and the space environment, which has greatly expanded our knowledge and understanding of the solar system. These automated machines have orbited and landed on Venus and Mars, explored the Sun’s environment, observed comets and asteroids, and made close-range surveys while flying past Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The Launch Services Program, established in 1998, continues this mission today. Poster designed by Kennedy Space Center Graphics Department/Greg Lee. Credit: NASA
Space Shuttle Payloads: Kennedy Space Center was the hub for the final preparation and launch of the space shuttle and its payloads. The shuttle carried a wide variety of payloads into Earth orbit. Not all payloads were installed in the shuttle's cargo bay. In-cabin payloads were carried in the shuttle's middeck. Cargo bay payloads were typically large payloads which did not require a pressurized environment, such as interplanetary space probes, earth-orbiting satellites, scientific laboratories and International Space Station trusses and components. Poster designed by Kennedy Space Center Graphics Department/Greg Lee. Credit: NASA
Technicians at Boeing’s Space Environment Test Facility in El Segundo, California position the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft inside an acoustics test chamber. This Starliner, slated to fly in Boeing’s Crew Flight Test (CFT), underwent an environmental qualification test campaign in March, experiencing rounds of acoustics vibration, thermal vacuum and electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic contamination testing. These tests prove Starliner’s design is capable of handling the harsh environments of launch, ascent and orbit and also prove that the electronics systems will operate in space and not interfere with other satellites or the International Space Station. CFT is Boeing’s crewed flight test of Starliner and part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which will return human spaceflight launches into low-Earth orbit from U.S. soil.
ISS039-E-020699 (13 May 2014) --- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 39 commander, places his crew patch on a wall in the Quest airlock of the Earth-orbiting International Space Station. A short time later, Wakata joined Expedition 39 Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA as they departed the orbital outpost in a Soyuz vehicle. Wakata had spent a great deal of time in Quest as he assisted spacewalks from the shirt-sleeve environment of the orbital outpost on both Expedition 38 and 39.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) technician inspects the wiring on the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). The JEM, developed by JAXA for use on the International Space Station, is named Kibo -- which means "hope" in Japanese -- and will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments. Research conducted in Kibo will focus on space medicine, biology, Earth observations, material production, biotechnology and communications. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
STS084-311-016 (15-24 May 1997) --- Astronaut Carlos I. Noriega, STS-84 mission specialist, videotapes a spore sample for the Real-Time Radiation Measurement Experiment (RRMD), an intravehicular radiation environment measurement experiment. Noriega is onboard the Spacehab Double Module (DM) located in the cargo bay of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Containers carrying set of seeds for a Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) are shown Feb. 11, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The containers will fly aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft as part of NG-15, a NASA commercial resupply mission to the orbiting laboratory targeted for Feb. 20, 2021. They will be placed in the MISSE testing facility, located near the space station’s solar arrays, where they will be exposed to the extreme environment of space for six months before returning to Earth for further study.
This wide view gives an overall perspective of the working environment of five astronauts and two guest researchers for 16 days in Earth-orbit. At work in support of the U.S. Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission in this particular scene are astronaut Catherine G. Coleman, who busies herself at the glovebox, and payload specialist Fred. W. Leslie, monitoring the Surface-Tension-Driven Convection Experiment (STDCE).
ISS034-E-051798 (21 Feb. 2013) --- NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, Expedition 34 flight engineer, configures one of the experiment racks in the U.S. lab called Destiny aboard the International Space Station in Earth orbit. ACE produces microscopic images of materials which contain small colloidal particles, and it examines flow characteristics and the evolution and ordering effects within these colloidal materials in 1-G and micro-G environments.
STS088-737-056 (4-15 Dec. 1998) --- With the U.S.-built Unity module in the foreground, the Space Shuttle Endeavour approaches the Russian-built FGB (Zarya) module in Earth-orbit. Once the two spacecraft were docked, three extravehicular activities (EVA) and a great deal of interior, shirt-sleeve environment work was accomplished by the crew to ready the tandem for its International Space Station (ISS) duty.
President Barack Obama congratulates MESSENGER Principal Investigator, director of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Sean Solomon, after awarding him the National Medal of Science, the nation's top scientific honor,Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) is a NASA-sponsored scientific investigation of the planet Mercury and the first space mission designed to orbit the planet closest to the Sun. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
STS073-353-010 (20 October - 5 November 1995) --- Payload specialist Albert Sacco Jr. checks out the Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG) on the middeck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. ZCG evaluated Zeolite crystallization and growth in the microgravity environment aboard Columbia in order to achieve high yields of large, nearly perfect crystals in space. Zeolites are complex arrangements of silica and alumina that occur naturally as well as synthetically.
STS103-728-035 (19-27 December 1999) --- One of the astronauts aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Discovery used a handheld 70mm camera to photograph this scene of the Kennedy Space Center, Florida and its environs. The old launch pads dot the "V" shaped land (Cape Canaveral) along the coast. On Merritt Island the Shuttle launch pads and runway are visible. The large city surrounded by circular lakes to the west of Cape Canaveral is Orlando.
iss064e040776 (March 10, 2021) --- JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi is pictured inside the Kibo laboratory module's airlock. Experiments and microsatellites, or CubeSats, are staged inside the airlock for deployment into the external environment of space. The airlock is then closed and depressurized before the Japanese robotic arm grapples the experiments and installs them on an external science platform outside Kibo. The CubeSats are ejected into Earth orbit from a small satellite deployer gripped at the end of the Japanese robotic arm.
STS073-103-019 (20 October-5 November 1995) --- This wide view gives an overall perspective of the working environment of five astronauts and two guest researchers for 16 days in Earth-orbit. At work in support of the U.S. Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission in this particular scene are astronaut Catherine G. Coleman, who busies herself at the glovebox, and payload specialist Fred W. Leslie, monitoring the Surface-Tension-Driven Convection Experiment (STDCE).
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) technicians inspect the wiring on the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). The JEM, developed by JAXA for use on the International Space Station, is named Kibo -- which means "hope" in Japanese -- and will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments. Research conducted in Kibo will focus on space medicine, biology, Earth observations, material production, biotechnology and communications. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller
STS073-233-007 (20 October - 5 November 1995) --- Payload specialist Fred W. Leslie makes use of the versatile U.S. Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) glovebox to conduct an investigation with the Oscillatory Thermocapillary Flow Experiment (OTFE). This complement of the Surface-Tension-Driven Convection Experiment (STDCE) studies the shapes that fluid surfaces in weightless environments assume within specific containers. Leslie was one of two guest researchers who joined five NASA astronauts for 16 days of on Earth-orbit research in support of USML-2.
S89-E-5524 (22-31 Jan 1998) --- This Electronic Still Camera (ESC) image shows Salizan Sharipov, mission specialist representing Russia's Space Agency (RSA), takes advantage of the weightless environment of Earth-orbit to relax in the Spacehab Module during off-duty time on the Space Shuttle Endeavour. This ESC view was taken at 01:29:11 GMT, on January 30, 1998.
Payload specialist Fred Leslie makes use of the versatile U.S. Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) glovebox to conduct an investigation with the Oscillatory Thermocapillary Flow Experiment (OTFE). This complement of the Surface-Tension-Driven Convection Experiment (STDCE) studies the shapes that fluid surfaces in weightless environments assume within specific containers. Leslie was one of two guest researchers who joined five NASA astronauts for 16 days of on Earth-orbit research in support of USML-2.
STS072-321-019 (11-20 Jan. 1996) --- Astronaut Koichi Wakata takes advantage of the microgravity environment on the middeck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Endeavour. Representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA), Wakata joined five other astronauts for a week and a half of activity aboard Endeavour. Astronaut Leroy Chiao works in the background.
s114e7352 (8/6/2005) --- A view of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) 5 Passive Experiment Containter (PEC) mounted on the P6 Truss during one of the STS-114 missions Extravehicular Activities (EVAs). The Materials International Space Station Experiment-5 (MISSE-5) was an external payload that flew on-board the ISS from August 2005 until September 2006. MISSE-5 provided an opportunity for researchers to test a wide range of samples in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment.
S92-40040 (19 June 1992) --- Astronaut Charles L. (Lacy) Veach, one of six crewmembers assigned to fly aboard Columbia for the STS-52 mission, is assisted by two SCUBA-equipped divers during emergency bailout training at the Johnson Space Center's Weightless Environment Training Facility (WET-F). Veach is one of three mission specialists who in October will join a Canadian payload specialist and the mission's commander and pilot for ten-plus days of research and experimentation, as well as the deployment of the LAGEOS spacecraft, in Earth orbit.
The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was designed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to test the performance of spacecraft materials, components, and systems that have been exposed to the environment of micrometeoroids and space debris for an extended period of time. The LDEF proved invaluable to the development of future spacecraft and the International Space Station (ISS). The LDEF carried 57 science and technology experiments, the work of more than 200 investigators. MSFC`s experiments included: Trapped Proton Energy Determination to determine protons trapped in the Earth's magnetic field and the impact of radiation particles; Linear Energy Transfer Spectrum Measurement Experiment which measures the linear energy transfer spectrum behind different shielding configurations; Atomic oxygen-Simulated Out-gassing, an experiment that exposes thermal control surfaces to atomic oxygen to measure the damaging out-gassed products; Thermal Control Surfaces Experiment to determine the effects of the near-Earth orbital environment and the shuttle induced environment on spacecraft thermal control surfaces; Transverse Flat-Plate Heat Pipe Experiment, to evaluate the zero-gravity performance of a number of transverse flat plate heat pipe modules and their ability to transport large quantities of heat; Solar Array Materials Passive LDEF Experiment to examine the effects of space on mechanical, electrical, and optical properties of lightweight solar array materials; and the Effects of Solar Radiation on Glasses. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Challenger's STS-41C mission April 6, 1984, the LDEF remained in orbit for five years until January 1990 when it was retrieved by the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia STS-32 mission and brought back to Earth for close examination and analysis.
The first stage motor for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket was moved inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In the background are the second and third stage segments. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The first stage motor for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket is moved into Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
Workers transfer the wing for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket from a truck to a forklift at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The 66th Space Shuttle flight began with a nearly on-time liftoff of the Orbiter Atlantis (STS-66) into the clear Florida skies. Atlantis returned to space after a nearly two year absence. The plarned 11-day flight will continue NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, a comprehensive international collaboration to study how Earth's environment is changing and how human beings affect that change. Primary payloads on this flight included the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3), making its third flight, and the German-built Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS), which was deployed and retrieved during the mission.
The first stage motor for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket is moved inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In the background are the second and third stage segments. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The second and third stages of the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket are offloaded from a transport vehicle at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The third stage of the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket is offloaded from a transport vehicle at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The wing for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket was offloaded from a truck and transporter to Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
Workers unload the wing for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket from a truck at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
STS073-101-018 (20 October-5 November 1995) --- Payload specialist Fred W. Leslie maneuvers his body to a position conducive to research at the Crystal Growth Furnace (CGF) aboard the science module in the cargo bay of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. Crystallization has been discovered to be more effectively studied in the weightless environment of space than on Earth, because the gravity-induced phenomena that obscure or change the process or change the process are greatly reduced or eliminated. Leslie was joined by a second guest researcher and five NASA astronauts for 16 full days of in-space research in support of the United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) mission.
The first stage motor for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket is offloaded from a truck at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Pegasus rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
A crane lifts and moves NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) to a work stand on May 1, 2018, inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The third stage of the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket is offloaded from a transport vehicle at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
STS005-04-124 (14 Nov. 1982) --- Three members of the four-man STS-5 crew demonstrate the zero-gravity environment aboard the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Columbia. Astronaut Vance D. Brand, mission commander, holds a fairly typical Earth-bound pose, but crewmates, astronauts Robert F. Overmyer (center), pilot, and Dr. William B. Lenoir, mission specialist, perform body movements that could only be accomplished in zero-gravity. Dr. Joseph P. Allen IV, the flight’s other mission specialist, exposed this frame with a 35mm handheld camera. The four astronauts were in the middeck area of their reusable spacecraft when this photograph was made. Photo credit: NASA
Workers prepare to offload the second and third stages of the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket from a transport vehicle at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The first stage motor for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket is moved inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In the background are the second and third stage segments. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The wing for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket arrives by truck at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Pegasus rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is uncrated from its shipping container on May 1, 2018, inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. -- NASA's latest Earth observing satellite, Aqua, successfully launches aboard a Delta II rocket at 2:55 a.m. PDT. Aqua is dedicated to advancing our understanding of Earth's water cycle and our environment. Launching the Aqua spacecraft marks a major milestone in support of NASA's mission to help us better understand and protect our planet. The Aqua spacecraft lifted off from the Western Test Range of Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Spacecraft separation occurred at 3:54 a.m. PDT. inserting Aqua into a 438-mile (705-kilometer) orbit. [Photo by Bill Ingalls
The second and third stages of the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket are offloaded from a transport vehicle at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. -- NASA's latest Earth observing satellite, Aqua, lifts off from the Western Test Range of Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard a Delta II rocket at 2:55 a.m. PDT. Aqua is dedicated to advancing our understanding of Earth's water cycle and our environment. Launching the Aqua spacecraft marks a major milestone in support of NASA's mission to help us better understand and protect our planet. Spacecraft separation occurred at 3:54 a.m. PDT, inserting Aqua into a 438-mile (705-kilometer) orbit. [Photo by Bill Ingalls
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. -- NASA's latest Earth observing satellite, Aqua, successfully launches aboard a Delta II rocket at 2:55 a.m. PDT. Aqua is dedicated to advancing our understanding of Earth's water cycle and our environment. Launching the Aqua spacecraft marks a major milestone in support of NASA's mission to help us better understand and protect our planet. The Aqua spacecraft lifted off from the Western Test Range of Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Spacecraft separation occurred at 3:54 a.m. PDT. inserting Aqua into a 438-mile (705-kilometer) orbit. [Photo by Bill Ingalls
41C-05-180 (9 April 1984) --- Astronaut Terry J. Hart, 41-C mission specialist, holds a 70 pound IMAX camera in the middeck of the Earth orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger. The motion picture camera (65mm) handles 1,000 ft. rolls which have a running time of three minutes (24 frames per second). Hart, who used a black bag as a sort of in space darkroom for five film change outs throughout the flight, commented to ground controllers that the film magazines were much easier to reload in space than in the normal one G environment on Earth.
The second and third stages of the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket are offloaded from a transport vehicle at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The first stage motor for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket arrives by truck at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Pegasus rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The first stage motor for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket is offloaded from a truck at Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Pegasus rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The first stage motor for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket was moved inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In the background are the second and third stage segments. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
The first stage motor for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket was moved inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In the background are the second and third stage segments. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
ISS034-E-062051 (3 March 2013) --- Taking advantage of a weightless environment onboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station, Expedition 34 Flight Engineer Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency juggles some tomatoes, which he probably considers to be among the more delicious components of a recent "package" that arrived from Earth on March 3. The SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft brought up a large shipment of food and other supplies, and the spacecraft will remain docked to the station for three weeks. Hadfield is in Node 1 or Unity. The U.S. lab or Destiny is in the background.
The first stage motor for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket was moved inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In the background are the second and third stage segments. The rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch from the Kwajalein Atoll aboard the Pegasus XL on Dec. 8, 2017. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) arrives by truck on May 1, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. ICON will be offloaded and transported to Building 1555. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON), inside its shipping container, is moved inside Building 1555 on May 1, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is moved to a clean room on May 4, 2018, inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
Orbital ATK technicians remove the first half of the payload fairing for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket from its shipping container Aug. 4, 2017, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Pegasus rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
Orbital ATK technicians remove the first half of the payload fairing for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket from its shipping container Aug. 4, 2017, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Pegasus rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
Orbital ATK technicians remove the second half of the payload fairing for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket from its shipping container Aug. 4, 2017, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Pegasus rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
SL3-108-1278 (July-September 1973) --- Scientist-astronaut Owen K. Garriott, science pilot of the Skylab 3 mission, lies in the Lower Body Negative Pressure Device in the work and experiments area of the Orbital Workshop (OWS) crew quarters of the Skylab space station cluster in Earth orbit. This picture was taken with a hand-held 35mm Nikon camera. Astronauts Garriott, Alan L. Bean and Jack R. Lousma remained with the Skylab space station in orbit for 59 days conducting numerous medical, scientific and technological experiments. The LBNPD (MO92) Experiment is to provide information concerning the time course of cardiovascular adaptation during flight, and to provide in-flight data for predicting the degree of orthostatic intolerance and impairment of physical capacity to be expected upon return to Earth environment. The bicycle ergometer is in the right foreground. Photo credit: NASA
The open doors of the payload bay on Space Shuttle Discovery await the transfer of four of the payloads on mission STS-95: the SPACEHAB single module, Spartan, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test Platform (HOST), and the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH-3). At the top of bay are the airlock (used for depressurization and repressurization during extravehicular activity and transfer to Mir) and the tunnel adapter (enables the flight crew members to transfer from the pressurized middeck crew compartment to Spacelab's pressurized shirt-sleeve environment). SPACEHAB involves experiments on space flight and the aging process. Spartan is a solar physics spacecraft designed to perform remote sensing of the hot outer layers of the sun's atmosphere or corona. HOST carries four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an Earth-orbiting environment. IEH-3 comprises several experiments that will study the Jovian planetary system, hot stars, planetary and reflection nebulae, other stellar objects and their environments through remote observation of EUV/FUV emissions; study spacecraft interactions, Shuttle glow, thruster firings, and contamination; and measure the solar constant and identify variations in the value during a solar cycle. Discovery is scheduled to launch on Oct. 29, 1998
This is a Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-52) onboard photograph of the United States Microgravity Payload-1 (USMP-1) in the cargo bay. The USMP program is a series of missions developed by NASA to provide scientists with the opportunity to conduct research in the unique microgravity environment of the Space Shuttle's payload bay. The USMP-1 mission was designed for microgravity experiments that do not require the hands-on environment of the Spacelab. Science teams on the ground would remotely command and monitor instruments and analyze data from work stations at NASA's Spacelab Mission Operation Control facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The USMP-1 payload carried three investigations: two studied basic fluid and metallurgical processes in microgravity, and the third would characterize the microgravity environment onboard the Space Shuttle. The three experiments that made up USMP-1 were the Lambda Point Experiment, the Space Acceleration Measurement System, and the Materials for the Study of Interesting Phenomena of Solidification Earth and in Orbit (MEPHISTO). The three experiments were mounted on two cornected Mission Peculiar Equipment Support Structures (MPESS) mounted in the orbiter's cargo bay. The USMP program was managed by the MSFC and the MPESS was developed by the MSFC.
Aligned straight on with the red approach lights, the Orbiter Columbia (STS-52) glides toward Runway 33 of Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility. The six member crew successfully completed deployment of the Laser Geodynamic Satellite II (LAGEOS), which is a spherical passive satellite covered with reflectors which are illuminated by ground-based lasers to determine precise measurements of the Earth's crustal movements. The crew also completed a series of materials processing experiments in the microgravity environment aboard the United States Microgravity Payload 1 (USMP-1) carried in the orbiter's cargo bay.
The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST)is being raised to a workstand by technicians in the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. One of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, the HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process
Workers watch as the Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST)is moved inside the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. The HOST platform, one of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test Platform (HOST) is lifted off its work stand in the Space Station Processing Facility before moving it to its payload canister. One of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, the HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an Earth-orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry other payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH-3), and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) is checked out by technicians in the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. One of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, the HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) is suspended above its work stand in the Space Station Processing Facility before moving it to its payload canister. The HOST platform is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an Earth-orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry other payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH-3), and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process
Workers watch as the Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST)is lowered onto a workstand in the Space Shuttle Processing Facility. To the right can be seen the Rack Insertion Device and Leonardo, a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. The HOST platform, one of the payloads on the STS-95 mission, is carrying four experiments to validate components planned for installation during the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission and to evaluate new technologies in an earth orbiting environment. The STS-95 mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 29. It will carry three other payloads: the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process
The Cassini spacecraft is on view for the media in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The two-story-tall spacecraft, scheduled for launch on an Air Force Titan IV/Centaur launch vehicle on Oct. 6, is destined to arrive at Saturn in July 2004, where it will orbit and study Saturn, its rings, moons and magnetic environment in detail over a four-year period. Cassini carries a scientific probe called Huygens, provided by the European Space Agency. Huygens will be released from the main Cassini spacecraft and parachute through the atmosphere of Saturn's most intriguing moon, Titan, which is thought to chemically resemble a very cold version of Earth's environment before life began. The Cassini mission is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology
The first half of the payload fairing for the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket is inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Aug. 4, 2018. The Pegasus rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
Technicians install the starboard fin on the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket July 8, 2017, inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Pegasus rocket is being prepared for NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission. ICON will launch on June 15 from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.