Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Electric Propulsion System, AEPS, Engineering Test Unit 2, ETU-2, Thruster Hardware

Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator Engineering Unit 2, Full Power Test

Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator Engineering Unit 2, Full Power Test

The first of nine chemical steam generator (CSG) units that will be used on the A-3 Test Stand is hoisted into place at the E-2 Test Stand at John C. Stennis Space Center on Oct. 24, 2010. The unit was installed at the E-2 stand for verification and validation testing before it is moved to the A-3 stand. Steam generated by the nine CSG units that will be installed on the A-3 stand will create a vacuum that allows Stennis operators to test next-generation rocket engines at simulated altitudes up to 100,000 feet.

NASA engineers test a chemical steam generator (CSG) unit on the E-2 Test Stand at John C. Stennis Space Center on Nov. 6. The test was one of 27 conducted in Stennis' E Test Complex the week of Nov. 5. Twenty-seven CSG units will be used on the new A-3 Test Stand at Stennis to produce a vacuum that allows testing of engines at simulated altitudes up to 100,000 feet.

John C. Stennis Space Center employees complete installation of a chemical steam generator (CSG) unit at the site's E-2 Test Stand. On Oct. 24, 2010. The unit will undergo verification and validation testing on the E-2 stand before it is moved to the A-3 Test Stand under construction at Stennis. Each CSG unit includes three modules. Steam generated by the nine CSG units that will be installed on the A-3 stand will create a vacuum that allows Stennis operators to test next-generation rocket engines at simulated altitudes up to 100,000 feet.

A V-2 rocket is hoisted into a static test facility at White Sands, New Mexico. The German engineers and scientists who developed the V-2 came to the United States at the end of World War II and continued rocket testing under the direction of the U. S. Army, launching more than sixty V-2s.

The first of nine chemical steam generator (CSG) units that will be used on the A-3 Test Stand is prepared for installation Oct. 24, 2010, at John C. Stennis Space Center. The unit was installed at the E-2 Test Stand for verification and validation testing before it is moved to the A-3 stand. Steam generated by the nine CSG units that will be installed on the A-3 stand will create a vacuum that allows Stennis operators to test next-generation rocket engines at simulated altitudes up to 100,000 feet.

The first of nine chemical steam generator (CSG) units that will be used on the A-3 Test Stand arrived at John. C. Stennis Space Center on Oct. 22, 2010. The unit was installed at the E-2 Test Stand for verification and validation testing before it is moved to the A-3 stand. Steam generated by the nine CSG units that will be installed on the A-3 stand will create a vacuum that allows Stennis operators to test next-generation rocket engines at simulated altitudes up to 100,000 feet.

A V-2 rocket takes flight at White Sands, New Mexico, in 1946. The German engineers and scientists who developed the V-2 came to the United States at the end of World War II and continued rocket testing under the direction of the U. S. Army, launching more than sixty V-2s.

Chosen to power the upper stages of the new Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and the Ares V cargo segment, the J-2X engine is a stepped up version of the hydrogen/oxygen-fuelled Apollo-era J-2 engine. It was developed for NASA by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), a business unit of United Technologies Corporation of Canoga Park, California. As seen in this photograph, the engine underwent a series of hot fire tests, performed on sub scale main injector hardware in the Test Stand 116 at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The injector is a major component of the engine that injects and mixes propellants in the combustion chamber, where they are ignited and burned to produce thrust.

Chosen to power the upper stages of the new Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) and the Ares V cargo segment, the J-2X engine is a stepped up version of the hydrogen/oxygen-fuelled Apollo-era J-2 engine. It was developed for NASA by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), a business unit of United Technologies Corporation of Canoga Park, California. As seen in this photograph, the engine underwent a series of hot fire tests, performed on sub scale main injector hardware in the Test Stand 116 at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The injector is a major component of the engine that injects and mixes propellants in the combustion chamber, where they are ignited and burned to produce thrust.

Engineers in United Launch Alliance’s Vertical Integration Facility used large cranes to assemble the stages of the company’s Atlas V rocket, in preparation for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) launch to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 is scheduled to lift off at 2:53 p.m. ET Friday, July 30, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida bound for the International Space Station.

jsc2023e010183 (2/28/2023) --- The High school students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) Ball Clamp Monopod (HUNCH Ball Clamp Monopod) investigation aims to test a temporary but stable platform for holding cameras, making camera operations easier and faster for the International Space Station crew. This hardware was designed and developed by HUNCH students using engineering design processes. They produced elements such as Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings, CAD study models, and 3D printed engineering evaluation units on parts such as this insert that allow the seat track clamp to be positioned. Image courtesy of HUNCH.

iss050e031198 (1/17/2017) --- Photo documentation of the Japanese-Small Satellite Orbital Deployer-6 (J-SSOD-6) deployment of the ITF-2, Waseda-SAT3 and Freedom CubeSats. The Imagine The Future-2 (ITF-2) CubeSat mission supports amateur radio networking by testing a micro engineered 1/20 wavelength small antenna. The WASEDA SAT-3 is a CubeSat developed by Waseda University aiming to test an ultra-light drag chute for accelerated deorbit. An LCD projector shows images on the chute with imagery sent back to Earth via an onboard camera. FREEDOM is a 1 Unit (1U) CubeSat developed by the Nakashimada Engineering Works and the Tohoku University to demonstrate a deployable deorbit device “DOM” for application in future missions for space debris mitigation.

iss050e032565 (1/17/2017) --- Photo documentation of the Japanese-Small Satellite Orbital Deployer-6 (J-SSOD-6) deployment of the ITF-2, Waseda-SAT3 and Freedom CubeSats. The Imagine The Future-2 (ITF-2) CubeSat mission supports amateur radio networking by testing a micro engineered 1/20 wavelength small antenna. The WASEDA SAT-3 is a CubeSat developed by Waseda University aiming to test an ultra-light drag chute for accelerated deorbit. An LCD projector shows images on the chute with imagery sent back to Earth via an onboard camera. FREEDOM is a 1 Unit (1U) CubeSat developed by the Nakashimada Engineering Works and the Tohoku University to demonstrate a deployable deorbit device “DOM” for application in future missions for space debris mitigation.

A pair of umbilical support structures needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) were installed in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Oct. 30-31 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The support structures arrived from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via the unique NASA Stennis seven-and-a-half-mile canal system in 2023. Since then, crews have prepared the structures that will align with the EUS unit for installation. In addition to helping secure the unit in place during hot fire testing, the umbilical support structures are where the command, control, and data electrical connections are mated to connect the ground systems to the vehicle systems, as well as most the commodity connections such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, hydrogen vent, helium bottle fill pressure, and purges. Prior to its initial flight, the EUS unit will undergo a series of so-called Green Run tests at NASA Stennis to ensure all systems are ready to go. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and lead SLS engines contractor. The new upper stage will enable NASA to carry larger payloads on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A pair of umbilical support structures needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) were installed in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Oct. 30-31 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The support structures arrived from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via the unique NASA Stennis seven-and-a-half-mile canal system in 2023. Since then, crews have prepared the structures that will align with the EUS unit for installation. In addition to helping secure the unit in place during hot fire testing, the umbilical support structures are where the command, control, and data electrical connections are mated to connect the ground systems to the vehicle systems, as well as most the commodity connections such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, hydrogen vent, helium bottle fill pressure, and purges. Prior to its initial flight, the EUS unit will undergo a series of so-called Green Run tests at NASA Stennis to ensure all systems are ready to go. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and lead SLS engines contractor. The new upper stage will enable NASA to carry larger payloads on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A pair of umbilical support structures needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) were installed in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Oct. 30-31 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The support structures arrived from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via the unique NASA Stennis seven-and-a-half-mile canal system in 2023. Since then, crews have prepared the structures that will align with the EUS unit for installation. In addition to helping secure the unit in place during hot fire testing, the umbilical support structures are where the command, control, and data electrical connections are mated to connect the ground systems to the vehicle systems, as well as most the commodity connections such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, hydrogen vent, helium bottle fill pressure, and purges. Prior to its initial flight, the EUS unit will undergo a series of so-called Green Run tests at NASA Stennis to ensure all systems are ready to go. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and lead SLS engines contractor. The new upper stage will enable NASA to carry larger payloads on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A pair of umbilical support structures needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) were installed in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Oct. 30-31 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The support structures arrived from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via the unique NASA Stennis seven-and-a-half-mile canal system in 2023. Since then, crews have prepared the structures that will align with the EUS unit for installation. In addition to helping secure the unit in place during hot fire testing, the umbilical support structures are where the command, control, and data electrical connections are mated to connect the ground systems to the vehicle systems, as well as most the commodity connections such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, hydrogen vent, helium bottle fill pressure, and purges. Prior to its initial flight, the EUS unit will undergo a series of so-called Green Run tests at NASA Stennis to ensure all systems are ready to go. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and lead SLS engines contractor. The new upper stage will enable NASA to carry larger payloads on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A pair of umbilical support structures needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) were installed in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Oct. 30-31 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The support structures arrived from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via the unique NASA Stennis seven-and-a-half-mile canal system in 2023. Since then, crews have prepared the structures that will align with the EUS unit for installation. In addition to helping secure the unit in place during hot fire testing, the umbilical support structures are where the command, control, and data electrical connections are mated to connect the ground systems to the vehicle systems, as well as most the commodity connections such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, hydrogen vent, helium bottle fill pressure, and purges. Prior to its initial flight, the EUS unit will undergo a series of so-called Green Run tests at NASA Stennis to ensure all systems are ready to go. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and lead SLS engines contractor. The new upper stage will enable NASA to carry larger payloads on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A pair of umbilical support structures needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) were installed in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Oct. 30-31 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The support structures arrived from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via the unique NASA Stennis seven-and-a-half-mile canal system in 2023. Since then, crews have prepared the structures that will align with the EUS unit for installation. In addition to helping secure the unit in place during hot fire testing, the umbilical support structures are where the command, control, and data electrical connections are mated to connect the ground systems to the vehicle systems, as well as most the commodity connections such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, hydrogen vent, helium bottle fill pressure, and purges. Prior to its initial flight, the EUS unit will undergo a series of so-called Green Run tests at NASA Stennis to ensure all systems are ready to go. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and lead SLS engines contractor. The new upper stage will enable NASA to carry larger payloads on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A pair of umbilical support structures needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) were installed in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Oct. 30-31 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The support structures arrived from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via the unique NASA Stennis seven-and-a-half-mile canal system in 2023. Since then, crews have prepared the structures that will align with the EUS unit for installation. In addition to helping secure the unit in place during hot fire testing, the umbilical support structures are where the command, control, and data electrical connections are mated to connect the ground systems to the vehicle systems, as well as most the commodity connections such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, hydrogen vent, helium bottle fill pressure, and purges. Prior to its initial flight, the EUS unit will undergo a series of so-called Green Run tests at NASA Stennis to ensure all systems are ready to go. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and lead SLS engines contractor. The new upper stage will enable NASA to carry larger payloads on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A pair of umbilical support structures needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) were installed in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Oct. 30-31 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The support structures arrived from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via the unique NASA Stennis seven-and-a-half-mile canal system in 2023. Since then, crews have prepared the structures that will align with the EUS unit for installation. In addition to helping secure the unit in place during hot fire testing, the umbilical support structures are where the command, control, and data electrical connections are mated to connect the ground systems to the vehicle systems, as well as most the commodity connections such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, hydrogen vent, helium bottle fill pressure, and purges. Prior to its initial flight, the EUS unit will undergo a series of so-called Green Run tests at NASA Stennis to ensure all systems are ready to go. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and lead SLS engines contractor. The new upper stage will enable NASA to carry larger payloads on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A pair of umbilical support structures needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) were installed in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Oct. 30-31 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The support structures arrived from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via the unique NASA Stennis seven-and-a-half-mile canal system in 2023. Since then, crews have prepared the structures that will align with the EUS unit for installation. In addition to helping secure the unit in place during hot fire testing, the umbilical support structures are where the command, control, and data electrical connections are mated to connect the ground systems to the vehicle systems, as well as most the commodity connections such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, hydrogen vent, helium bottle fill pressure, and purges. Prior to its initial flight, the EUS unit will undergo a series of so-called Green Run tests at NASA Stennis to ensure all systems are ready to go. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and lead SLS engines contractor. The new upper stage will enable NASA to carry larger payloads on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

A pair of umbilical support structures needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) were installed in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Oct. 30-31 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The support structures arrived from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans via the unique NASA Stennis seven-and-a-half-mile canal system in 2023. Since then, crews have prepared the structures that will align with the EUS unit for installation. In addition to helping secure the unit in place during hot fire testing, the umbilical support structures are where the command, control, and data electrical connections are mated to connect the ground systems to the vehicle systems, as well as most the commodity connections such as liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, hydrogen vent, helium bottle fill pressure, and purges. Prior to its initial flight, the EUS unit will undergo a series of so-called Green Run tests at NASA Stennis to ensure all systems are ready to go. The test series will culminate with a hot fire of the stage’s four RL10 engines, made by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and lead SLS engines contractor. The new upper stage will enable NASA to carry larger payloads on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

NASA conducts a full-duration RS-25 hot fire Feb. 23 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, continuing a key test series for future Artemis flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. During the seventh test of the 12-test series, operators fired the certification engine for 550 seconds and up to a 113% power level. The hot fire followed installation of a second production engine nozzle that will provide additional performance data on the upgraded unit. The test series is the second, and final, series to certify restart production of the upgraded engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. New engines will help power NASA’s SLS rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne modified 16 former space shuttle engines for use on Artemis missions I through IV. NASA completed an initial 12-test certification series with the upgraded components in June 2023. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to help launch each SLS rocket, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.

NASA conducts a full-duration RS-25 hot fire Feb. 23 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, continuing a key test series for future Artemis flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. During the seventh test of the 12-test series, operators fired the certification engine for 550 seconds and up to a 113% power level. The hot fire followed installation of a second production engine nozzle that will provide additional performance data on the upgraded unit. The test series is the second, and final, series to certify restart production of the upgraded engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. New engines will help power NASA’s SLS rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne modified 16 former space shuttle engines for use on Artemis missions I through IV. NASA completed an initial 12-test certification series with the upgraded components in June 2023. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to help launch each SLS rocket, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.

NASA conducts a full-duration RS-25 hot fire Feb. 23 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, continuing a key test series for future Artemis flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. During the seventh test of the 12-test series, operators fired the certification engine for 550 seconds and up to a 113% power level. The hot fire followed installation of a second production engine nozzle that will provide additional performance data on the upgraded unit. The test series is the second, and final, series to certify restart production of the upgraded engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. New engines will help power NASA’s SLS rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne modified 16 former space shuttle engines for use on Artemis missions I through IV. NASA completed an initial 12-test certification series with the upgraded components in June 2023. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to help launch each SLS rocket, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.

NASA conducts a full-duration RS-25 hot fire Feb. 23 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, continuing a key test series for future Artemis flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. During the seventh test of the 12-test series, operators fired the certification engine for 550 seconds and up to a 113% power level. The hot fire followed installation of a second production engine nozzle that will provide additional performance data on the upgraded unit. The test series is the second, and final, series to certify restart production of the upgraded engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. New engines will help power NASA’s SLS rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne modified 16 former space shuttle engines for use on Artemis missions I through IV. NASA completed an initial 12-test certification series with the upgraded components in June 2023. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to help launch each SLS rocket, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.

NASA conducts a full-duration RS-25 hot fire Feb. 23 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, continuing a key test series for future Artemis flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. During the seventh test of the 12-test series, operators fired the certification engine for 550 seconds and up to a 113% power level. The hot fire followed installation of a second production engine nozzle that will provide additional performance data on the upgraded unit. The test series is the second, and final, series to certify restart production of the upgraded engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. New engines will help power NASA’s SLS rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne modified 16 former space shuttle engines for use on Artemis missions I through IV. NASA completed an initial 12-test certification series with the upgraded components in June 2023. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to help launch each SLS rocket, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.

The Critical Viscosity of Xenon Experiment (CVX-2) on the STS-107 Research 1 mission in 2002 will measure the viscous behavior of liquid xenon, a heavy inert gas used in flash lamps and ion rocket engines, at its critical point. Resembling a tiny bit of window screen, the oscillator at the heart of CVX-2 will vibrate between two pairs of paddle-like electrodes. The slight bend in the shape of the mesh has no effect on the data. What counts are the mesh's displacement in the xenon fluid and the rate at which the displacement dampens. The unit shown here is encased in a small test cell and capped with a sapphire windown to contain the xenon at high pressure.

NASA conducted a full-duration RS-25 hot fire Feb. 29 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, continuing a key test series for future Artemis flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The hot fire to certify new production RS-25 engines for SLS marked only the second ever Leap Day engine test. Fourty-four years ago on Feb. 29, 1980, before the first space shuttle launch, a test-fire occurred for RS-25 engine #0009. Both tests were conducted on the Fred Haise Test, previously known as the A-1 Test Stand at NASA Stennis. The Feb. 29, 2024, hot fire is the second test following installation of a second production engine nozzle that will provide additional performance data on the upgraded unit. It also marked the eighth in a 12-test series to certify production of new RS-25 engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to help power NASA’s SLS rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V. The current series is the second and final series to certify restart production of the upgraded engines. NASA completed an initial 12-test certification series with the upgraded components in June 2023. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to help launch each SLS rocket, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.

NASA conducted a full-duration RS-25 hot fire Feb. 29 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, continuing a key test series for future Artemis flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The hot fire to certify new production RS-25 engines for SLS marked only the second ever Leap Day engine test. Fourty-four years ago on Feb. 29, 1980, before the first space shuttle launch, a test-fire occurred for RS-25 engine #0009. Both tests were conducted on the Fred Haise Test, previously known as the A-1 Test Stand at NASA Stennis. The Feb. 29, 2024, hot fire is the second test following installation of a second production engine nozzle that will provide additional performance data on the upgraded unit. It also marked the eighth in a 12-test series to certify production of new RS-25 engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to help power NASA’s SLS rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V. The current series is the second and final series to certify restart production of the upgraded engines. NASA completed an initial 12-test certification series with the upgraded components in June 2023. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to help launch each SLS rocket, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.

Nils Larson is a research pilot in the Flight Crew Branch of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. Larson joined NASA in February 2007 and will fly the F-15, F-18, T-38 and ER-2. Prior to joining NASA, Larson was on active duty with the U.S. Air Force. He has accumulated more that 4,900 hours of military and civilian flight experience in more than 70 fixed and rotary winged aircraft. Larson completed undergraduate pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, Chandler, Ariz., in 1987. He remained at Williams as a T-37 instructor pilot. In 1991, Larson was assigned to Beale Air Force Base, Calif., as a U-2 pilot. He flew 88 operational missions from Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Panama and other locations. Larson graduated from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in Class 95A. He became a flight commander and assistant operations officer for the 445th squadron at Edwards. He flew the radar, avionics integration and engine tests in F-15 A-D, the early flights of the glass cockpit T-38C and airworthiness flights of the Coast Guard RU-38. He was selected to serve as an Air Force exchange instructor at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, Md. He taught systems and fixed-wing flight test and flew as an instructor pilot in the F-18, T-2, U-6A Beaver and X-26 Schweizer sailplane. Larson commanded U-2 operations for Warner Robins Air Logistics Center's Detachment 2 located in Palmdale, Calif. In addition to flying the U-2, Larson supervised the aircraft's depot maintenance and flight test. He was the deputy group commander for the 412th Operations Group at Edwards before retiring from active duty in 2007 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. His first experience with NASA was at the Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, where he served a college summer internship working on arcjet engines. Larson is a native of Bethany, W.Va,, and received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1986 with a

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Pad 39B, United Space Alliance Flight Crew Systems engineer John Biegert passes a sleep restraint to a technician inside Space Shuttle Discovery for installation, a final step in launch preparations. Launch of Discovery on its Return to Flight mission STS-114 is set for July 13, just days away. During its 12-day mission, Discovery’s seven-person crew will test new hardware and techniques to improve Shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies to the International Space Station. Discovery’s payloads include the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC), and the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2). Raffaello will deliver supplies to the International Space Station including food, clothing and research equipment. The LMC will carry a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope and a tile repair sample box. The ESP-2 is outfitted with replacement parts.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Launch Pad 39B, United Space Alliance Flight Crew Systems engineer John Biegert uncovers a sleep restraint to be installed inside Space Shuttle Discovery, a final step in launch preparations. Launch of Discovery on its Return to Flight mission STS-114 is set for July 13, just days away. During its 12-day mission, Discovery’s seven-person crew will test new hardware and techniques to improve Shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies to the International Space Station. Discovery’s payloads include the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello, the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (LMC), and the External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2). Raffaello will deliver supplies to the International Space Station including food, clothing and research equipment. The LMC will carry a replacement Control Moment Gyroscope and a tile repair sample box. The ESP-2 is outfitted with replacement parts.

On Friday, April 6, 2018, in NASA’s Building 8337 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians and engineers clean and take samples from the payload fairing the will protect NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, satellite during launch. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Sept. 12, 2018, from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg. It will be the last for the venerable Delta II rocket. ICESat-2, which is being built and tested by Orbital ATK in Gilbert, Arizona, will carry a single instrument called the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System, or ATLAS. The ATLAS instrument is being built and tested at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland. Once in orbit, the satellite is designed to measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much, Earth’s frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, are changing.

On Friday, April 6, 2018, in NASA’s Building 8337 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians and engineers clean and take samples from the payload fairing the will protect NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, satellite during launch. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Sept. 12, 2018, from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg. It will be the last for the venerable Delta II rocket. ICESat-2, which is being built and tested by Orbital ATK in Gilbert, Arizona, will carry a single instrument called the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System, or ATLAS. The ATLAS instrument is being built and tested at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland. Once in orbit, the satellite is designed to measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much, Earth’s frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, are changing.

On Friday, April 6, 2018, in NASA’s Building 8337 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians and engineers check samples during cleaning of the payload fairing that will protect NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, satellite during launch. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Sept. 12, 2018, from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg. It will be the last for the venerable Delta II rocket. ICESat-2, which is being built and tested by Orbital ATK in Gilbert, Arizona, will carry a single instrument called the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System, or ATLAS. The ATLAS instrument is being built and tested at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland. Once in orbit, the satellite is designed to measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much, Earth’s frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, are changing.

On Friday, April 6, 2018, in NASA’s Building 8337 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians and engineers clean and take samples from the payload fairing the will protect NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, satellite during launch. Liftoff atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Sept. 12, 2018, from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg. It will be the last for the venerable Delta II rocket. ICESat-2, which is being built and tested by Orbital ATK in Gilbert, Arizona, will carry a single instrument called the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System, or ATLAS. The ATLAS instrument is being built and tested at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland. Once in orbit, the satellite is designed to measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much, Earth’s frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, are changing.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Space Launch Complex-2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the engines ignite beneath the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying NASA's National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) into space. Liftoff was at 2:48 a.m. PDT. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_NPP. Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The ground begins to rumble at Space Launch Complex-2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as the engines ignite beneath the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying NASA's National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) into space. Liftoff was at 2:48 a.m. PDT. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_NPP. Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Space Launch Complex-2 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying NASA's National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) is illuminated by the brilliance of its engines' ignition. Liftoff was at 2:48 a.m. PDT. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_NPP. Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 10 carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration. Liftoff was at 2:25 a.m. PDT. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 10 carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration. Liftoff was at 2:25 a.m. PDT. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

A United launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket soars upward after liftoff from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 10, carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration. Launch was at 1:49 a.m. PST. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left, Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani; Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock; Pilot George D. Zamka; Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy; Allison Bolinger, an EVA technician with NASA; Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski and Stephanie D. Wilson; and Erin Schlichenmaier, of TPS Engineering with United Space Alliance. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left, Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani; Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock; Pilot George D. Zamka; Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli (kneeling), a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Commander Pamela A. Melroy; Allison Bolinger (kneeling), an EVA technician with NASA; Mission Specialist Stephanie D. Wilson; and Erin Schlichenmaier, with United Space Alliance TPS Engineering. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left, Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani; Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock; Pilot George D. Zamka; Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli (sitting), a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski (pointing); Commander Pamela A. Melroy; Allison Bolinger (kneeling), an EVA technician with NASA; Mission Specialist Stephanie D. Wilson; and Erin Schlichenmaier, with United Space Alliance TPS Engineering. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA and contractor engineers are on hand at the Firing Room 4 Integration Console as operations to power down space shuttle Endeavour for the final time are under way in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Standing, from left, are John Apfelbaum, Jeff Wheeler, Bob Walker and Michael Ciannilli of NASA. Seated, from left, are former United Space Alliance test project engineer Greg Koch, Debbie Awtonomow of NASA, and John McClellan of United Space Alliance. The Integration Console manages all orbiter systems including those needed for shuttle power up and launch. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. Endeavour was the last space shuttle added to NASA’s orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

From left: Jim Maser, senior vice president of the Space Business Unit of Aerojet Rocketdyne; acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurzyck; John Bailey, associate director of NASA's Stennis Space Center; Rick Gilbrech, director of NASA's Stennis Space Center; Mike McDaniel, general manager of Aerojet Rocketdyne at Stennis Space Center; Amy Growder, chief operating officer of Aerojet Rocketdyne; Mary Byrd, associate director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center; and Jody Singer, director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center; pose for a picture giving a thumbs-up following a second hot fire test of the core stage for the first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket in the B-2 Test Stand, Thursday, March 18, 2021, at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The four RS-25 engines fired for the full-duration of 8 minutes during the test and generated 1.6 million pounds of thrust. The hot fire test is the final stage of the Green Run test series, a comprehensive assessment of the Space Launch System’s core stage prior to launching the Artemis I mission to the Moon. Photo Credit: (NASA/Robert Markowitz)

VINCENT VIDAURRI, CENTER, A TECHNICAL SPECIALIST WITH TELEDYNE BROWN ENGINEERING SUPPORTING MISSION OPERATIONS AT THE MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, PROVIDES DETAILS ABOUT A MOCK-UP OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SCIENCE LAB TO A GROUP OF AREA TEACHERS AS PART OF "BACK-2-SCHOOL DAY." TEAM REDSTONE -- WHICH INCLUDES THE MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER AND U.S. ARMY ORGANIZATIONS ON REDSTONE ARSENAL -- INVITED 50 TEACHERS TO TOUR REDSTONE ARSENAL AUG. 15, GIVING THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN OF AND SEE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO THEM AND THEIR STUDENTS. THE TOUR FOCUSED ON SITES AVAILABLE FOR FIELD TRIPS FOR STUDENTS STUDYING MATH, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING. STOPS INCLUDED MARSHALL'S PAYLOAD OPERATIONS INTEGRATION CENTER AND THE HIGH SCHOOLS UNITED WITH NASA TO CREATE HARDWARE LAB, OR HUNCH, BOTH LOCATED IN BUILDING 4663. THE PROGRAM GIVES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THE CHANCE TO WORK WITH NASA ENGINEERS TO DESIGN AND BUILD HARDWARE FOR USE ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. THE TEACHERS ALSO VISITED THE ARMY AVIATION & MISSILE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT & ENGINEERING CENTER AND THE REDSTONE TEST CENTER

STS-79 was the fourth in a series of NASA docking missions to the Russian Mir Space Station, leading up to the construction and operation of the International Space Station (ISS). As the first flight of the Spacehab Double Module, STS-79 encompassed research, test and evaluation of ISS, as well as logistics resupply for the Mir Space Station. STS-79 was also the first NASA-Mir American crew member exchange mission, with John E. Blaha (NASA-Mir-3) replacing Shannon W. Lucid (NASA-Mir-2) aboard the Mir Space Station. The lettering of their names either up or down denotes transport up to the Mir Space Station or return to Earth on STS-79. The patch is in the shape of the Space Shuttle’s airlock hatch, symbolizing the gateway to international cooperation in space. The patch illustrates the historic cooperation between the United States and Russia in space. With the flags of Russia and the United States as a backdrop, the handshake of Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) which are suited crew members symbolizes mission teamwork, not only of the crew members but also the teamwork between both countries space personnel in science, engineering, medicine and logistics.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians monitor the progress as the AJ10 engine for the second stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is hoisted up in the service tower at NASA’s Space Launch Complex-2. The Delta II will carry NASA's National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite into space. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. NPP is targeted to launch Oct. 25. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/NPP. Photo credit: NASA/VAFB

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Technicians secure the AJ10 engine for the second stage of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket on a work stand at NASA’s Space Launch Complex-2 service tower. The Delta II will carry NASA's National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite into space. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. NPP is targeted to launch Oct. 25. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/NPP. Photo credit: NASA/VAFB

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani is given the opportunity to operate a camera that will fly on the mission. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Howard Hu, manager for the Orion System Performance and Analysis Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center, provides an overview of the Sensor Test for Orion Relnav Risk Mitigation, or STORRM, flight test that space shuttle Endeavour will perform on the last on-orbit day of the STS-134 mission. The overview took place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where Endeavour is awaiting liftoff. During the mission, Endeavour will fly a dedicated maneuver to simulate an Orion rendezvous trajectory, while two Orion sensors collect visual- and laser-based relative navigation data. This will provide an unprecedented in-flight test opportunity for America's next-generation exploration spacecraft. STS-134 also will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the space station. Endeavour was scheduled to launch at 3:47 p.m. on April 29, but that attempt was scrubbed for at least 72 hours while engineers assess an issue associated with the shuttle's Auxiliary Power Unit 1. STS-134 will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts134_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Heather Hinkel, principal investigator for the Sensor Test for Orion Relnav Risk Mitigation, or STORRM, Project at NASA's Johnson Space Center, provides an overview of the flight test that space shuttle Endeavour will perform on the last on-orbit day of the STS-134 mission. The overview took place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where Endeavour is awaiting liftoff. During the mission, Endeavour will fly a dedicated maneuver to simulate an Orion rendezvous trajectory, while two Orion sensors collect visual- and laser-based relative navigation data. This will provide an unprecedented in-flight test opportunity for America's next-generation exploration spacecraft. STS-134 also will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the space station. Endeavour was scheduled to launch at 3:47 p.m. on April 29, but that attempt was scrubbed for at least 72 hours while engineers assess an issue associated with the shuttle's Auxiliary Power Unit 1. STS-134 will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts134_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A model of the Sensor Test for Orion Relnav Risk Mitigation, or STORRM, is displayed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Seen here, is the International Space Station docking target and STORMM sensor enclosure assembly. A flight test of STORRM will be performed on STS-134 on the last on-orbit day of the mission, when space shuttle Endeavour will fly a dedicated maneuver to simulate an Orion rendezvous trajectory. Throughout the maneuver, two Orion sensors will collect visual- and laser-based relative navigation data. This will provide an unprecedented in-flight test opportunity for America's next-generation exploration spacecraft. STS-134 also will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the space station. Endeavour was scheduled to launch at 3:47 p.m. on April 29, but that attempt was scrubbed for at least 72 hours while engineers assess an issue associated with the shuttle's Auxiliary Power Unit 1. STS-134 will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts134_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Heather Hinkel, principal investigator for the Sensor Test for Orion Relnav Risk Mitigation, or STORRM, Project at NASA's Johnson Space Center, provides an overview of the flight test that space shuttle Endeavour will perform on the last on-orbit day of the STS-134 mission. The overview took place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where Endeavour is awaiting liftoff. During the mission, Endeavour will fly a dedicated maneuver to simulate an Orion rendezvous trajectory, while two Orion sensors collect visual- and laser-based relative navigation data. This will provide an unprecedented in-flight test opportunity for America's next-generation exploration spacecraft. STS-134 also will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the space station. Endeavour was scheduled to launch at 3:47 p.m. on April 29, but that attempt was scrubbed for at least 72 hours while engineers assess an issue associated with the shuttle's Auxiliary Power Unit 1. STS-134 will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts134_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Frank Novak, project manager for the Sensor Test for Orion Relnav Risk Mitigation, or STORRM, at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., provides an overview of the flight test that space shuttle Endeavour will perform on the last on-orbit day of the STS-134 mission. The overview took place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where Endeavour is awaiting liftoff. During the mission, Endeavour will fly a dedicated maneuver to simulate an Orion rendezvous trajectory, while two Orion sensors collect visual- and laser-based relative navigation data. This will provide an unprecedented in-flight test opportunity for America's next-generation exploration spacecraft. STS-134 also will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the space station. Endeavour was scheduled to launch at 3:47 p.m. on April 29, but that attempt was scrubbed for at least 72 hours while engineers assess an issue associated with the shuttle's Auxiliary Power Unit 1. STS-134 will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts134_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Jack Pfaller

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left, Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock (standing); Pilot George D. Zamka; Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy; Allison Bolinger (pointing), an EVA technician with NASA; Commander Pamela A. Melroy; Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski and Stephanie D. Wilson; two support personnel and Erin Schlichenmaier, with United Space Alliance TPS Engineering. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

Omar Baez, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program, participates in a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, participates in a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

Megan Cruz, NASA Communications, moderates a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

Capt. Zack Zounes, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force, participates in a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

Tim Walsh, director, NOAA’s JPSS Program Office, NOAA, participates in a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

John Gagosian, director, NASA’s Joint Agency Satellite Division, participates in a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

NASA held a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and the agency’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. Participants from left are: Megan Cruz, NASA Communications; John Gagosian, director, NASA’s Joint Agency Satellite Division; Omar Baez, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program; Gary Wentz, vice president, Government and Commercial Programs, ULA; Irene Parker, deputy assistant administrator, NOAA Systems, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Services; Tim Walsh, director, NOAA’s JPSS Program Office, NOAA; Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate; Capt. Zack Zounes, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth or

NASA held a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and the agency’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. Participants from left are: John Gagosian, director, NASA’s Joint Agency Satellite Division; Omar Baez, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program; Gary Wentz, vice president, Government and Commercial Programs, ULA. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

Gary Wentz, vice president, Government and Commercial Programs, ULA, participates in a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

Omar Baez, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program, participates in a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

Irene Parker, deputy assistant administrator, NOAA Systems, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Services, participates in a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and NASA Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

NASA held a prelaunch news conference for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) and the agency’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Oct. 28, 2022. Participants from left are: John Gagosian, director, NASA’s Joint Agency Satellite Division; Omar Baez, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program; Gary Wentz, vice president, Government and Commercial Programs, ULA; Irene Parker, deputy assistant administrator, NOAA Systems, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Services; Tim Walsh, director, NOAA’s JPSS Program Office, NOAA; Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate; Capt. Zack Zounes, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the polar satellite series and is expected to capture data to improve weather forecasts, helping scientists predict and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change. JPSS-2 is scheduled to launch at 2:25 a.m. PDT Tuesday, Nov. 1, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Launching with JPSS-2 is NASA’s LOFTID technology demonstration. After JPSS-2 safely reaches orbit, LOFTID will follow a re-entry trajectory from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable heat shield’s ability to slow down and survive re-entry. LOFTID is a partnership with ULA and is dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter, one of the company’s engineers who played a key role in developing the technology. LOFTID will demonstrate how the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry in conditions relevant to many potential applications, whether landing humans on Mars, new missions to Venus and Titan, or returning heavier payloads and samples from low-Earth orbit.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Bill Couch, standing on the left, and Gary Milbourne, both of United Space Alliance monitor the updated controls of crawler-transporter No. 2 as it moves out of high bay 2 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The test drive is designed to check out recent modifications and upgrades to ensure its capability to carry launch vehicles such as the space agency's Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket to the launch pad. NASA's Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is leading the 20-year life-extension project for the crawler. A pair of behemoth machines called crawler-transporters has carried the load of taking rockets and spacecraft to the launch pad for more than 40 years at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each the size of a baseball infield and powered by locomotive and large electrical power generator engines, the crawler-transporters will stand ready to keep up the work for the next generation of launch vehicles projects to lift astronauts into space. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/ground/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew takes a break from activities during their crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, to pose for a portrait in front of one of space shuttle Discovery's main engines. From left are Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani, Mission Specialist Stephanie D. Wilson, Commander Pamela A. Melroy, Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock, Pilot George D. Zamka and Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA and contractor engineers are on hand at the Firing Room 4 Integration Console as operations to power down space shuttle Endeavour for the final time are under way in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Standing, from left, are John Apfelbaum, Jeff Wheeler, Bob Walker and Michael Ciannilli of NASA. Seated is former United Space Alliance test project engineer Greg Koch. The Integration Console manages all orbiter systems including those needed for shuttle power up and launch. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. Endeavour was the last space shuttle added to NASA’s orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA and contractor engineers are on hand at the Firing Room 4 Integration Console as operations to power down space shuttle Endeavour for the final time are under way in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Standing, from left, are Alex Pandelos of QinetiQ North America and John Apfelbaum, Bob Walker and Michael Ciannilli of NASA. Seated, from left, are John McClellan and former test project engineer Greg Koch of United Space Alliance and Debbie Awtonomow of NASA. The Integration Console manages all orbiter systems including those needed for shuttle power up and launch. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Its ferry flight to California is targeted for mid-September. Endeavour was the last space shuttle added to NASA’s orbiter fleet. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/transition. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An interactive docking simulator developed by Lockheed Martin gave STS-134 launch guests at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida the opportunity to fly a realistic docking maneuver with the International Space Station. The center screen provides the forward view to the docking target while the white T-shaped handle is used for translation corrections during the maneuver. The Sensor Test for Orion Relnav Risk Mitigation, or STORRM, flight test planned for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission will mature the sensor technologies to make these docking operations easier and safer for America's next-generation exploration spacecraft. STS-134 also will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the space station. Endeavour was scheduled to launch at 3:47 p.m. on April 29, but that attempt was scrubbed for at least 72 hours while engineers assess an issue associated with the shuttle's Auxiliary Power Unit 1. STS-134 will be the final spaceflight for Endeavour. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts134_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Jack Pfaller

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Discovery's payload bay in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 crew members are getting hands-on experience with a winch that is used to manually close the payload bay doors in the event that becomes necessary. At right is Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the AJ10 engine for the second stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is hoisted up in the service tower at NASA’s Space Launch Complex 2. The rocket’s third stage with several solid rocket motors attached sits on the launch pad to the right. The Delta II will carry NASA's National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite into space. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. NPP is targeted to launch Oct. 25. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/NPP. Photo credit: NASA/VAFB

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 crew members practice handling tools they will use during the mission. Around the table, at center, dressed in blue flight suits are Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Douglas H. Wheelock, Paolo A. Nespoli and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani. Between Wheelock and Nespoli is Allison Bolinger, an EVA technician with NASA. In the foreground is Dina Contella, a thermal protection system specialist with NASA. Nespoli is a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In Discovery's payload bay in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, STS-120 crew members are getting hands-on experience with a winch that is used to manually close the payload bay doors in the event that becomes necessary. At center is Pilot George D. Zamka and at right is Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani. The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT, which includes harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Receiving instruction from Allison Bolinger, an EVA technician with NASA, under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are, from left in blue flight suits, Mission Specialist Douglas H. Wheelock; Commander Pamela A. Melroy; Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani; Pilot George D. Zamka; and Mission Specialists Stephanie D. Wilson, Scott E. Parazynski and Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Inspecting the thermal protection system, or TPS, tiles on space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 are Mission Specialists Douglas H. Wheelock and Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy, and Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani (with camera). Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the AJ10 engine for the second stage of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is hoisted high at NASA’s Space Launch Complex-2 service tower. The second stage of the rocket, with several solid rocket motors attached, sits on the launch pad. The Delta II will carry NASA's National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite into space. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. NPP is targeted to launch Oct. 25. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/NPP. Photo credit: NASA/VAFB

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-120 crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Standing under space shuttle Discovery in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, from left, are Expedition 16 Flight Engineer Daniel M. Tani, Pilot George D. Zamka and Mission Specialist Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Among the activities standard to a CEIT are harness training, inspection of the thermal protection system and camera operation for planned extravehicular activities, or EVAs. The STS-120 mission will deliver the Harmony module, christened after a school contest, which will provide attachment points for European and Japanese laboratory modules on the International Space Station. Known in technical circles as Node 2, it is similar to the six-sided Unity module that links the U.S. and Russian sections of the station. Built in Italy for the United States, Harmony will be the first new U.S. pressurized component to be added. The STS-120 mission is targeted to launch on Oct. 20. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton