The In-Space Propulsion Facility (ISP) is shown at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. ISP is the world’s only facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

Tours were given of the In Space Propulsion Facility (ISP). NASA’s Facility is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. Pictured are Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Employees meet three of the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed flight paving the way for future lunar surface missions. Commander Reid Wiseman and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be on hand to discuss their upcoming mission and participate in a Question and Answer session with employees afterward. Hansen is an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency. Victor Glover, the pilot and fourth crew member, was not present. Photo Credit: (NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna)

Pictured is Building 4205, which serves as Marshall Space Flight Center’s Propulsion R&D Lab.

Pictured at sunset is Marshall Space Flight Center’s Propulsion R&D Lab, Building 4205.

Tours were given of the In Space Propulsion Facility (ISP). NASA’s Facility is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. Pictured are Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, Penelope Garcia-Galan, Kathryn Oriti, General David Stringer, Tiffany O'Rourke and Commander Reid Wiseman. Employees meet three of the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed flight paving the way for future lunar surface missions. Commander Reid Wiseman and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be on hand to discuss their upcoming mission and participate in a Question and Answer session with employees afterward. Hansen is an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency. Victor Glover, the pilot and fourth crew member, will not be present.

NASA Glenn Research Center has received the first of three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters for the Gateway lunar space station. Built by L3Harris Technologies, the thruster will undergo testing before integration with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, launching with the HALO module ahead of Artemis IV.

Tours were given of the In Space Propulsion Facility (ISP) in Sandusky, OH at Neil Armstrong Test Facility. NASA’s Facility is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. Pictured are Jessica Isabell, Allison Tankersley, Jan-Henrik Horstmann, Carlos Garcia-Galan, Howard Hu, Commader Reid Wiseman, Tiffany O'Rourke, General David Stringer, Kathryn Oriti, Penelope Garcia-Galan, Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen. Employees meet three of the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed flight paving the way for future lunar surface missions. Commander Reid Wiseman and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be on hand to discuss their upcoming mission and participate in a Question and Answer session with employees afterward. Hansen is an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency. Victor Glover, the pilot and fourth crew member, will not be present.

Tours were given of the In Space Propulsion Facility (ISP) in Sandusky, OH at Neil Armstrong Test Facility. NASA’s Facility is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. From Left to Right: Jeremy Hansen, Allison Tankersley, Kathryn Oriti, Jan-Henrik Horstmann, Carlos Garcia-Galan, Penelope Garcia-Galan, Reid Wiseman, Jessica Isabell, Tiffany O'Rourke, Howard Hu, General David Stringer. Commander Reid Wiseman and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be on hand to discuss their upcoming mission and participate in a Question and Answer session with employees afterward. Hansen is an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency. Victor Glover, the pilot and fourth crew member, will not be present. Photo Credit: (NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna)

Tours were given of the In Space Propulsion Facility (ISP) in Sandusky, OH at Neil Armstrong Test Facility. NASA’s Facility is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. From Left to Right: Jeremy Hansen, Allison Tankersley, Kathryn Oriti, Jan-Henrik Horstmann, Carlos Garcia-Galan, Penelope Garcia-Galan, Reid Wiseman, Jessica Isabell, Tiffany O'Rourke, Howard Hu, General David Stringer. Commander Reid Wiseman and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will be on hand to discuss their upcoming mission and participate in a Question and Answer session with employees afterward. Hansen is an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency. Victor Glover, the pilot and fourth crew member, will not be present. Photo Credit: (NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna)

Technicians prepare the Space Electric Research Test (SERT-I) payload for a test in Tank Number 5 of the Electric Propulsion Laboratory at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. Lewis researchers had been studying different methods of electric rocket propulsion since the mid-1950s. Harold Kaufman created the first successful engine, the electron bombardment ion engine, in the early 1960s. These electric engines created and accelerated small particles of propellant material to high exhaust velocities. Electric engines have a very small amount of thrust, but once lofted into orbit by workhorse chemical rockets, they are capable of small, continuous thrust for periods up to several years. The electron bombardment thruster operated at a 90-percent efficiency during testing in the Electric Propulsion Laboratory. The package was rapidly rotated in a vacuum to simulate its behavior in space. The SERT-I mission, launched from Wallops Island, Virginia, was the first flight test of Kaufman’s ion engine. SERT-I had one cesium engine and one mercury engine. The suborbital flight was only 50 minutes in duration but proved that the ion engine could operate in space. The Electric Propulsion Laboratory included two large space simulation chambers, one of which is seen here. Each uses twenty 2.6-foot diameter diffusion pumps, blowers, and roughing pumps to remove the air inside the tank to create the thin atmosphere. A helium refrigeration system simulates the cold temperatures of space.

The vacuum chamber of the In-Space Propulsion (ISP) facility at the Neil Armstrong Test Facility spans 38ft in diameter and is 62ft tall. ISP is the world’s only facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. ISP also has a vacuum range of up to 100 statute miles in altitude. This is a view from inside the chamber. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

The grand opening of NASA’s new, world-class laboratory for research into future space transportation technologies located at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, took place in July 2004. The state-of-the-art Propulsion Research Laboratory (PRL) serves as a leading national resource for advanced space propulsion research. Its purpose is to conduct research that will lead to the creation and development of innovative propulsion technologies for space exploration. The facility is the epicenter of the effort to move the U.S. space program beyond the confines of conventional chemical propulsion into an era of greatly improved access to space and rapid transit throughout the solar system. The laboratory is designed to accommodate researchers from across the United States, including scientists and engineers from NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, universities, and industry. The facility, with 66,000 square feet of useable laboratory space, features a high degree of experimental capability. Its flexibility allows it to address a broad range of propulsion technologies and concepts, such as plasma, electromagnetic, thermodynamic, and propellant propulsion. An important area of emphasis is the development and utilization of advanced energy sources, including highly energetic chemical reactions, solar energy, and processes based on fission, fusion, and antimatter. The Propulsion Research Laboratory is vital for developing the advanced propulsion technologies needed to open up the space frontier, and sets the stage of research that could revolutionize space transportation for a broad range of applications.

A new, world-class laboratory for research into future space transportation technologies is under construction at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, AL. The state-of-the-art Propulsion Research Laboratory will serve as a leading national resource for advanced space propulsion research. Its purpose is to conduct research that will lead to the creation and development of irnovative propulsion technologies for space exploration. The facility will be the epicenter of the effort to move the U.S. space program beyond the confines of conventional chemical propulsion into an era of greatly improved access to space and rapid transit throughout the solar system. The Laboratory is designed to accommodate researchers from across the United States, including scientists and engineers from NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, universities, and industry. The facility, with 66,000 square feet of useable laboratory space, will feature a high degree of experimental capability. Its flexibility will allow it to address a broad range of propulsion technologies and concepts, such as plasma, electromagnetic, thermodynamic, and propellantless propulsion. An important area of emphasis will be development and utilization of advanced energy sources, including highly energetic chemical reactions, solar energy, and processes based on fission, fusion, and antimatter. The Propulsion Research Laboratory is vital for developing the advanced propulsion technologies needed to open up the space frontier, and will set the stage of research that could revolutionize space transportation for a broad range of applications.

The grand opening of NASA’s new, world-class laboratory for research into future space transportation technologies located at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, took place in July 2004. The state-of-the-art Propulsion Research Laboratory (PRL) serves as a leading national resource for advanced space propulsion research. Its purpose is to conduct research that will lead to the creation and development of innovative propulsion technologies for space exploration. The facility is the epicenter of the effort to move the U.S. space program beyond the confines of conventional chemical propulsion into an era of greatly improved access to space and rapid transit throughout the solar system. The laboratory is designed to accommodate researchers from across the United States, including scientists and engineers from NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, universities, and industry. The facility, with 66,000 square feet of useable laboratory space, features a high degree of experimental capability. Its flexibility allows it to address a broad range of propulsion technologies and concepts, such as plasma, electromagnetic, thermodynamic, and propellant propulsion. An important area of emphasis is the development and utilization of advanced energy sources, including highly energetic chemical reactions, solar energy, and processes based on fission, fusion, and antimatter. The Propulsion Research Laboratory is vital for developing the advanced propulsion technologies needed to open up the space frontier, and sets the stage of research that could revolutionize space transportation for a broad range of applications.

Harnessing the Sun's energy through Solar Thermal Propulsion will propel vehicles through space by significantly reducing weight, complexity, and cost while boosting performance over current conventional upper stages. Another solar powered system, solar electric propulsion, demonstrates ion propulsion is suitable for long duration missions. Pictured is an artist's concept of space flight using solar thermal propulsion.

NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Facility located at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky Ohio is the world’s only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. The facility supports mission profile thermal vacuum simulation and engine firing. The engine or vehicle can be exposed for indefinite periods to low ambient pressures, low-background temperatures, and dynamic solar heating, simulating the environment the hardware will encounter during orbital or interplanetary travel. This is a view from inside the chamber looking up toward the American flag. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jordan Salkin)

NASA Glenn Research Center has received the first of three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters for the Gateway lunar space station. Built by L3Harris Technologies, the thruster will undergo testing before integration with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, launching with the HALO module ahead of Artemis IV.

NASA Glenn Research Center has received the first of three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters for the Gateway lunar space station. Built by L3Harris Technologies, the thruster will undergo testing before integration with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, launching with the HALO module ahead of Artemis IV.

NASA Glenn Research Center has received the first of three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters for the Gateway lunar space station. Built by L3Harris Technologies, the thruster will undergo testing before integration with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, launching with the HALO module ahead of Artemis IV.

A new, world-class laboratory for research into future space transportation technologies is under construction at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, AL. The state-of-the-art Propulsion Research Laboratory will serve as a leading national resource for advanced space propulsion research. Its purpose is to conduct research that will lead to the creation and development of irnovative propulsion technologies for space exploration. The facility will be the epicenter of the effort to move the U.S. space program beyond the confines of conventional chemical propulsion into an era of greatly improved access to space and rapid transit throughout the solar system. The Laboratory is designed to accommodate researchers from across the United States, including scientists and engineers from NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, universities, and industry. The facility, with 66,000 square feet of useable laboratory space, will feature a high degree of experimental capability. Its flexibility will allow it to address a broad range of propulsion technologies and concepts, such as plasma, electromagnetic, thermodynamic, and propellantless propulsion. An important area of emphasis will be development and utilization of advanced energy sources, including highly energetic chemical reactions, solar energy, and processes based on fission, fusion, and antimatter. The Propulsion Research Laboratory is vital for developing the advanced propulsion technologies needed to open up the space frontier, and will set the stage of research that could revolutionize space transportation for a broad range of applications. This photo depicts construction workers taking part in a tree topping ceremony as the the final height of the laboratory is framed. The ceremony is an old German custom of paying homage to the trees that gave their lives in preparation of the building site.

NASA Glenn engineer Dr. Peter Peterson prepares a high-power Hall thruster for ground testing in a vacuum chamber that simulates the environment in space. This high-powered solar electric propulsion thruster has been identified as a critical part of NASA’s future deep space exploration plans.

NASA Glenn Research Center has received the first of three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters for the Gateway lunar space station. Built by L3Harris Technologies, the thruster will undergo testing before integration with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, launching with the HALO module ahead of Artemis IV.

NASA Glenn Research Center has received the first of three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters for the Gateway lunar space station. Built by L3Harris Technologies, the thruster will undergo testing before integration with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, launching with the HALO module ahead of Artemis IV.

NASA Glenn Research Center has received the first of three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters for the Gateway lunar space station. Built by L3Harris Technologies, the thruster will undergo testing before integration with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, launching with the HALO module ahead of Artemis IV.

NASA Glenn Research Center has received the first of three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters for the Gateway lunar space station. Built by L3Harris Technologies, the thruster will undergo testing before integration with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, launching with the HALO module ahead of Artemis IV.

Structural Heat Intercept-Insulation-Vibration Evaluation Rig, SHIVER

Structural Heat Intercept-Insulation-Vibration Evaluation Rig, SHIVER

Structural Heat Intercept-Insulation-Vibration Evaluation Rig, SHIVER

Structural Heat Intercept-Insulation-Vibration Evaluation Rig, SHIVER

Structural Heat Intercept-Insulation-Vibration Evaluation Rig, SHIVER

A Centaur second-stage rocket in the Space Propulsion Research Facility, better known as B‒2, operating at NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. Centaur was designed to be used with an Atlas booster to send the Surveyor spacecraft to the moon in the mid-1960s. After those missions, the rocket was modified to launch a series of astronomical observation satellites into orbit and send space probes to other planets. Researchers conducted a series of systems tests at the Plum Brook test stands to improve the Centaur fuel pumping system. Follow up full-scale tests in the B-2 facility led to the eventual removal of the boost pumps from the design. This reduced the system’s complexity and significantly reduced the cost of a Centaur rocket. The Centaur tests were the first use of the new B-2 facility. B‒2 was the world's only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. It was created to test rocket propulsion systems with up to 100,000 pounds of thrust in a simulated space environment. The facility has the unique ability to maintain a vacuum at the rocket’s nozzle while the engine is firing. The rocket fires into a 120-foot deep spray chamber which cools the exhaust before it is ejected outside the facility. B‒2 simulated space using giant diffusion pumps to reduce chamber pressure 10-6 torr, nitrogen-filled cold walls create cryogenic temperatures, and quartz lamps replicate the radiation of the sun.

The Space Propulsion Research Facility, better known as B-2, operating at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. B-2 is the world's only high altitude test facility capable of full-scale rocket engine and launch vehicle system level tests. It was created to test rocket propulsion systems with up to 100,000 pounds of thrust in a simulated space environment. The facility has the unique ability to maintain a vacuum at the rocket’s nozzle while the engine is firing. The rocket fires into a 120-foot deep spray chamber which cools the exhaust before it is ejected outside the facility. B-2 simulated space using giant diffusion pumps to reduce chamber pressure, nitrogen-filled cold walls create cryogenic temperatures, and quartz lamps replicate the radiation of the sun. This photograph shows the facility undergoing check-out runs prior to its first test in late 1969.The 38-foot diameter and 62-foot tall vacuum chamber is inside the high-bay on the right. Below that is a 67-foot diameter and 120-foot deep spray chamber. The hot rocket exhaust is cooled in the chamber by a spray of 250,000 gallons of water per minute. B-2’s first test was a hot firing of Centaur D-1A rocket on December 18, 1969. Since then the facility has fired more than 100 Pratt and Whitney RL-10 engines during the Centaur development, 80 current RL-10B-2 engines for Delta-3 development, and another 12 RL-10B-2s for the Delta 3 Upper Stage.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy visits Kennedy Space Center in Florida and receives a briefing by team members from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the agency’s Psyche spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on May 19, 2022. Melroy is in view second from right. The mission is targeting an Aug. 1 launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy visits Kennedy Space Center in Florida and receives a briefing by team members from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the agency’s Psyche spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on May 19, 2022. Melroy is standing in front of the group. The mission is targeting an Aug. 1 launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.

Group photo of the crew just before the critical lift of Dream Chaser into the chamber at ISP (In Space Propulsion) NASA GRC-ATF. Once lifted and lowered into the test chamber, it will be exposed to the harsh cold conditions of space for extended periods of time. Sierra Space Dream Chaser space plane will be lifted into the chamber at ISP (In Space Propulsion) facility, building 3211 at ATF (Armstrong Test Facility) for environmental testing

The test chamber is 38 ft in diameter by 62 ft deep amd made of stainless steel. It is vacuum rated at 10-7 torr long duration (Local atmospheric pressure to 100 statute miles altitude). The vacuum chamber surfaces are lined with a liquid nitrogen cold wall, capable of maintaining -320 °F. A quartz infrared heating system can be programmed to radiate a sinusoidal distribution, simulating rotational solar heating. Photo Credit: (NASA/Quentin Schwinn)

The Sierra Space Plane, Dream Chaser, suspended by a crane sits just inside the overhead door of the ISP (In Space Propulsion) test facility at NASA GRC-ATF. Once lifted and lowered into the test chamber, it will be exposed to the harsh cold conditions of space for testing in extended periods of time.

Italian Space Agency (ASI) representative, Enrico Flamini, is introduced during a press conference held after the end of the Cassini mission, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Since its arrival in 2004, the Cassini-Huygens mission has been a discovery machine, revolutionizing our knowledge of the Saturn system and captivating us with data and images never before obtained with such detail and clarity. On Sept. 15, 2017, operators deliberately plunged the spacecraft into Saturn, as Cassini gathered science until the end. Loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft occurred at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT). The “plunge” ensures Saturn’s moons will remain pristine for future exploration. During Cassini’s final days, mission team members from all around the world gathered at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, to celebrate the achievements of this historic mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy visits Kennedy Space Center in Florida and views the agency’s Psyche spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on May 19, 2022. The mission is targeting an Aug. 1 launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.

A team working on NASA’s Psyche spacecraft transitioned it from a vertical to a horizontal test configuration during prelaunch processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 9, 2022. The mission is targeting an Aug. 1 launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft undergoes processing and servicing ahead of launch atop a work stand inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 3, 2022. Psyche is targeting to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

A team working on NASA’s Psyche spacecraft transitioning it from a vertical to horizontal test configuration during prelaunch processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 9, 2022. The mission is targeting an Aug. 1 launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft undergoes processing and servicing ahead of launch atop a work stand inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 3, 2022. Psyche is targeting to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft undergoes processing and servicing ahead of launch atop a work stand inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 3, 2022. Psyche is targeting to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

A team working on NASA’s Psyche spacecraft transitioned it from a vertical to horizontal test configuration during prelaunch processing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 9, 2022. The mission is targeting an Aug. 1 launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch.

Structural Heat Intercept, Insulation and Vibration Evaluation Rig, SHIIVER is installed in the In-Space Propulsion Chamber at NASA Glenn, Plum Brook Station

Sierra Space Dream Chaser space plane is lifted into the chamber at ISP (In Space Propulsion) facility, building 3211 at ATF (Armstrong Test Facility) for environmental testing. Once lowered into the test chamber, it will be exposed to the harsh cold conditions of space for extended periods of time.

Sierra Space photographer, Shay Saldana is photographed taking a group photo of the crew just before the critical lift of Dream Chaser into the chamber at ISP (In Space Propulsion) NASA GRC-ATF. Once lifted and lowered into the test chamber, it will be exposed to the harsh cold conditions of space for extended periods of time

NASA Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science OPALS integration and test team is seen at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory prior to OPALS shipment to Kennedy Space Center.

Technicians from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., install thermal blankets on the Aquarius instrument at Brazil National Institute for Space Research.

Assembly began April 1, 2010, for NASA Juno spacecraft. Workers at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, Colorado workers are readying the spacecraft propulsion module.

The Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science OPALS flight terminal undergoes testing in a thermal vacuum chamber at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to simulate the space environment.

NASA Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science OPALS integration and test team is seen at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory prior to OPALS shipment to Kennedy Space Center.

Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory speaks at an event marking NASA’s donation of the aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory speaks at an event marking NASA’s donation of the aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory speaks at an event marking NASA’s donation of the aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steve F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The aerial prototype of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first to demonstrate it was possible to fly in a simulated Mars environment at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), was donated to the museum on Friday. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

This archival photo shows the Voyager proof test model, which did not fly in space, in the 25-foot space simulator chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on December 3, 1976. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21735

This archival photo shows the Voyager proof test model, which did not fly in space, in the 25-foot space simulator chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21726

NASA Mars Helicopter team members work the flight model (the vehicle going to Mars) in the Space Simulator, a 25-foot-wide (7.62-meter-wide) vacuum chamber, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The image was taken on Feb. 1, 2019. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23152

Engineers prepare the Mars 2020 spacecraft for a thermal vacuum (TVAC) test in the Space Simulator Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The image was taken on May 9, 2019. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23263

This archival image was released as part of a gallery comparing JPL’s past and present, commemorating the 80th anniversary of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Oct. 31, 2016. Building 264, also known as the Space Flight Support Building, hosts engineers supporting space missions in flight at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It used to be just two stories, as seen in this image from January 1972, but then the Viking project to Mars needed more room. The building still serves the same function today, but now has eight floors. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21123

Hardware for the Gateway space station’s Power and Propulsion element, including its primary structure and fuel tanks ready for assembly, are shown at Maxar Space Systems in Palo Alto, California.

Sierra Space Dream Chaser space plane is lifted into the chamber at ISP (In Space Propulsion) facility, building 3211 at ATF (Armstrong Test Facility) for environmental testing. Once lowered into the test chamber, it will be exposed to the harsh cold conditions of space for extended periods of time.

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, technicians prepare to move the agency’s Psyche spacecraft – recently removed from its shipping container and inside a protective covering – to a work stand on May 2, 2022. Psyche is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida perform work on the agency’s Psyche spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) on May 3, 2022. While inside the PHSF, the spacecraft will undergo routine processing and servicing ahead of launch. Psyche is targeting to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the agency’s Psyche spacecraft – recently removed from its shipping container and inside a protective covering – is moved by crane to a work stand on Monday, May 2, 2022. Psyche is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the agency’s Psyche spacecraft – recently removed from its shipping container and inside a protective covering – is moved by crane to a work stand on Monday, May 2, 2022. Psyche is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida perform work on the agency’s Psyche spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) on May 3, 2022. While inside the PHSF, the spacecraft will undergo routine processing and servicing ahead of launch. Psyche is targeting to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida perform work on the agency’s Psyche spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) on May 3, 2022. While inside the PHSF, the spacecraft will undergo routine processing and servicing ahead of launch. Psyche is targeting to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the agency’s Psyche spacecraft – recently removed from its shipping container and inside a protective covering – is moved by crane to a work stand on Monday, May 2, 2022. Psyche is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

Preparations are underway to offload NASA’s Psyche spacecraft from the C-17 aircraft it arrived aboard at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch and Landing Facility in Florida on April 29, 2022. Psyche arrived from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. Psyche is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use its solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

Preparations are underway to offload NASA’s Psyche spacecraft from the C-17 aircraft it arrived aboard at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch and Landing Facility in Florida on April 29, 2022. Psyche arrived from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. Psyche is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Aug. 1, 2022. The spacecraft will use its solar-electric propulsion to travel approximately 1.5 billion miles to rendezvous with its namesake asteroid in 2026. The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is managing the launch. Psyche will be the 14th mission in the agency's Discovery program and LSP’s 100th primary mission.

ESA (European Space Agency) Cassini project scientist, Nicolas Altobelli answers a question from the media during a press conference held after the end of the Cassini mission, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Since its arrival in 2004, the Cassini-Huygens mission has been a discovery machine, revolutionizing our knowledge of the Saturn system and captivating us with data and images never before obtained with such detail and clarity. On Sept. 15, 2017, operators deliberately plunged the spacecraft into Saturn, as Cassini gathered science until the end. Loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft occurred at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT). The “plunge” ensures Saturn’s moons will remain pristine for future exploration. During Cassini’s final days, mission team members from all around the world gathered at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, to celebrate the achievements of this historic mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Technicians in a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, check the fit of the upper and lower cylinders of the propulsion module core of NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft on Oct. 15, 2020. The stacked cylinders stand almost 10 feet (3 meters) high and hold the propulsion tanks and rocket engines that will propel Europa Clipper once it leaves Earth's atmosphere on its path toward Jupiter's moon Europa. In this photo, the cylinders are stacked atop an adapter ring that's about 1 foot (0.3 meters) high. The cylinders were built by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. They were shipped to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California for installation of the Heat Redistribution System (HRS) tubing, which helps control the spacecraft's temperature. The cylinders were then shipped to Goddard for the propulsion subsystem installation. With an internal global ocean twice the size of Earth's oceans combined, Europa may have the potential to harbor life. The Europa Clipper orbiter will swoop around Jupiter on an elliptical path, dipping close to the moon on each flyby to collect data. Understanding Europa's habitability will help scientists better understand how life developed on Earth and the potential for finding life beyond our planet. Europa Clipper is aiming for a launch readiness date of 2024. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24322

Mike Bolger, Ground Systems Development and Operations Program manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, speaks to guests during a ceremony in the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility. The event marked the milestone of the Space Launch System rocket's Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) being turned over from NASA's Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution organization to the spaceport's Ground Systems Development and Operations directorate. The ICPS is the first integrated piece of flight hardware to arrive in preparation for the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1.

Kennedy Space Center, Florida. - Deep Space 1 is lifted from its work platform, giving a closeup view of the experimental solar-powered ion propulsion engine. The ion propulsion engine is the first non-chemical propulsion to be used as the primary means of propelling a spacecraft. The first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program, Deep Space 1 is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. Another onboard experiment includes software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but may also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999. Deep Space 1 will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7326 rocket from Launch Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, in October. Delta II rockets are medium capacity expendable launch vehicles derived from the Delta family of rockets built and launched since 1960. Since then there have been more than 245 Delta launches. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04232

The Mars 2020 rover heat shield is mated to the back shell in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 10, 2020. Built by Lockheed Martin Space, the heat shield and back shell will protect the rover during its passage to Mars. The Mars 2020 rover is being manufactured at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California and, once complete, will be delivered to Kennedy next month. The mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the summer of 2020.

The Mars 2020 rover heat shield is mated to the back shell in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 10, 2020. Built by Lockheed Martin Space, the heat shield and back shell will protect the rover during its passage to Mars. The Mars 2020 rover is being manufactured at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California and, once complete, will be delivered to Kennedy next month. The mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the summer of 2020.

The Mars 2020 rover heat shield is mated to the back shell in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 10, 2020. Built by Lockheed Martin Space, the heat shield and back shell will protect the rover during its passage to Mars. The Mars 2020 rover is being manufactured at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California and, once complete, will be delivered to Kennedy next month. The mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the summer of 2020.

The Mars 2020 rover heat shield is mated to the back shell in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 10, 2020. Built by Lockheed Martin Space, the heat shield and back shell will protect the rover during its passage to Mars. The Mars 2020 rover is being manufactured at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California and, once complete, will be delivered to Kennedy next month. The mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the summer of 2020.

The Mars 2020 rover heat shield is mated to the back shell in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 10, 2020. Built by Lockheed Martin Space, the heat shield and back shell will protect the rover during its passage to Mars. The Mars 2020 rover is being manufactured at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California and, once complete, will be delivered to Kennedy next month. The mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the summer of 2020.

Several employees at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida signed the banner at the base of the platform holding the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) which stands inside the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility. The ICPS is the first integrated piece of flight hardware to arrive in preparation for the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1. With the Orion attached, the ICPS sits atop the SLS rocket and will provide the spacecraft with the additional thrust needed to travel tens of thousands of miles beyond the Moon.

The Mars 2020 rover heat shield is mated to the back shell in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 10, 2020. Built by Lockheed Martin Space, the heat shield and back shell will protect the rover during its passage to Mars. The Mars 2020 rover is being manufactured at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California and, once complete, will be delivered to Kennedy next month. The mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the summer of 2020.

Packed inside its canister, the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) stands inside the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The ICPS is the first integrated piece of flight hardware to arrive in preparation for the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1. With the Orion attached, the ICPS sits atop the SLS rocket and will provide the spacecraft with the additional thrust needed to travel tens of thousands of miles beyond the Moon.

The Mars 2020 rover heat shield is mated to the back shell in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 10, 2020. Built by Lockheed Martin Space, the heat shield and back shell will protect the rover during its passage to Mars. The Mars 2020 rover is being manufactured at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California and, once complete, will be delivered to Kennedy next month. The mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in the summer of 2020.

The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage for Orion’s Artemis 1 mission is in view inside the high bay in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on May 16, 2019. The center is celebrating the SSPF’s 25th anniversary. The facility was built to process elements for the International Space Station. Now it is providing support for current and future NASA and commercial provider programs, including Commercial Resupply Services, Artemis 1, sending the first woman and next man to the Moon, and deep space destinations including Mars.

Final inspection of the crane operation just before the critical lift of the Sierra Space Plane, Dream Chaser. It will go into the chamber at ISP (In Space Propulsion) NASA GRC-ATF. Once lowered into the test chamber, it will be exposed to the harsh cold conditions of space for extended periods of time at building 3211 at ATF (Armstrong Test Facility) for environmental testing.

NASA’s all-electric X-57 Maxwell, in its Mod II configuration, departs Scaled Composites’ facility at Mojave Air and Space Port, en route to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California for delivery. The aircraft, shipped as two parts – the fuselage and the wing – was delivered to NASA Armstrong’s Research Aircraft Integration Facility, where it will be reintegrated to begin ground tests, to be followed by taxi tests, and eventually, flight tests. X-57’s Mod II configuration, the first of three primary modifications for the project, involves testing of the aircraft’s cruise electric propulsion system. The goal of the X-57 project is to share the aircraft’s electric-propulsion-focused design and airworthiness process with regulators, to advance certification approaches for distributed electric propulsion in general aviation.

NASA’s all-electric X-57 Maxwell, in its Mod II configuration, departs Scaled Composites’ facility at Mojave Air and Space Port, en route to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California for delivery. The aircraft, shipped as two parts – the fuselage and the wing – was delivered to NASA Armstrong’s Research Aircraft Integration Facility, where it will be reintegrated to begin ground tests, to be followed by taxi tests, and eventually, flight tests. X-57’s Mod II configuration, the first of three primary modifications for the project, involves testing of the aircraft’s cruise electric propulsion system. The goal of the X-57 project is to share the aircraft’s electric-propulsion-focused design and airworthiness process with regulators, to advance certification approaches for distributed electric propulsion in general aviation.

NASA's all-electric X-57 Maxwell, in its Mod II configuration, departs Scaled Composites' facility at Mojave Air and Space Port, en route to NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California for delivery. The aircraft, shipped as two parts - the fuselage and the wing - was delivered to NASA Armstrong's Research Aircraft Integration Facility, where it will be reintegrated to begin ground tests, to be followed by taxi tests, and eventually, flight tests. X-57's Mod II configuration, the first of three primary modifications for the project, involves testing of the aircraft's cruise electric propulsion system. The goal of the X-57 project is to share the aircraft's electric-propulsion-focused design and airworthiness process with regulators, to advance certification approaches for distributed electric propulsion in general aviation.