S65-54319 (22 Sept. 1965) --- Astronaut Walter M. Schirra Jr., command pilot of the Gemini-6 prime crew, undergoes weight and balance tests in the Pyrotechnic Installation Building, Merritt Island, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Photo credit: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration

S65-56208 (25 Oct. 1965) --- Astronaut Frank Borman, command pilot for the Gemini-7 prime crew, is pictured during weight and balance tests conducted in the Pyrotechnic Installation Building, Merritt Island, Kennedy Space Center. Photo credit: NASA

S66-22933 (18 Feb. 1966) --- Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong undergoes weight and balance tests in the Pyrotechnic Installation Building, Merritt Island, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Photo credit: NASA

NASA Juno spacecraft undergoes weight and balance testing at Astrotech payload processing facility, Titusville, Fla. June 16, 2011.

S63-03974 (1963) --- Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper Jr., prime pilot for the Mercury-Atlas 9 (MA-9) mission, relaxes while waiting for weight and balance tests to begin. Photo credit: NASA

The Saturn I S-IV stage (second stage) assembly for the SA-9 mission underwent the weight and balance test in the hangar building at Cape Canaveral. The S-IV stage had six RL-10 engines which used liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as its propellants arranged in a circle. Each RL-10 engine produced a thrust of 15,000 pounds, a total combined thrust of 90,000 pounds. The SA-9 mission was the first Saturn with operational payload Pegasus I, meteoroid detection satellite, and launched on February 16, 1965.

Engineers and specialists prepare X-57s Mod III wing for testing in the Flight Loads Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Here, the wing began preparation for several tests, including weight and balance measurement, ground vibration testing, and wing loading tests.

S65-56205 (25 Oct. 1965) --- Astronaut Frank Borman, command pilot for the Gemini-7 spaceflight, looks over the Gemini-7 spacecraft during weight and balance tests. The tests are conducted in the Pyrotechnic Installation Building, Merritt Island, Kennedy Space Center, as part of preflight preparation. Photo credit: NASA

Boeing’s Starliner crew module is weighed in the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 14, 2021, in preparation for the company’s second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2), as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.. The Weight and Center of Gravity test measures the weight and balance of the spacecraft to ensure optimal performance during launch and re-entry. The test helps to validate parameters required for launching on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, docking to the International Space Station and for navigation of the vehicle, among others.

Boeing’s Starliner crew module is weighed in the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 14, 2021, in preparation for the company’s second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2), as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.. The Weight and Center of Gravity test measures the weight and balance of the spacecraft to ensure optimal performance during launch and re-entry. The test helps to validate parameters required for launching on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, docking to the International Space Station and for navigation of the vehicle, among others.

Boeing’s Starliner crew module is weighed in the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 14, 2021, in preparation for the company’s second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2), as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.. The Weight and Center of Gravity test measures the weight and balance of the spacecraft to ensure optimal performance during launch and re-entry. The test helps to validate parameters required for launching on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, docking to the International Space Station and for navigation of the vehicle, among others.

S65-57481 (25 Oct. 1965) --- Astronaut James A. Lovell Jr., pilot of the Gemini-7 spaceflight, undergoes weight and balance tests in the Pyrotechnic Installation Building, Merritt Island, Kennedy Space Center. Talking with Lovell are (left to right) Charlie Beaty, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation; Karl Stoien, MAC; NASA suit technician Al Rochferd; and Norm Batterson, Weber Aircraft Corporation. Photo credit: NASA

S65-19585 (21 May 1965) --- Astronaut James A. McDivitt, command pilot for the Gemini-Titan 4 prime crew, participates in a weight and balance test during a wet mock simulation exercise at Cape Kennedy, Florida. The two-man Gemini-4 mission, scheduled no earlier than June 3, 1965, will orbit Earth 62 times in four days. Astronaut Edward H. White II (out of frame) is the GT-4 prime crew pilot.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Crawler Transporter that will move Space Shuttle Discovery to the launch pad for Return to Flight demonstrates its readiness for weight bearing by carrying an unloaded 8,230,000-pound Mobile Launch Platform along the crawlerway. Its first road test on Jan. 21, following the replacement of all its shoes, was a success. Cracks appeared in the crawlers' shoes in recent years, spurring a need for replacement. The new manufacturer, in Duluth, Minn., has improved the design for a safe Return to Flight and use through the balance of the Space Shuttle Program. Each crawler has 456 shoes, 57 per belt (8 belts in all). Each shoe weighs 2,200 pounds.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers accompany the Crawler Transporter that will move Space Shuttle Discovery to the launch pad for Return to Flight as it demonstrates its readiness for weight bearing by carrying an unloaded 8,230,000-pound Mobile Launch Platform along the crawlerway. Its first road test on Jan. 21, following the replacement of all its shoes, was a success. Cracks appeared in the crawlers' shoes in recent years, spurring a need for replacement. The new manufacturer, in Duluth, Minn., has improved the design for a safe Return to Flight and use through the balance of the Space Shuttle Program. Each crawler has 456 shoes, 57 per belt (8 belts in all). Each shoe weighs 2,200 pounds.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the space shuttle mock-up, dubbed Pathfinder, undergoes a lift test in the Vehicle Assembly Building on May 31, 1978. The mock-up, constructed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., possessed the general dimensions, weight and balance of a real space shuttle. It was shipped to Kennedy by barge and then used to fit-check the work platforms of the Mate-Demate Device, orbiter processing facilities and Vehicle Assembly Building, as well as support ground crew training. It also was used to rehearse post-landing procedures at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. After being on display at the 'Great Space Shuttle Exposition' in Tokyo from June 1983 to August 1984, the mock-up returned to Marshall and now is on permanent display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near Huntsville. Photo credit: NASA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - New shoes adorn the Crawler Transporter that will move Space Shuttle Discovery to the launch pad for Return to Flight as it demonstrates its readiness for weight bearing by moving an unloaded 8,230,000-pound Mobile Launch Platform along the crawlerway. Its first road test on Jan. 21, following the replacement of all its shoes, was a success. Cracks appeared in the crawlers' shoes in recent years, spurring a need for replacement. The new manufacturer, in Duluth, Minn., has improved the design for a safe Return to Flight and use through the balance of the Space Shuttle Program. Each crawler has 456 shoes, 57 per belt (8 belts in all). Each shoe weighs 2,200 pounds.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the space shuttle mock-up, dubbed Pathfinder, undergoes a lift test in the Vehicle Assembly Building on May 31, 1978. The mock-up, constructed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., possessed the general dimensions, weight and balance of a real space shuttle. It was shipped to Kennedy by barge and then used to fit-check the work platforms of the Mate-Demate Device, orbiter processing facilities and Vehicle Assembly Building, as well as support ground crew training. It also was used to rehearse post-landing procedures at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. After being on display at the 'Great Space Shuttle Exposition' in Tokyo from June 1983 to August 1984, the mock-up returned to Marshall and now is on permanent display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near Huntsville. Photo credit: NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the space shuttle mock-up, dubbed Pathfinder, performs a lift test in the Vehicle Assembly Building on May 31, 1978. The mock-up, constructed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., possessed the general dimensions, weight and balance of a real space shuttle. It was shipped to Kennedy by barge and then used to fit-check the work platforms of the Mate-Demate Device, orbiter processing facilities and Vehicle Assembly Building, as well as support ground crew training. It also was used to rehearse post-landing procedures at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. After being on display at the 'Great Space Shuttle Exposition' in Tokyo from June 1983 to August 1984, the mock-up returned to Marshall and now is on permanent display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near Huntsville. Photo credit: NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the space shuttle mock-up, dubbed Pathfinder, undergoes a lift test in the Vehicle Assembly Building on May 31, 1978. The mock-up, constructed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., possessed the general dimensions, weight and balance of a real space shuttle. It was shipped to Kennedy by barge and then used to fit-check the work platforms of the Mate-Demate Device, orbiter processing facilities and Vehicle Assembly Building, as well as support ground crew training. It also was used to rehearse post-landing procedures at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. After being on display at the 'Great Space Shuttle Exposition' in Tokyo from June 1983 to August 1984, the mock-up returned to Marshall and now is on permanent display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near Huntsville. Photo credit: NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the space shuttle mock-up, dubbed Pathfinder, undergoes a lift test in the Vehicle Assembly Building on May 31, 1978. The mock-up, constructed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., possessed the general dimensions, weight and balance of a real space shuttle. It was shipped to Kennedy by barge and then used to fit-check the work platforms of the Mate-Demate Device, orbiter processing facilities and Vehicle Assembly Building, as well as support ground crew training. It also was used to rehearse post-landing procedures at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. After being on display at the 'Great Space Shuttle Exposition' in Tokyo from June 1983 to August 1984, the mock-up returned to Marshall and now is on permanent display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near Huntsville. Photo credit: NASA

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians add weights (ejectable ballast mass) to the aeroshell, a component of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), in order to conduct a spin and balance test. The aeroshell consists of the backshell which carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent and landing, and the spacecraft's heat shield. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rover’s spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians add weights (ejectable ballast mass) to the aeroshell, a component of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), in order to conduct a spin and balance test. The aeroshell consists of the backshell which carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent and landing, and the spacecraft's heat shield. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rover’s spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians add weights (ejectable ballast mass) to the aeroshell, a component of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), in order to conduct a spin and balance test. The aeroshell consists of the backshell which carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent and landing, and the spacecraft's heat shield. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rover’s spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- At the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to add weights (ejectable ballast mass) to the aeroshell, a component of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), in order to conduct a spin and balance test. The aeroshell consists of the backshell which carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent and landing, and the spacecraft's heat shield. MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rover’s spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

During preparations for NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) observatory launch on Sept. 6, 2013, the spacecraft went through final preparations and close-outs, which included checking alignment after its cross-country shipment, checking the propulsion system for leaks, inspecting and repairing solar panels, and final electrical tests. After these activities were completed, more challenging portions of the launch preparations began: spin testing and fueling. To make sure that the spacecraft is perfectly balanced for flight, engineers mounted it onto a spin table and rotate it at high speeds, approximately one revolution per second. The team measured any offsets during the spinning, and then added small weights to the spacecraft to balance it. Once the spacecraft was balanced dry, the team loaded the propulsion tanks with fuel, oxidizer, and pressurant. The spin testing was performed again &quot;wet,&quot; or with fuel, in order to see if the balance changed with the full fuel tanks. Engineers from NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., have now successfully completed launch preparation activities for LADEE, which has been encapsulated into the nose-cone of the Minotaur V rocket at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. LADEE is ready to launch when the window opens on Friday. Image Credit: NASA ----- What is LADEE? The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is designed to study the Moon's thin exosphere and the lunar dust environment. An &quot;exosphere&quot; is an atmosphere that is so thin and tenuous that molecules don't collide with each other. Studying the Moon's exosphere will help scientists understand other planetary bodies with exospheres too, like Mercury and some of Jupiter's bigger moons. The orbiter will determine the density, composition and temporal and spatial variability of the Moon's exosphere to help us understand where the species in the exosphere come from and the role of the solar wind, lunar surface and interior, and meteoric infall as sources. The mission will also examine the density and temporal and spatial variability of dust particles that may get lofted into the atmosphere. The mission also will test several new technologies, including a modular spacecraft bus that may reduce the cost of future deep space missions and demonstrate two-way high rate laser communication for the first time from the Moon. LADEE now is ready to launch when the window opens on Sept. 6, 2013. Read more: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/ladee" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/ladee</a> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>