The new Aerospace Communications Facility allows researchers to develop various types of communication, including RF, cellular, optical, and quantum to support the agency’s Artemis and Advanced Air Mobility Missions.

NASA’s Glenn Research Center opened the doors to a brand-new mission-focused facility that will support the agency’s Artemis and Advanced Air Mobility missions. On Aug. 30, NASA management and local officials cut the ribbon to the Aerospace Communications Facility (ACF), a new building designed for advanced radio frequency (RF) and optical communication technology research and development. Photo Credit: (NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna)

Aerospace Communications Facility, ACF Groundbreaking Ceremony

Aerospace Communications Facility, ACF Groundbreaking Ceremony

Aerospace Communications Facility, ACF Groundbreaking Ceremony

Aerospace Communications Facility, ACF Groundbreaking Ceremony

Aerospace Communications Facility, ACF Groundbreaking Ceremony

Aerospace Communications Facility, ACF Groundbreaking Ceremony

Aerospace Communications Facility, ACF Groundbreaking Ceremony

NASA Glenn Research Center Director and Senior Management at the Aerospace Communications Facility, ACF Groundbreaking Ceremony

Technicians secure the Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) inside a transport truck at the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. The payload will be moved to the SpaceX facility where it will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is being moved out of the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. The payload will be moved to the SpaceX facility where it will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is being moved out of the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. The payload will be moved to the SpaceX facility where it will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. It is being prepared for its move to the SpaceX facility where it will be will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. It is being prepared for its move to the SpaceX facility where it will be will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is moved to a transport truck at the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. The payload will be moved to the SpaceX facility where it will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is secured inside a truck at the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. The payload will be moved to the SpaceX facility where it will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. It is being prepared for its move to the SpaceX facility where it will be will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is being loaded into a transport truck at the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. The payload will be moved to the SpaceX facility where it will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is inside the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. It is being prepared for its move to the SpaceX facility where it will be will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is being prepared for its move from the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. The payload will be moved to the SpaceX facility where it will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

The Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) payload is moved out of the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 19, 2019. The payload will be moved to the SpaceX facility where it will be stowed in the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft for delivery to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

Mission control Blue Room, seen here, in building 4800 at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, is part of the Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR). All aspects of a research mission are monitored from one of two of these control rooms at Dryden. The WATR consists of a highly automated complex of computer controlled tracking, telemetry, and communications systems and control room complexes that are capable of supporting any type of mission ranging from system and component testing, to sub-scale and full-scale flight tests of new aircraft and reentry systems. Designated areas are assigned for spin/dive tests, corridors are provided for low, medium, and high-altitude supersonic flight, and special STOL/VSTOL facilities are available at Ames Moffett and Crows Landing. Special use airspace, available at Edwards, covers approximately twelve thousand square miles of mostly desert area. The southern boundary lies to the south of Rogers Dry Lake, the western boundary lies midway between Mojave and Bakersfield, the northern boundary passes just south of Bishop, and the eastern boundary follows about 25 miles west of the Nevada border except in the northern areas where it crosses into Nevada.

California's NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center photographer Carla Thomas takes photos on January 31 of the rare opportunity to capture a supermoon, a blue moon and a lunar eclipse at the same time. A supermoon occurs when the Moon is closer to Earth in its orbit and appearing 14 percent brighter than usual. As the second full moon of the month, this moon is also commonly known as a blue moon, though it will not be blue in appearance. The super blue moon passed through Earth's shadow and took on a reddish tint, known as a blood moon. This total lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and a full moon form a near-perfect lineup in space. The Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra (shadow).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner (left) checks out a camera and cables to be used in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities - the Pressurized Module and the Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. Equipment familiarization is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner (center, foreground) works with technicians to learn more about the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), known as Kibo. The JEM consists of six components: two research facilities - the Pressurized Module and the Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. Equipment familiarization is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner (second from right) checks out a camera and cables for the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) in the Space Station Processing Facility. Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities - the Pressurized Module and the Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. Equipment familiarization is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner checks out a camera for the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) in the Space Station Processing Facility. Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities -- the Pressurized Module and the Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. Equipment familiarization is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner takes a closer look at the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities - the Pressurized Module and the Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. Equipment familiarization is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner (right) checks out a camera and cables for the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities - the Pressurized Module and the Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. Equipment familiarization is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations.

California’s NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s photographer Carla Thomas takes photos on January 31 of the rare opportunity to capture a supermoon, a blue moon and a lunar eclipse at the same time. A supermoon occurs when the Moon is closer to Earth in its orbit and appearing 14 percent brighter than usual. As the second full moon of the month, this moon is also commonly known as a blue moon, though it will not be blue in appearance. The super blue moon passed through Earth’s shadow and took on a reddish tint, known as a blood moon. This total lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and a full moon form a near-perfect lineup in space. The Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra (shadow).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - During their tour of KSC, members of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly visit the Convoy Command Center, the prime vehicle to control critical communications between the orbiter, the crew and the Launch Control Center after a Shuttle landing, to monitor the health of the Shuttle Orbiter systems and to direct convoy operations at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The Parliamentarians are meeting in Orlando this year for their 49th annual gathering. They chose to visit KSC with their families during their one-day excursion break from meetings.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Florida Commission on the Status of Women held June 7 at the Debus Conference Facility, astronaut Pamela Melroy speaks to attendees. Melroy has served as pilot on two Shuttle flights (STS-92 in 2000 and STS-112 in 2002), and has logged more than 562 hours in space. The commission, through coordinating, researching, communicating, and encouraging legislation, is dedicated to empowering women from all walks of life in achieving their fullest potential, to eliminating barriers to that achievement, and to recognizing women’s accomplishments.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - KSC External Relations and Business Development Director JoAnn Morgan speaks to attendees of The Florida Commission on the Status of Women held June 7 at the Debus Conference Facility. Morgan is a member of the group’s Hall of Fame. The commission, through coordinating, researching, communicating, and encouraging legislation, is dedicated to empowering women from all walks of life in achieving their fullest potential, to eliminating barriers to that achievement, and to recognizing women’s accomplishments.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata (top left) and technicians watch as a tray is extended from inside the Pressurized Module, or PM, part of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). The PM provides a shirt-sleeve environment in which astronauts on the International Space Station can conduct microgravity experiments. There are a total of 23 racks, including 10 experiment racks, inside the PM providing a power supply, communications, air conditioning, hardware cooling, water control and experiment support functions.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata looks over the Pressurized Module, or PM, part of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). The PM provides a shirt-sleeve environment in which astronauts on the International Space Station can conduct microgravity experiments. There are a total of 23 racks, including 10 experiment racks, inside the PM providing a power supply, communications, air conditioning, hardware cooling, water control and experiment support functions.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - KSC External Relations and Business Development Director JoAnn Morgan (sixth from right) joins other attendees of The Florida Commission on the Status of Women held June 7 at the Debus Conference Facility. Morgan is a member of the group’s Hall of Fame. The commission, through coordinating, researching, communicating, and encouraging legislation, is dedicated to empowering women from all walks of life in achieving their fullest potential, to eliminating barriers to that achievement, and to recognizing women’s accomplishments.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - KSC External Relations and Business Development Director JoAnn Morgan speaks to attendees of The Florida Commission on the Status of Women held June 7 at the Debus Conference Facility. Morgan is a member of the group’s Hall of Fame. The commission, through coordinating, researching, communicating, and encouraging legislation, is dedicated to empowering women from all walks of life in achieving their fullest potential, to eliminating barriers to that achievement, and to recognizing women’s accomplishments.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, technicians on the floor watch as a tray is extended from inside the Pressurized Module, or PM, part of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). The PM provides a shirt-sleeve environment in which astronauts on the International Space Station can conduct microgravity experiments. There are a total of 23 racks, including 10 experiment racks, inside the PM providing a power supply, communications, air conditioning, hardware cooling, water control and experiment support functions.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Florida Commission on the Status of Women held June 7 at the Debus Conference Facility, astronaut Pamela Melroy speaks to attendees. Melroy has served as pilot on two Shuttle flights (STS-92 in 2000 and STS-112 in 2002), and has logged more than 562 hours in space. The commission, through coordinating, researching, communicating, and encouraging legislation, is dedicated to empowering women from all walks of life in achieving their fullest potential, to eliminating barriers to that achievement, and to recognizing women’s accomplishments.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-120 Mission Specialist Michael Foreman looks over the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Pressurized Module. Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities -- the Pressurized Module and Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. The STS-120 mission will deliver the second of three Station connecting modules, Node 2, which attaches to the end of U.S. Lab. It will provide attach locations for the Japanese laboratory, European laboratory, the Centrifuge Accommodation Module and later Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules. The addition of Node 2 will complete the U.S. core of the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-120 Mission Specialist Piers Sellers looks over the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Pressurized Module. Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities -- the Pressurized Module and Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. The STS-120 mission will deliver the second of three Station connecting modules, Node 2, which attaches to the end of U.S. Lab. It will provide attach locations for the Japanese laboratory, European laboratory, the Centrifuge Accommodation Module and later Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules. The addition of Node 2 will complete the U.S. core of the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner (second from left, foreground) works with technicians to learn more about the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), known as Kibo. The JEM consists of six components: two research facilities - the Pressurized Module and the Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. Equipment familiarization is a routine part of astronaut training and launch preparations.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-120 Mission Specialists Piers Sellers and Michael Foreman look at the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Pressurized Module located in the Space Station Processing Facility. Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities -- the Pressurized Module and Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. The STS-120 mission will deliver the second of three Station connecting modules, Node 2, which attaches to the end of U.S. Lab. It will provide attach locations for the JEM, European laboratory, the Centrifuge Accommodation Module and later Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules. The addition of Node 2 will complete the U.S. core of the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technicians test the deployment of an antenna from the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technicians begin to deploy an antenna from the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technicians test the deployment of an antenna and boom from the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technicians deploy an antenna from the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technicians test the deployment of an antenna from the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technicians test the deployment of an antenna and boom from the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technicians begin to deploy an antenna from the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technicians test the deployment of an antenna and boom from the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

In this infrared photograph, the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood, California, beams its eight-laser beacon (at a total power of 1.4 kilowatts) to the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) flight laser transceiver aboard NASA's Psyche spacecraft. The photo was taken on June 2, 2025, when Psyche was about 143 million miles (230 million kilometers) from Earth. The faint purple crescent just left of center and near the laser beam is a lens flare caused by a bright light (out of frame) reflecting inside the camera lens. As the experiment's ground laser transmitter, OCTL transmits at an infrared wavelength of 1,064 nanometers from its 3.3-foot-aperture (1-meter) telescope. The telescope can also receive faint infrared photons (at a wavelength of 1,550 nanometers) from the 4-watt flight laser transceiver on Psyche. Neither infrared wavelength is easily absorbed or scattered by Earth's atmosphere, making both ideal for deep space optical communications. To receive the most distant signals from Psyche, the project enlisted the powerful 200-inch-aperture (5-meter) Hale Telescope at Caltech's Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, as its primary downlink station, which provided adequate light-collecting area to capture the faintest photons. Those photons were then directed to a cryogenically cooled superconducting high-efficiency detector array at the observatory where the information encoded in the photons could be processed. Managed by JPL, DSOC was designed to demonstrate that data encoded in laser photons could be reliably transmitted, received, and then decoded after traveling millions of miles from Earth out to Mars distances. Nearly two years after launching aboard the agency's Psyche mission in 2023, the demonstration completed its 65th and final "pass" on Sept. 2, 2025, sending a laser signal to Psyche and receiving the return signal from 218 million miles (350 million kilometers) away. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26661

This infrared photograph shows the uplink laser beacon for NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment beaming into the night sky from the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood, California. Attached to the agency's Psyche spacecraft, the DSOC flight laser transceiver can receive and send data from Earth in encoded photons. As the experiment's ground laser transmitter, OCTL transmits at an infrared wavelength of 1,064 nanometers from its 3.3-foot-aperture (1-meter) telescope. The telescope can also receive faint infrared photons (at a wavelength of 1,550 nanometers) from the 4-watt flight laser transceiver on Psyche. Neither infrared wavelength is easily absorbed or scattered by Earth's atmosphere, making both ideal for deep space optical communications. To receive the most distant signals from Psyche, the project enlisted the powerful 200-inch-aperture (5-meter) Hale Telescope at Caltech's Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, as its primary downlink station, which provided adequate light-collecting area to capture the faintest photons. Those photons were then directed to a cryogenically cooled superconducting high-efficiency detector array at the observatory where the information encoded in the photons could be processed. Managed by JPL, DSOC was designed to demonstrate that data encoded in laser photons could be reliably transmitted, received, and then decoded after traveling millions of miles from Earth out to Mars distances. Nearly two years after launching aboard the agency's Psyche mission in 2023, the demonstration completed its 65th and final "pass" on Sept. 2, 2025, sending a laser signal to Psyche and receiving the return signal from 218 million miles (350 million kilometers) away. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26662

JSC2000-05552 (3 August 2000) --- Astronaut James M. Kelly, STS-102 pilot, snaps on his communications head gear prior to a session of egress training in the Johnson Space Center's Systems Integration Facility.

In the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit facility at the Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex, center director Bob Cabana, in the center background, speaks to guests as he updates community leaders on current and future activities at the space center.

ISS018-E-034090 (20 Feb. 2009) --- Astronaut Sandra Magnus, Expedition 18 flight engineer, uses a communication system near the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station.

S74-20807 (23 April 1974) --- Cosmonaut Aleksey A. Leonov (foreground) is briefed on the Apollo communications test system console in the Building 440 laboratory during the joint U.S.-USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project training activity at the Johnson Space Center. Leonov is the commander of the Soviet ASTP crew. Leonov is being briefed by astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, commander of the American ASTP crew.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The TDRS-J spacecraft, enclosed in a container, arrives at the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2) for processing. The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System is the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. It also provides communications with the International Space Station and scientific spacecraft in low-earth orbit such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and launch support for some expendable vehicles. This new advanced series of satellites will extend the availability of TDRS communications services until approximately 2017.

NASA’s X-59 undergoes a structural stress test at Lockheed Martin’s facility at Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making a startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land.

NASA’s X-59 undergoes a structural stress test at Lockheed Martin’s facility at Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making a startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land.

NASA’s X-59 undergoes a structural stress test at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59’s nose makes up one third of the aircraft, at 38-feet in length. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making a startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land

NASA’s X-59 undergoes a structural stress test at a Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59’s nose makes up one third of the aircraft, at 38-feet in length. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making aa startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land

NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) and Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6) are in view installed in the truck of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft inside the SpaceX facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 23, 2019. OCO-3 and STP-H6 will be delivered to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) for NASA. STP-H6 is an x-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated x-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. OCO-3 will be robotically installed on the exterior of the space station’s Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility Unit, where it will measure and map carbon dioxide from space to provide further understanding of the relationship between carbon and climate. CRS-17 is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in late April.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- -- At KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-I (TDRS-I) is transported from the Shuttle Landing Facility to the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2). The second in a new series of telemetry satellites, TDRS-I replenishes the existing on-orbit fleet of six spacecraft. The TDRS System is the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. It also provides communications with the International Space Station and scientific spacecraft in low-Earth orbit such as the Hubble Space Telescope. This new advanced series of satellites will extend the availability of TDRS communications services until about 2017. In the SAEF-2 TDRS-I will undergo processing to prepare it for launch March 8 aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIA rocket from Pad 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-127 crew members get a look at the extended antenna in the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF, across from them. Standing next to a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technician at left are Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy and Dave Wolf and Commander Mark Polansky (pointing). Equipment familiarization is part of a Crew Equipment Interface Test. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-127 crew members watch as Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technicians maneuver the antenna in the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. Standing at right are Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tim Kopra and Tom Marshburn. Equipment familiarization is part of a Crew Equipment Interface Test. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-127 crew members get a look at the antenna in the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. Standing next to a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technician at left are Mission Specialists Dave Wolf and Christopher Cassidy and Commander Mark Polansky. Equipment familiarization is part of a Crew Equipment Interface Test. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-127 crew members get a look at the extended antenna (upper left) in the Inter Orbit Communication System Extended Facility, or ICS-EF. Standing next to a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, technician (at center) are (from left) Mission Specialists Dave Wolf and Christopher Cassidy and Commander Mark Polansky. Equipment familiarization is part of a Crew Equipment Interface Test. The antenna and a pointing mechanism will be used to communicate with JAXA’s Data Relay Test Satellite, or DRTS. The ICS-EF will be launched, along with the Extended Facility and Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission targeted for launch on May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Dignitaries, invited guests, space center employees, and the media gather for a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Space Life Sciences Lab hosted by NASA-Kennedy Space Center and the state of Florida at the new lab. Completed in August, the facility encompasses more than 100,000 square feet and was formerly known as the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory or SERPL. The state, through the Florida Space Authority, built the research lab which is host to NASA, NASA’s Life Sciences Services contractor Dynamac Corp., Bionetics Corp., and researchers from the University of Florida. Dynamac Corp. leases the facility. The Florida Space Research Institute is responsible for gaining additional tenants from outside the NASA community.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Capt. Winston Scott, executive director of the Florida Space Authority, speaks at a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Space Life Sciences Lab hosted by NASA-Kennedy Space Center and the state of Florida at the new lab. Completed in August, the facility encompasses more than 100,000 square feet and was formerly known as the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory or SERPL. The state, through the Florida Space Authority, built the research lab which is host to NASA, NASA’s Life Sciences Services contractor Dynamac Corp., Bionetics Corp., and researchers from the University of Florida. Dynamac Corp. leases the facility. The Florida Space Research Institute is responsible for gaining additional tenants from outside the NASA community.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Dignitaries, invited guests, space center employees, and the media show their appreciation for the speakers at a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Space Life Sciences Lab hosted by NASA-Kennedy Space Center and the state of Florida at the new lab. Completed in August, the facility encompasses more than 100,000 square feet and was formerly known as the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory or SERPL. The state, through the Florida Space Authority, built the research lab which is host to NASA, NASA’s Life Sciences Services contractor Dynamac Corp., Bionetics Corp., and researchers from the University of Florida. Dynamac Corp. leases the facility. The Florida Space Research Institute is responsible for gaining additional tenants from outside the NASA community.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Dignitaries, invited guests, space center employees, and the media gather for a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Space Life Sciences Lab hosted by NASA-Kennedy Space Center and the state of Florida at the new lab. Completed in August, the facility encompasses more than 100,000 square feet and was formerly known as the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory or SERPL. The state, through the Florida Space Authority, built the research lab which is host to NASA, NASA’s Life Sciences Services contractor Dynamac Corp., Bionetics Corp., and researchers from the University of Florida. Dynamac Corp. leases the facility. The Florida Space Research Institute is responsible for gaining additional tenants from outside the NASA community.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Frank T. Brogan, president of the Florida Atlantic University, speaks at a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Space Life Sciences Lab hosted by NASA-Kennedy Space Center and the state of Florida at the new lab. Completed in August, the facility encompasses more than 100,000 square feet and was formerly known as the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory or SERPL. The state, through the Florida Space Authority, built the research lab which is host to NASA, NASA’s Life Sciences Services contractor Dynamac Corp., Bionetics Corp., and researchers from the University of Florida. Dynamac Corp. leases the facility. The Florida Space Research Institute is responsible for gaining additional tenants from outside the NASA community.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, a worker checks out part of the equipment in the airlock, at one end of Discovery’s payload bay. The airlock is sized to accommodate two fully suited flight crew members simultaneously. Support functions include airlock depressurization and repressurization, extravehicular activity equipment recharge, liquid-cooled garment water cooling, EVA equipment checkout, donning and communications. The outer hatch isolates the airlock from the unpressurized payload bay when closed and permits the EVA crew members to exit from the airlock to the payload bay when open.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, an overhead crane moves NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft toward a work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft is secure after transfer to the work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, an overhead crane lowers NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft onto a work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the high bay clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities near KSC, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft is revealed. Employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Orbiter Processing Facility, a cameraman films part of Discovery’s payload bay for a special feature on the KSC Web. In the background is the open hatch of the airlock, located inside the middeck of the spacecraft’s pressurized crew cabin. The airlock is sized to accommodate two fully suited flight crew members simultaneously. Support functions include airlock depressurization and repressurization, extravehicular activity equipment recharge, liquid-cooled garment water cooling, EVA equipment checkout, donning and communications. The outer hatch isolates the airlock from the unpressurized payload bay when closed and permits the EVA crew members to exit from the airlock to the payload bay when open.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A worker in the Orbiter Processing Facility checks the open hatch of the airlock in Discovery’s payload bay. The airlock is normally located inside the middeck of the spacecraft’s pressurized crew cabin. The airlock is sized to accommodate two fully suited flight crew members simultaneously. Support functions include airlock depressurization and repressurization, extravehicular activity equipment recharge, liquid-cooled garment water cooling, EVA equipment checkout, donning and communications. The outer hatch isolates the airlock from the unpressurized payload bay when closed and permits the EVA crew members to exit from the airlock to the payload bay when open.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the high bay clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities near KSC, workers remove the protective cover from NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft. Employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, workers check the placement of NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft on a work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Astronaut Pamela Melroy (fourth from right in front) joins other attendees at the Florida Commission on the Status of Women held June 7 at the Debus Conference Facility. Melroy was a speaker. Her accomplishments include serving as pilot on two Shuttle flights (STS-92 in 2000 and STS-112 in 2002), and logging more than 562 hours in space. The commission, through coordinating, researching, communicating, and encouraging legislation, is dedicated to empowering women from all walks of life in achieving their fullest potential, to eliminating barriers to that achievement, and to recognizing women’s accomplishments.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the high bay clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities near KSC, workers remove the protective cover from NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft. Employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the high bay clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities near KSC, workers prepare NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft for transfer to a work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, dressed in blue protective clothing (at right), looks at the inside of the Pressurized Module, or PM, part of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), along with technicians. The PM provides a shirt-sleeve environment in which astronauts on the International Space Station can conduct microgravity experiments. There are a total of 23 racks, including 10 experiment racks, inside the PM providing a power supply, communications, air conditioning, hardware cooling, water control and experiment support functions.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, an overhead crane lowers NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft onto a work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft is lifted off the pallet for transfer to a work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities near KSC, workers move NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft into a high bay clean room. Employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata (left) releases a tray extended from inside the Pressurized Module, or PM, that he was working with. Part of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), the PM provides a shirt-sleeve environment in which astronauts on the International Space Station can conduct microgravity experiments. There are a total of 23 racks, including 10 experiment racks, inside the PM providing a power supply, communications, air conditioning, hardware cooling, water control and experiment support functions. The JEM/PM is in the Space Station Processing Facility.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft is lifted off the pallet for transfer to a work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, workers check the placement of NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft on a work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will perform an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch can begin, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER - short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging - will be launched May 11 on a six-year mission aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 2:26 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-115 Mission Specialists Joseph Tanner (left) and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (right) look over the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Pressurized Module located in the Space Station Processing Facility. Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities -- the Pressurized Module and Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. The STS-115 mission will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 Truss, to attach to the first port truss segment, the P1 Truss, as well as deploy solar array sets 2A and 4A.. The crew is scheduled to activate and check out the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) and deploy the P4 Truss radiator.

JSC2000-02219 (March 2000) --- Astronaut Richard A. Mastracchio, mission specialist, fastens his communications carrier assembly (CCA), part of the launch and entry suit (LES), during a training session at the Johnson Space Center's Systems Integration Facility.

In the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit facility at the Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex, a guest is briefed on work taking place in the Florida spaceport's Commercial Crew Program. This followed a presentation by center director Bob Cabana who updated community leaders on current and future activities at the space center.

In the Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit facility at the Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex, guests get a close-up look at a plant growth experiment similar to one aboard the International Space Station. This followed a presentation by center director Bob Cabana who updated community leaders on current and future activities at the space center.

Technicians inspect the twin GRACE Follow-On satellites and their multi-satellite dispenser at the SpaceX facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The satellites were subsequently stacked atop another satellite dispenser containing the five Iridium NEXT communications satellites they will share a ride to orbit with. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22452

JSC2000-02225 (March 2000) --- Astronaut Daniel C. Burbank, mission specialist, fastens the communications carrier assembly (CCA) on his launch and entry suit (LES). Burbank was about to join his six STS-106 crewmates for a simulation exercise in the Systems Integration Facility at the Johnson Space Center (JSC).

iss055e006395 (March 29, 2018) --- The Kibo laboratory module from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (comprised of a pressurized module and exposed facility, a logistics module, a remote manipulator system and an inter-orbit communication system unit) was pictured as the International Space Station orbited over the southern Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand.