NASA’s 2017 astronaut candidates (L to R) Raja Chari, Bob Hines, Joshua Kutryk, Jasmin Moghbeli, Jonny Kim, and Jessica Watkins toured aircraft hangar at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California. On the left, NASA’s, X-59 pilot, briefs them on use of F-15 for studying sonic booms during the development of the low-boom X-59 aircraft that is planned to fly supersonically over land. Low-level supersonic flight is not allowed at this time because of the loud noise levels generated when flying beyond the speed of sound.
STS058-107-083 (18 Oct.-1 Nov. 1993) --- A near-nadir view of the mouth of the Amazon River, that shows all signs of being a relatively healthy system, breathing and exhaling. The well-developed cumulus field over the forested areas on both the north and south sides of the river (the view is slightly to the west) shows that good evapotranspiration is underway. The change in the cloud field from the moisture influx from the Atlantic (the cloud fields over the ocean are parallel to the wind direction) to perpendicular cloud fields over the land surface are normal. This change in direction is caused by the increased surface roughness over the land area. The plume of the river, although turbid, is no more or less turbid than it has been reported since the Portuguese first rounded Brasil's coast at the end of the 15th Century.
This rendering was created by research drones flying over Mars Hill, a region of Death Valley National Park that has been used by NASA’s Mars researchers since the 1970s, when the agency was preparing to land the twin Viking spacecraft. The hill’s rubbly, volcanic rock resembles the kind of inhospitable terrain that Mars rovers must navigate around and which posed a landing hazard for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. In September 2025, researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California flew research drones over Mars Hill as part of a test campaign to develop navigation software for future Mars rotorcraft. Being able to precisely land between rocks like those seen here is a critical capability to access similar Martian terrain in the future.
NASA’s 2017 astronaut candidates (L to R) Jessica Watkins, Zena Cardman, Kayla Barron toured aircraft hangar at Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Southern California where they were briefed on the use of Armstrong's F-15 and F-18 aircraft for studying sonic booms. The aircraft will be used during the development of the low-boom X-59 aircraft that is planned to fly supersonically over land, which is not allowed at this time because of the loud noise created when flying beyond the speed of sound.
Rescue team members remove the stabilization collar from the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, in the water at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 16, 2019. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting a search and rescue training exercise using the Starliner trainer over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean simulating a rescue in the unlikely event of an emergency. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The new Convoy Command Vehicle is displayed before a commissioning ceremony to hand it over to Center Director Roy Bridges Jr. The ceremony was to be held at the Landing Operations Facility. The new 40-foot vehicle is replacing a 15-year old model, and will be used following Shuttle landings as the prime vehicle to control critical communications between the orbiter, the crew and the Launch Control Center, to monitor the health of the Shuttle Orbiter systems and to direct convoy operations at the Shuttle Landing Facility. Upgrades and high-tech features incorporated into the design and development of this vehicle make it more reliable and efficient for the convoy crew. Seating capacity was increased from 4 to 12, and video recorders and television monitors were added to provide the convoy team with the maximum amount of visual information
Rescue team members stand on the stabilization collar attached to the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, to perform checks during a search and rescue training exercise April 16, 2019. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting the exercise over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean simulating a rescue in the unlikely event of an emergency. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, is lowered into the water at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 16, 2019. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting a search and rescue training exercise over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean simulating a rescue in the unlikely event of an emergency. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Rescue team members perform checks of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, during a search and rescue exercise on April 16, 2019. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting a search and rescue training exercise over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean simulating a rescue in the unlikely event of an emergency. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Rescue team members in an inflatable boat approach the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 16, 2019. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting a search and rescue training exercise over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean simulating a rescue in the unlikely event of an emergency. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility, the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is lifted so it can be placed on a transporter. The satellite is being transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed over the next two months by Boeing Satellite Systems. Called GOES-N, the satellite is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2). Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an agency helicopter flies over the Vehicle Assembly Building prior to landing for a training exercise. The activity taking place in Kennedy's Launch Complex 39 turn-basin parking lot was only one of several drills. It was part of a new training program that was developed by Kennedy's Fire Rescue department along with NASA Aircraft Operations to sharpen the skills needed to help rescue personnel learn how to collaborate with helicopter pilots in taking injured patients to hospitals as quickly as possible. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
The Pathfinder solar-powered research aircraft settles in for landing on the bed of Rogers Dry Lake at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, after a successful test flight Nov. 19, 1996. The ultra-light craft flew a racetrack pattern at low altitudes over the flight test area for two hours while project engineers checked out various systems and sensors on the uninhabited aircraft. The Pathfinder was controlled by two pilots, one in a mobile control unit which followed the craft, the other in a stationary control station. Pathfinder, developed by AeroVironment, Inc., is one of several designs being evaluated under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility, the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is secured on a transporter. The satellite is being transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed over the next two months by Boeing Satellite Systems. Called GOES-N, the satellite is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2). Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an agency helicopter flies over the Vehicle Assembly Building prior to landing for a training exercise. The activity taking place in Kennedy's Launch Complex 39 turn-basin parking lot was only one of several drills. It was part of a new training program that was developed by Kennedy's Fire Rescue department along with NASA Aircraft Operations to sharpen the skills needed to help rescue personnel learn how to collaborate with helicopter pilots in taking injured patients to hospitals as quickly as possible. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A C17 military cargo aircraft at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility delivers the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Called GOES-N, the satellite is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2). Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. After arriving, the satellite was transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed over the next two months by Boeing Satellite Systems.
The second free-flight test of an evolving series of X-38 prototypes took place July 10, 2001 when the X-38 was released from NASA's B-52 mothership over the Edwards Air Force Base range in California's Mojave Desert. Shortly after the photo was taken, a sequenced deployment of a drogue parachute followed by a large parafoil fabric wing slowed the X-38 to enable it to land safely on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards. NASA engineers from the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, and the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, are developing a "lifeboat" for the International Space Station based on X-38 research.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is backed into a facility at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla. There it will undergo final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed over the next two months by Boeing Satellite Systems. The satellite arrived earlier at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility aboard a C17 military cargo aircraft. Called GOES-N, the satellite is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2). Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is backed into a facility at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla. There it will undergo final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed over the next two months by Boeing Satellite Systems. The satellite arrived earlier at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility aboard a C17 military cargo aircraft. Called GOES-N, the satellite is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2). Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite.
At the press site, thousands of news reporters from the world over watched, taking many pictures, as the Saturn V launch vehicle (AS-506) lifted off to start Apollo 11 on its historic mission to land on the Moon. The total number of news people officially registered to cover the launch was 3,497. The craft lifted off from launch pad 39 at Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC) on July 16, 1969. A three man crew included astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module(CM) pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot. The mission finalized with splashdown into the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished. The Saturn V was developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) under the direction of Werher von Braun.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians and engineers monitor the progress as the Project Morpheus prototype lander is lifted by crane for positioning on a launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The prototype lander is being prepared for its fourth free flight test at Kennedy. Morpheus will launch from the ground over a flame trench and then descend and land on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/exploration/morpheus. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Project Morpheus prototype lander is being lifted by crane for positioning on a launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The prototype lander is being prepared for its fourth free flight test at Kennedy. Morpheus will launch from the ground over a flame trench and then descend and land on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/exploration/morpheus. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians monitor the progress as a crane lowers the Project Morpheus prototype for positioning on a launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The prototype lander is being prepared for its fourth free flight test at Kennedy. Morpheus will launch from the ground over a flame trench and then descend and land on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/exploration/morpheus. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians monitor the progress as the Project Morpheus prototype lander is lifted by crane for positioning on a launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The prototype lander is being prepared for its fourth free flight test at Kennedy. Morpheus will launch from the ground over a flame trench and then descend and land on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/exploration/morpheus. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Project Morpheus prototype lander is transported to a launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The prototype lander is being prepared for its fourth free flight test at Kennedy. Morpheus will launch from the ground over a flame trench and then descend and land on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/exploration/morpheus. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Project Morpheus prototype lander is transported to a launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The prototype lander is being prepared for its fourth free flight test at Kennedy. Morpheus will launch from the ground over a flame trench and then descend and land on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/exploration/morpheus. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
Rescue team members prepare an inflatable front porch that will be attached to the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, during a search and rescue training exercise at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 16, 2019. The front porch will be used to extract astronauts from the capsule and conduct initial health assessments in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting the exercise over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
The augmentor wing concept was introduced during the early 1960s to enhance the performance of vertical and short takeoff (VSTOL) aircraft. The leading edge of the wing has full-span vertical flaps, and the trailing edge has double-slotted flaps. This provides aircraft with more control in takeoff and landing conditions. The augmentor wing also produced lower noise levels than other VSTOL designs. In the early 1970s Boeing Corporation built a Buffalo C-8A augmentor wing research aircraft for Ames Research Center. Researches at Lewis Research Center concentrated their efforts on reducing the noise levels of the wing. They initially used small-scale models to develop optimal nozzle screening methods. They then examined the nozzle designs on a large-scale model, seen here on an external test stand. This test stand included an airflow system, nozzle, the augmentor wing, and a muffler system below to reduce the atmospheric noise levels. The augmentor was lined with noise-reducing acoustic panels. The Lewis researchers were able to adjust the airflow to simulate conditions at takeoff and landing. Once the conditions were stabilized they took noise measurements from microphones placed in all directions from the wing, including an aircraft flying over. They found that the results coincided with the earlier small-scale studies for landing situations but not takeoffs. The acoustic panels were found to be successful.
ISS005-E-9984 (17 August 2002) --- This digital still photograph, taken from the International Space Station (ISS) during its fifth staffing, depicts both agriculture and the petroleum industry, which compete for land use near Denver City, Texas. The photo was recently released by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. The area is southwest of Lubbock near the New Mexico border. According to analysts studying the station imagery, the economy of this region is almost completely dependent on its underground resources of petroleum and water. Both resources result in distinctive land use patterns visible from space. Historically this area has produced vast quantities of oil and gas since development began in the 1930s. A fine, light-colored grid of roads and pipelines connect well sites over this portion of the Wasson Oil Field, one of the state’s most productive. Since the 1940s, agricultural land use has shifted from grazing to irrigated cultivation of cotton, sorghum, wheat, hay, and corn. The water supply is drawn from wells tapping the vast Ogallala Aquifer. Note the large, circular center-pivot irrigation systems in the lower corners of the image. The largest is nearly a mile in diameter.
This is a view of a roadway near the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), shortly before dawn, where spectators from all over the world jammed into KSC to watch the liftoff of Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission. Apollo 11 launched from KSC via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot; and Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot. The CM, “Columbia”, piloted by Collins, remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, “Eagle’’, carrying astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin, landed on the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong was the first human to ever stand on the lunar surface, followed by Aldrin. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) travels past the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC. The satellite is being transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed over the next two months by Boeing Satellite Systems. The satellite arrived earlier at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility aboard a C17 military cargo aircraft. Called GOES-N, the satellite is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2). Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility, the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is backed away from the C17 military cargo aircraft that delivered it. Called GOES-N, the satellite is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2). Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. After arriving, the satellite was transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed over the next two months by Boeing Satellite Systems.
SpaceX performed its fourteenth overall parachute test supporting Crew Dragon development. This most recent exercise was the first of several planned parachute system qualification tests ahead of the spacecraft’s first crewed flight and resulted in the successful touchdown of Crew Dragon’s parachute system. During this test, a C-130 aircraft transported the parachute test vehicle, designed to achieve the maximum speeds that Crew Dragon could experience on re-entry, over the Mojave Desert in Southern California and dropped the vehicle from an altitude of 25,000 feet. The test demonstrated an off-nominal situation, deploying only one of the two drogue chutes and intentionally skipping a reefing stage on one of the four main parachutes, proving a safe landing in such a contingency scenario.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility, workers offload the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from the C17 military cargo aircraft that delivered it. Called GOES-N, the satellite is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2). Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. After arriving, the satellite was transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed over the next two months by Boeing Satellite Systems.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility, workers get ready to offload the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from a C17 military cargo aircraft. Called GOES-N, the satellite is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2). Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. After arriving, the satellite was transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed over the next two months by Boeing Satellite Systems.
SpaceX performed its fourteenth overall parachute test supporting Crew Dragon development. This most recent exercise was the first of several planned parachute system qualification tests ahead of the spacecraft’s first crewed flight and resulted in the successful touchdown of Crew Dragon’s parachute system. During this test, a C-130 aircraft transported the parachute test vehicle, designed to achieve the maximum speeds that Crew Dragon could experience on re-entry, over the Mojave Desert in Southern California and dropped the vehicle from an altitude of 25,000 feet. The test demonstrated an off-nominal situation, deploying only one of the two drogue chutes and intentionally skipping a reefing stage on one of the four main parachutes, proving a safe landing in such a contingency scenario.
A smiling STS-99 Mission Specialist Mamoru Mohri of Japan arrives at KSC aboard a T-38 jet aircraft eager to prepare for the second launch attempt of Endeavour Feb. 11 at 12:30 p.m. EST from Launch Pad 39A. Mohri is with the Japanese National Space Development Agency (NASDA). The earlier launch scheduled for Jan. 31 was scrubbed due to poor weather and a faulty Enhanced Master Events Controller in the orbiter's aft compartment. Over the next few days, the crew will review mission procedures, conduct test flights in the Shuttle Training Aircraft and undergo routine preflight medical exams. STS-99 is the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which will produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. Landing is expected at KSC on Feb. 22 at 4:36 p.m. EST
STS077-150-129 (20 May 1996) --- Following its deployment from the Space Shuttle Endeavour, the Spartan 207/Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) payload is backdropped over the Atlantic Ocean and Hampton Roads, Virginia. (Hold photograph vertically with land mass at top.) Virginia Beach and part of Newport News can be delineated in the upper left quadrant of the frame. The view was photographed with a large format still camera on the first full day of in-space operations by the six-member crew. Managed by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Spartan is designed to provide short-duration, free-flight opportunities for a variety of scientific studies. The Spartan configuration on this flight is unique in that the IAE is part of an additional separate unit which is ejected once the experiment is completed. The IAE experiment will lay the groundwork for future technology development in inflatable space structures, which will be launched and then inflated like a balloon on-orbit.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility, workers offload the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from the C17 military cargo aircraft that delivered it. Called GOES-N, the satellite is targeted to launch May 4 onboard a Boeing expendable launch vehicle Delta IV (4,2). Once in orbit GOES-N will be designated GOES-13 and will complete checkout and be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. After arriving, the satellite was transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed over the next two months by Boeing Satellite Systems.
SpaceX performed its fourteenth overall parachute test supporting Crew Dragon development. This most recent exercise was the first of several planned parachute system qualification tests ahead of the spacecraft’s first crewed flight and resulted in the successful touchdown of Crew Dragon’s parachute system. During this test, a C-130 aircraft transported the parachute test vehicle, designed to achieve the maximum speeds that Crew Dragon could experience on re-entry, over the Mojave Desert in Southern California and dropped the vehicle from an altitude of 25,000 feet. The test demonstrated an off-nominal situation, deploying only one of the two drogue chutes and intentionally skipping a reefing stage on one of the four main parachutes, proving a safe landing in such a contingency scenario.
This is a computer generated image of a Shuttle launch utilizing 2nd generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) flyback boosters, a futuristic concept that is currently undergoing study by NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) Propulsion Office, managed by the Marshall Space Fight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, working in conjunction with the Agency's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently, after providing thrust to the Space Shuttle, the solid rocket boosters are parachuted into the sea and are retrieved for reuse. The SLI is considering vehicle concepts that would fly first-stage boosters back to a designated landing site after separation from the orbital vehicle. These flyback boosters would be powered by several jet engines integrated into the booster capable of providing over 100,000 pounds of thrust. The study will determine the requirements for the engines, identify risk mitigation activities, and identify costs associated with risk mitigation and jet engine development and production, as well as determine candidate jet engine options to pursue for the flyback booster.
A smiling STS-99 Mission Specialist Mamoru Mohri of Japan arrives at KSC aboard a T-38 jet aircraft eager to prepare for the second launch attempt of Endeavour Feb. 11 at 12:30 p.m. EST from Launch Pad 39A. Mohri is with the Japanese National Space Development Agency (NASDA). The earlier launch scheduled for Jan. 31 was scrubbed due to poor weather and a faulty Enhanced Master Events Controller in the orbiter's aft compartment. Over the next few days, the crew will review mission procedures, conduct test flights in the Shuttle Training Aircraft and undergo routine preflight medical exams. STS-99 is the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, which will produce unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's surface. The result of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission could be close to 1 trillion measurements of the Earth's topography. Landing is expected at KSC on Feb. 22 at 4:36 p.m. EST
SpaceX performed its fourteenth overall parachute test supporting Crew Dragon development. This most recent exercise was the first of several planned parachute system qualification tests ahead of the spacecraft’s first crewed flight and resulted in the successful touchdown of Crew Dragon’s parachute system. During this test, a C-130 aircraft transported the parachute test vehicle, designed to achieve the maximum speeds that Crew Dragon could experience on re-entry, over the Mojave Desert in Southern California and dropped the vehicle from an altitude of 25,000 feet. The test demonstrated an off-nominal situation, deploying only one of the two drogue chutes and intentionally skipping a reefing stage on one of the four main parachutes, proving a safe landing in such a contingency scenario.
The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite is shown in orbit over Earth in this illustration, with sunlight glinting off one of its solar arrays and both antennas of its Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument extended. The mission is a collaborative effort between NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) – with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency. KaRIn is the scientific heart of the SWOT satellite, which will survey the water on more than 90% of Earth's surface, measuring the height of water in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the ocean. To do that, KaRIn will transmit radar pulses to Earth's surface and use its two antennas to triangulate the return signals that bounce back. Mounted at the ends of a boom 33 feet (10 meters) long, the antennas will collect data along a swath 30 miles (50 kilometers) wide on either side of the satellite. KaRIn will operate in two modes: A lower-resolution mode over the ocean will involve significant onboard processing of the data to reduce the volume of information sent during downlinks to Earth; a higher-resolution mode will be used mainly over land. Scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Central California on Dec. 15, 2022, SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and CNES, with contributions from the CSA and the UK Space Agency. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the U.S. component of the project. For the flight system payload, NASA is providing the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn) instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, a two-beam microwave radiometer, and NASA instrument operations. CNES is providing the Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite (DORIS) system, the dual frequency Poseidon altimeter (developed by Thales Alenia Space), the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem (together with Thales Alenia Space and with support from the UK Space Agency), the satellite platform, and ground control segment. CSA is providing the KaRIn high-power transmitter assembly. NASA is providing the launch vehicle and associated launch services. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25595
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Construction workers assist as a crane lowers a portion of the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander onto a transporter at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad is being moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. Morpheus completed its seventh free flight test on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A crane lowers the Project Morpheus prototype lander onto a launch pad at a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Engineers and technicians are preparing Morpheus for an automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, and laser test at the new launch site. The launch pad was moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. The seventh free flight test of Morpheus occurred on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Engineers run an automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, and laser test on the Project Morpheus prototype lander at a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad was moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. The seventh free flight test of Morpheus occurred on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander lands inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field after a free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 96-second test began at 4:21 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over the flame trench at a new launch site and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, sensors surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering 1,300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the ALHAT field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT, and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Engineers run an automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, and laser test on the Project Morpheus prototype lander at a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad was moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. The seventh free flight test of Morpheus occurred on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Engineers and technicians prepare the Project Morpheus prototype lander for an automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, and laser test at a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad was moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. The seventh free flight test of Morpheus occurred on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Construction workers assist as a crane lowers a portion of the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander onto a transporter at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad is being moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. Morpheus completed its seventh free flight test on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Construction workers monitor the progress as a crane is used to lift a portion of the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad will be moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. The seventh free flight test of Morpheus occurred on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces . The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Engineers and technicians prepare the Project Morpheus prototype lander for an automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, and laser test at a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad was moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. The seventh free flight test of Morpheus occurred on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Engineers and technicians wearing safety goggles, prepare the Project Morpheus prototype lander for an automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, and laser test at a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad was moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. The seventh free flight test of Morpheus occurred on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander descends toward the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance field after a free-flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Chamberland
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Construction workers assist as a crane lowers a large portion of the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander onto a transporter at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad is being moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. Morpheus completed its seventh free flight test on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - An engineer checks the Project Morpheus prototype lander after it landed in the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field, completing its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Construction workers attach a crane to part of the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad will be moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. The seventh free flight test of Morpheus occurred on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Construction workers assist as a crane is used to lift a large portion of the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander onto a transporter at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad is being moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. Morpheus completed its seventh free flight test on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander descends toward the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance field after a free-flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Chamberland
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Engineers and technicians prepare the Project Morpheus prototype lander for an automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, and laser test at a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad was moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. The seventh free flight test of Morpheus occurred on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Engineers and technicians check NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander after it touched down on a dedicated landing pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Morpheus launched on a free-flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the landing facility. The 98-second test began at 1:57 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before landing on the dedicated pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
DELAMAR DRY LAKE BED, Nev. – The Boeing Company's CST-100 crew capsule floats to a smooth landing beneath three main parachutes over the Delamar Dry Lake Bed near Alamo, Nev. This is the second parachute test that Boeing performed under its partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program CCP. The first showed the parachute system’s deployment scheme worked and that it could be re-packed and re-used for this second test. In 2011, NASA selected Boeing during Commercial Crew Development Round 2 CCDev2) activities to mature the design and development of a crew transportation system with the overall goal of accelerating a United States-led capability to the International Space Station. The goal of CCP is to drive down the cost of space travel as well as open up space to more people than ever before by balancing industry’s own innovative capabilities with NASA's 50 years of human spaceflight experience. Six other aerospace companies also are maturing launch vehicle and spacecraft designs under CCDev2, including Alliant Techsystems Inc. ATK, Excalibur Almaz Inc., Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance ULA. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew. Image credit: Boeing
DELAMAR DRY LAKE BED, Nev. – The Boeing Company's CST-100 crew capsule floats to a smooth landing beneath three main parachutes over the Delamar Dry Lake Bed near Alamo, Nev. This is the second parachute test that Boeing performed under its partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program CCP. The first showed the parachute system’s deployment scheme worked and that it could be re-packed and re-used for this second test. In 2011, NASA selected Boeing during Commercial Crew Development Round 2 CCDev2) activities to mature the design and development of a crew transportation system with the overall goal of accelerating a United States-led capability to the International Space Station. The goal of CCP is to drive down the cost of space travel as well as open up space to more people than ever before by balancing industry’s own innovative capabilities with NASA's 50 years of human spaceflight experience. Six other aerospace companies also are maturing launch vehicle and spacecraft designs under CCDev2, including Alliant Techsystems Inc. ATK, Excalibur Almaz Inc., Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance ULA. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew. Image credit: Boeing
The X-40 sub-scale technology demonstrator and its U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter mothership fly over a dry lakebed runway during a captive-carry test flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The X-40 is attached to a sling which is suspended from the CH-47 by a 110-foot-long cable during the tests, while a small parachute trails behind to provide stability. The captive carry flights are designed to verify the X-40's navigation and control systems, rigging angles for its sling, and stability and control of the helicopter while carrying the X-40 on a tether. Following a series of captive-carry flights, the X-40 made free flights from a launch altitude of about 15,000 feet above ground, gliding to a fully autonomous landing. The X-40 is an unpowered 82 percent scale version of the X-37, a Boeing-developed spaceplane designed to demonstrate various advanced technologies for development of future lower-cost access to space vehicles.
DELAMAR DRY LAKE BED, Nev. – An Erickson Sky Crane helicopter releases The Boeing Company's CST-100 crew capsule over the Delamar Dry Lake Bed near Alamo, Nev., where it floated to a smooth landing beneath its parachute system. This is the second parachute test that Boeing performed under its partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program CCP. The first showed the parachute system’s deployment scheme worked and that it could be re-packed and re-used for this second test. In 2011, NASA selected Boeing during Commercial Crew Development Round 2 CCDev2) activities to mature the design and development of a crew transportation system with the overall goal of accelerating a United States-led capability to the International Space Station. The goal of CCP is to drive down the cost of space travel as well as open up space to more people than ever before by balancing industry’s own innovative capabilities with NASA's 50 years of human spaceflight experience. Six other aerospace companies also are maturing launch vehicle and spacecraft designs under CCDev2, including Alliant Techsystems Inc. ATK, Excalibur Almaz Inc., Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, Space Exploration Technologies SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance ULA. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew. Image credit: Boeing
VAN HORN, Texas – The sun sets over a test stand at Blue Origin’s West Texas facility. The company used this test stand to fire its powerful new hydrogen- and oxygen-fueled American rocket engine, the BE-3, on Nov. 20. The BE-3 fired at full power for more than two minutes to simulate a launch, then paused for about four minutes, mimicking a coast through space before it re-ignited for a brief final burn. The last phase of the test covered the work the engine could perform in landing the booster back softly on Earth. Blue Origin, a partner of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, or CCP, is developing its Orbital Launch Vehicle, which could eventually be used to launch the company's Space Vehicle into orbit to transport crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit. CCP is aiding in the innovation and development of American-led commercial capabilities for crew transportation and rescue services to and from the station and other low-Earth orbit destinations by the end of 2017. For information about CCP, visit www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew. Photo credit: NASA/Lauren Harnett
LOUISVILLE, Colo. – During NASA's Commercial Crew Development Round 2 CCDev2) activities for the Commercial Crew Program CCP, Sierra Nevada Corp. SNC delivered the primary structure of its Dream Chaser flight test vehicle to the company’s office in Louisville, Colo. SNC engineers currently are assembling the full-scale prototype, which includes the integration of secondary structures and subsystems. This all-composite structure of the company's planned winged spacecraft, the Dream Chaser, will be used to carry out several remaining CCDev2 milestones including a captive carry flight and the first approach and landing test of the spacecraft. During the captive carry flight, a carrier aircraft will the Dream Chaser vehicle over NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. Sierra Nevada is one of seven companies NASA entered into Space Act Agreements SAAs with during CCDev2 to aid in the innovation and development of American-led commercial capabilities for crew transportation and rescue services to and from the International Space Station and other low Earth orbit destinations. For information about CCP, visit www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew. Photo credit: Sierra Nevada Corp.
The city of Calcutta appears in this 24 by 34 km (15 by 21 mile) sub-scene, acquired March 29, 2000. In 1690 the British East India Company founded Calcutta as a trading post on the marshy east bank of the Hugli River. Chosen for its easily defensible location and its access to the Bay of Bengal, the site developed into an important trading port. In 1773 Calcutta was made the capital of British India. As merchants and workers from all over the Indian subcontinent flocked to the city, British interests prospered, and British colonizers built mansions and palaces on land reclaimed from the marshes and swampland. In 1912, however, Calcutta lost its position as the colonial capital to Delhi. The end of British rule in India in 1947 cut off many of Calcutta's sources of trade and brought a deluge of immigrants to the city. The Bangladesh war in 1971 exacerbated the influx of refugees. Today this vibrant city has a population of over 5 million, and continues to sprawl to the north and south from the central grid of its old European section. This image was acquired on June 23, 2002, covers an area of 33 x 27 km, and is located at 22.6 degrees north latitude and 88.3 degrees east longitude. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11157
NASA image acquired October 26, 2010 The storm that swept across the center of the United States on October 26 and October 27, 2010, was memorable to those who experienced it because of its strong winds, rain, hail, and widespread tornadoes. Meteorologists get excited about the storm because it set a record for the lowest pressure (not associated with a hurricane) measured over land in the continental United States. At 5:13 p.m. CDT, the weather station in Bigfork, Minnesota recorded 955.2 millibars (28.21 inches of pressure). Pressure is one indicator of a storm’s strength, and this measurement corresponds to the pressure seen in a Category 3 hurricane. This image, taken by the GOES satellite on October 26, shows the storm system circling around the area of extreme low pressure. Such extratropical cyclones form over the United States in the spring and fall, when the temperature difference from north to south is large. Warm, high-pressure air rushes toward the cooler, low-pressure air in the north. Because the Earth is rotating, the air moving in ends up circling the area of low pressure, creating the cyclone shown in the image. The intensity of the storm is determined by the pressure difference between the center and the outer edges. Extreme low pressure in the center of the storm, therefore, is an indicator that the storm was very intense. The animation shows the storm developing starting late on October 25 and running through October 27. The cyclone formed very quickly on October 26, taking a distinctive comma shape as the day went on. The storm developed so quickly, in fact, that it is classified as a bomb, an extremely fast developing storm (dropping at least one millibar of pressure per hour for 24 hours), more common over water than land. The storm was also huge. Though the area of low pressure is centered over the Upper Midwest, the storm reached from the Gulf of Mexico into Canada, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. Extratropical cyclones bring an array of unsettled weather, including strong wind, rain, hail, and tornadoes, and this cyclone brought all of that. On October 26–27, winds gusted up to 78 miles per hour in Michigan, with high winds throughout the Midwest. The National Weather Service reported 61 tornadoes over the two days. Heavy snow also fell in the north. NASA Earth Observatory imagery created by Jesse Allen, using imagery provided courtesy of the NASA GOES Project Science Office. Caption by Holli RIebeek. Instrument: GOES Credit: <b><a href="http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/" rel="nofollow"> NASA Earth Observatory</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>Join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander begins to lift off on a free-flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Chamberland
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A technician vents off the gas from the propellant lines of NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander after it landed from a free-flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 1:57 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, sensors surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the ALHAT hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians and engineers prepare NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander for a free flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Engineers and technicians assist as a crane lowers the Project Morpheus prototype lander in preparation for its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Project Morpheus prototype lander soars high on its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Chambers
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Construction workers begin to reassemble the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander at a new location at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad was moved to a different location to support the next phase of flight testing. Morpheus completed its seventh free flight test on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Project Morpheus prototype lander is transported to the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the seventh free flight test. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Project Morpheus prototype lander soars high on its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Chambers
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Preparations are underway for a free-flight test of the Morpheus prototype lander from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander is being prepared for a free flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander soars high after lifting off on a free-flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Chamberland
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians check the systems on NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander in preparation for a free-flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Project Morpheus prototype lander soars high on its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Chambers
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander begins its descent toward the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field after a free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 96-second test began at 4:21 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over the flame trench at a new launch site and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, sensors surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering 1,300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the ALHAT field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT, and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians and engineers check the systems on NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander in preparation for a free flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Project Morpheus prototype lander soars high on its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Chambers
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Engineers and technicians prepare the Project Morpheus prototype lander for its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Project Morpheus prototype lander lifts off in the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field for its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians check the systems on NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander in preparation for a free-flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A flatbed truck carries the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander to a new location at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad is being moved to a different location to support the next phase of flight testing. Morpheus completed its seventh free flight test on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Project Morpheus prototype lander touches down in the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, hazard field after completing its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Chambers
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians and engineers prepare NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander for a free flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians check the systems on NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander in preparation for a free-flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians and engineers prepare NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander for a free flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander soars high after lifting off on a free-flight test from a new launch pad at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 98-second test began at 3:20 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle, with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT sensors, surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering approximately 1300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander then descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology hazard field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, which are green propellants. These new capabilities could be used in future efforts to deliver cargo to planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Chamberland
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A crane is used to lower the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander onto a new location at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad was moved to a different location to support the next phase of flight testing. Morpheus completed its seventh free flight test on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Preparations are underway to prepare the Project Morpheus prototype lander for its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A flatbed truck carries the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander to a new location at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad is being moved to a different location to support the next phase of flight testing. Morpheus completed its seventh free flight test on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Technicians prepare the Project Morpheus prototype lander for its seventh free flight test at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet, its highest to date. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Media representatives from all over the world fill the Kennedy Space Center Press Site Auditorium for a press conference held by the STS-95 crew before their return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The STS-95 crew members are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr.; Pilot Steven W. Lindsey; Mission Specialist and Payload Commander Stephen K. Robinson; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA); Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA); and Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., a senator from Ohio and one of the original seven Project Mercury astronauts. The STS-95 mission ended with landing at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 12:04 p.m. EST on Nov. 7. The mission included research payloads such as the Spartan-201 solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as a SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process