
During a tour of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, commercial crew astronauts Bob Behnken, left, and Eric Boe participate in joint test team training using mockup components of the Crew Dragon on Feb. 23, 2017. Mike Good, program manager for Crew Operations and Testing at Johnson Space Center in Houston, is in the background. Crew Dragon is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.

During a tour of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, commercial crew astronauts Suni Williams, left, and Doug Hurley participate in joint test team training using mockup components of the Crew Dragon on Feb. 23, 2017. Crew Dragon is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.

During a tour of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, commercial crew astronauts Bob Behnken, left, and Eric Boe participate in joint test team training using mockup components of the Crew Dragon on Feb. 23, 2017. Crew Dragon is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.

During a tour of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, commercial crew astronauts Bob Behnken, left, and Eric Boe participate in joint test team training using mockup components of the Crew Dragon on March 8, 2017. Crew Dragon is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.

A joint NASA/Boeing team completed the first phase of flight tests on the unique X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, CA. The team completed the 80th and last flight of the project's first phase on March 19, 2010.

A joint NASA/Boeing team completed the first phase of flight tests on the unique X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, CA. The team completed the 80th and last flight of the project's first phase on March 19, 2010.

PHOTO DATE: 10-04-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

PHOTO DATE: 10-04-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

PHOTO DATE: 10-04-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

PHOTO DATE: 10-04-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

NASA teams work to set up the base camp for the Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team Field Test 5 (JETT5) in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 11, 2024. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA teams work to set up a one of many tents that will serve as the base camp for the Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team Field Test 5 (JETT5) in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 11, 2024. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA teams work to set up the base camp for the Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team Field Test 5 (JETT5) in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 11, 2024. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

NASA teams work to set up one of many tents that will serve as the base camp for the (JETT5) Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team Field Test 5 in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 11, 2024. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - William Gaetjens (background), with the Vehicle Integration Test Team (VITT) directs Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata’s attention to the spars installed on the wing of the orbiter Atlantis. Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) panels are mechanically attached to the wing via the spars - a series of floating joints - to reduce loading on the panels caused by wing deflections. The aluminum and the metallic attachments are protected from exceeding temperature limits by internal insulation.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata (right) listens to William Gaetjens, with the Vehicle Integration Test Team (VITT), who is providing details about the spar installation (left) on the wing of the orbiter Atlantis. Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) panels are mechanically attached to the wing via the spars - a series of floating joints - to reduce loading on the panels caused by wing deflections. The aluminum and the metallic attachments are protected from exceeding temperature limits by internal insulation.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata (front) listens to William Gaetjens, with the Vehicle Integration Test Team (VITT), who is providing details about the spar installation (left) on the wing of the orbiter Atlantis. Reinforced Carbon Carbon (RCC) panels are mechanically attached to the wing via the spars - a series of floating joints - to reduce loading on the panels caused by wing deflections. The aluminum and the metallic attachments are protected from exceeding temperature limits by internal insulation.

Test deputy field manager Angela Garcia ties down a tent that will serve as the base camp for the Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team Field Test 5 (JETT5) in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 11, 2024. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Spacesuit engineers Zach Tejral (left) and Joel Alvarado (right) work to set up the base camp for the Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team Field Test 5 in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 11, 2024. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

6. The Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team poses for a group photo in Northern Arizona after a week-long field test consisting of four simulated moonwalks and six advanced technology runs. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Engineers Juan Busto (left) and Mike Miller (right) work to install the communications network for the base camp during the Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team Field Test 5 (JETT5) in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 11, 2024. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Spacesuit engineers Sheldon Stockfleth and Christine Jerome work to set up the base camp for the Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team Field Test 5 (JETT5) in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 11, 2024. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

During a tour of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, commercial crew astronauts Eric Boe, left, and Bob Behnken view the Crew Dragon on March 8, 2017. Crew Dragon is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.

During a tour of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, commercial crew astronauts Eric Boe, left, and Bob Behnken view the Crew Dragon on March 8, 2017. Crew Dragon is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.

During a tour of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, commercial crew astronaut Bob Behnken views the Crew Dragon on March 8, 2017. Crew Dragon is being developed and manufactured in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program to return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.
On February 28, SpaceX completed a demonstration of their ability to recover the crew and capsule after a nominal water splashdown. This marks an important recovery milestone and joint test. The timeline requirement from splashdown to crew egress onboard the ship is one hour, and the recovery team demonstrated that they can accomplish this operation under worst-case conditions in under 45 minutes. Further improvements are planned to shorten the recovery time even more as the team works to build a process that is safe, repeatable, and efficient.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

Teams from NASA, the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support and SpaceX conduct a joint medical triage and medical evacuation (medevac) training exercise at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the second of two emergency medical services simulations performed before commercial crew flight tests, which are scheduled for 2019. As NASA’s Commercial Crew Program prepares to begin launching astronauts once again from American soil, teams are sharpening their launch day operations procedures, including responses during the unlikely event of an emergency.

PHOTO DATE: 10-09-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Photographic coverage of JETTS3 engineering night run 4. Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test to ensure successful surface operations and technology development for Artemis III. PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

PHOTO DATE: 10-09-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Photographic coverage of JETTS3 engineering night run 4. Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test to ensure successful surface operations and technology development for Artemis III. PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

PHOTO DATE: 10-09-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Photographic coverage of JETTS3 engineering night run 4. Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test to ensure successful surface operations and technology development for Artemis III. PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

PHOTO DATE: 10-09-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Photographic coverage of JETTS3 engineering night run 4. Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test to ensure successful surface operations and technology development for Artemis III. PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

PHOTO DATE: 10-09-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Photographic coverage of JETTS3 engineering night run 4. Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test to ensure successful surface operations and technology development for Artemis III. PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

PHOTO DATE: 10-09-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Photographic coverage of JETTS3 engineering night run 4. Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test to ensure successful surface operations and technology development for Artemis III. PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

PHOTO DATE: 10-09-22 LOCATION: Flagstaff, Arizona SUBJECT: Photographic coverage of JETTS3 engineering night run 4. Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) Field Testing - JETT 3 fully integrated mission scale test to ensure successful surface operations and technology development for Artemis III. PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

The Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team and NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas before the start of a week-long field test consisting of four simulated moonwalks and six advanced technology runs in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 13, 2024. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Teams working at Building 836 on Vandenberg Space Force Base in California remove NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) from its shipping container on Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. LOFTID is a rideshare launching with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite. The technology demonstration mission is slated to test new capabilities for landing payloads, including in a thinner atmosphere like that on Mars.

S75-28361 (9 July 1975) --- These ten American astronauts compose the U.S. prime crew, the backup crew and the crew support team for the joint U.S.-USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project docking mission in Earth orbit. They are, left to right, Robert L. Crippen, support team; Robert F. Overmyer, support team; Richard H. Truly, support team; Karol J. Bobko, support team; Donald K. Slayton, prime crew docking module pilot; Thomas P. Stafford, prime crew commander; Vance D. Brand, prime crew command module pilot; Jack R. Lousma, backup crew docking module pilot; Ronald E. Evans, backup crew command module pilot; and Alan L. Bean, backup crew commander. They are photographed by the Apollo Mission Simulator console in Building 5 at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida participate in the first joint integrated launch countdown simulation for Artemis I inside the Launch Control Center on July 8, 2021. The training exercise involved engineers from Kennedy, Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, and Johnson Space Center in Houston coming together to rehearse all aspects of the launch countdown, from cryogenic loading – filling tanks in the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s core stage with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen – to liftoff. These simulations will help certify that the launch team is ready for Artemis I – the first test flight of SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida participate in the first joint integrated launch countdown simulation for Artemis I inside the Launch Control Center on July 8, 2021. The training exercise involved engineers from Kennedy, Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, and Johnson Space Center in Houston coming together to rehearse all aspects of the launch countdown, from cryogenic loading – filling tanks in the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s core stage with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen – to liftoff. These simulations will help certify that the launch team is ready for Artemis I – the first test flight of SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Utilizing mannequin crew members inside the Crew Module Test Article (CMTA) – a full-scale mockup of the Orion spacecraft – the simulations practiced abort timelines and joint NASA and DoD recovery procedures supported by Artemis II launch and flight control teams, as NASA prepares to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.

NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Mike Fincke and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson observe a moment of silence with teams from NASA, Boeing and the White Sands Missile Range, honoring the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019 at the White Sands Missile Range outside Las Cruces, New Mexico. The joint teams gathered in the desert to rehearse landing and crew extrication from Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station. Mann, Fincke and Ferguson will fly to the space station aboard the Starliner for the Boeing Crew Flight Test mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Team members at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida participate in the first joint integrated launch countdown simulation for Artemis I inside the Launch Control Center on July 8, 2021. The training exercise involved engineers from Kennedy, Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, and Johnson Space Center in Houston coming together to rehearse all aspects of the launch countdown, from cryogenic loading – filling tanks in the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s core stage with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen – to liftoff. These simulations will help certify that the launch team is ready for Artemis I – the first test flight of SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon.

S74-14949 (October 1974) --- Artist?s drawings and call-outs depict phases of the joint U.S.-USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, an Earth-orbital mission which will feature rendezvous and docking of the respective spacecraft of the two nations. ASTP crewmen for the USSR include Aleksey A. Leonov and Valeriy N. Kubasov. The astronaut team includes astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand and Donald K. Slayton. The mission is scheduled to take place in summer 1975.

This illustration depicts a configuration of the Soyuz spacecraft for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). The ASTP was the first international docking of the U.S.'s Apollo spacecraft and the U.S.S.R.'s Soyuz spacecraft in space. For this project, the Soviets built another in their continuing series of Soyuz space capsules. The U.S. used the Saturn IB Apollo capsule. A joint engineering team from the two countries met to develop a docking system that permitted the two spacecraft to link in space and allowed the crews to travel from one spacecraft to the other.

S74-23117 (6 June 1974) --- Two astronauts associated with the joint U.S.-USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project receive instructions in the Russian language during ASTP activity at the Johnson Space Center. They are Robert F. Overmyer, a member of the support team of the American ASTP crew, who is seated at left; and Vance D. Brand (center), the command module pilot of the American ASTP prime crew. The instructor is Anatoli Forestanko.

Launch team members are seated at the Orion Test Conductor consoles inside Firing Room 1 of the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 13, 2021. From right are Carla Rekucki, Joshua Coleman, John Kracsun, and Dan Florez. They are participating in a joint integrated simulation for the Artemis I launch that covered both cryogenic loading and terminal countdown portions of prelaunch activities. Members of NASA’s mission management team and launch team conducted the simulation together. The Kennedy team was certified for the Artemis I launch. During Artemis I, the agency’s Orion spacecraft will lift off from Kennedy aboard NASA’s most powerful rocket – the Space Launch System – to fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown. Through NASA’s Artemis missions, the agency, along with commercial and international partners, will establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars.

Launch team members are seated at the Space Launch System test conductor consoles inside Firing Room 1 of the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 13, 2021. From left are Teresa Annulis, Roberta Wyrick, Carlos Monge, and Dan Florez. They are participating in a joint integrated simulation for the Artemis I launch that covered both cryogenic loading and terminal countdown portions of prelaunch activities. Members of NASA’s mission management team and launch team conducted the simulation together. The Kennedy team was certified for the Artemis I launch. During Artemis I, the agency’s Orion spacecraft will lift off from Kennedy aboard NASA’s most powerful rocket – the Space Launch System – to fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown. Through NASA’s Artemis missions, the agency, along with commercial and international partners, will establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars.

Launch team members are seated at the Ground Test Conductor consoles inside Firing Room 1 of the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 13, 2021. From left are Joe Vanhove and Keith Lawton. They are participating in a joint integrated simulation for the Artemis I launch that covered both cryogenic loading and terminal countdown portions of prelaunch activities. Members of NASA’s mission management team and launch team conducted the simulation together. The Kennedy team was certified for the Artemis I launch. During Artemis I, the agency’s Orion spacecraft will lift off from Kennedy aboard NASA’s most powerful rocket – the Space Launch System – to fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown. Through NASA’s Artemis missions, the agency, along with commercial and international partners, will establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars.

Launch team members are seated at the Ground Test Conductor consoles inside Firing Room 1 of the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 13, 2021. From left are Keith Lawton and Joe Vanhove. They are participating in a joint integrated simulation for the Artemis I launch that covered both cryogenic loading and terminal countdown portions of prelaunch activities. Members of NASA’s mission management team and launch team conducted the simulation together. The Kennedy team was certified for the Artemis I launch. During Artemis I, the agency’s Orion spacecraft will lift off from Kennedy aboard NASA’s most powerful rocket – the Space Launch System – to fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown. Through NASA’s Artemis missions, the agency, along with commercial and international partners, will establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars.

In honor of the Centernial of Flight Celebration and commissioned by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a team of engineers from Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) built a replica of the first liquid-fueled rocket. The original rocket, designed and built by rocket engineering pioneer Robert H. Goddard in 1926, opened the door to modern rocketry. Goddard's rocket reached an altitude of 41 feet while its flight lasted only 2.5 seconds. The Marshall design team's plan was to stay as close as possible to an authentic reconstruction of Goddard's rocket. The same propellants were used - liquid oxygen and gasoline - as available during Goddard's initial testing and firing. The team also tried to construct the replica using the original materials and design to the greatest extent possible. By purposely using less advanced techniques and materials than many that are available today, the team encountered numerous technical challenges in testing the functional hardware. There were no original blueprints or drawings, only photographs and notes. However, this faithful adherence to historical accuracy has allowed the team to experience many of the same challenges Goddard faced 77 years ago, and more fully appreciate the genius of this extraordinary man. In this photo, the replica is shown firing in the A-frame launch stand in near-flight configuration at MSFC's Test Area 116 during the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 39th Joint Propulsion Conference on July 23, 2003.