Snow White Trench Prepared for Sample Collection

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, a worker from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center documents the installation of a pallet support strut on the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier for the Hubble Space Telescope. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. SLIC is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, and the Flight Support System, or FSS, have also arrived at Kennedy. The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in early August. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the Hubble servicing mission, targeted for launch Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This image taken from the deck of NASA's SRB retrieval ship Freedom Star shows the right hand solid rocket booster from space shuttle Discovery's STS-124 launch falling through the atmosphere while burning off the remainder of its fuel. It will splash down into the Atlantic Ocean where the ship and its crew will recover it and tow it back through Port Canaveral for refurbishing for another launch. The STS-124 mission is the second of three flights launching components to complete the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. The shuttle crew will install Kibo's large Japanese Pressurized Module and its remote manipulator system, or RMS. Photo credit: USA/Jeff Suter

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center help guide the Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS, as it is lifted over the crossbar of the stand at right. The sensor will be installed on the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier or ORUC, below. An FGS consists of a large structure housing a collection of mirrors, lenses, servos, prisms, beam splitters and photomultiplier tubes. There are three fine guidance sensors on Hubble located at 90-degree intervals around the circumference of the telescope. Along with the gyroscopes, the optical sensors are a key component of Hubble’s highly complex but extraordinarily effective “pointing control system.” The ORUC is one of three carriers that are being prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission, STS-125, on space shuttle Atlantis. Launch is targeted for Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

This image is an artist concept of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory OCO.

S124-E-005147 (1 June 2008) --- Astronaut Greg Chamitoff, STS-124 mission specialist, looks over a checklist on the middeck of Space Shuttle Discovery during flight day two activities.

ISS016-E-032805 (16 March 2008) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Leopold Eyharts, Expedition 16 flight engineer, exercises on the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation System (CEVIS) in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station while Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-123) remains docked with the station.

STS122-S-063 (7 Feb. 2008) --- The Space Shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member STS-122 crew head toward Earth-orbit and a scheduled link-up with the International Space Station (ISS). Liftoff from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A occurred at 2:45 p.m. (EST). The launch is the third attempt for Atlantis since December 2007 to carry the European Space Agency's (ESA) Columbus laboratory to the station. During the mission, the crew's prime objective is to attach the laboratory to the Harmony module, adding to the station's size and capabilities. Onboard are astronauts Steve Frick, commander; Alan Poindexter, pilot; Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, ESA's Hans Schlegel, Stanley Love and ESA's Leopold Eyharts, all mission specialists. Eyharts will join Expedition 16 in progress to serve as a flight engineer aboard the ISS.

EDWARDS, Calif. – After space shuttle Endeavour's landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, STS-126 Pilot Eric Boe examines the underside of the orbiter for any visible damage. The decision to land at Edwards was made due to weather concerns at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the 52nd landing at Edwards, Endeavour touched down at 4:25 p.m. EST to end the STS-126 mission, completing its 16-day journey of over 6.6 million miles in space. The STS-126 mission was the 27th flight to the International Space Station, carrying equipment and supplies in the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The mission featured four spacewalks and work to prepare the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions. Photo credit: NASA/Tom Tschida, VAFB

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The crew for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 mission pose for a group portrait following their arrival at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. From left are Commander Dominic Gorie; Mission Specialists Takao Doi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Garrett Reisman and Rick Linnehan; Pilot Gregory H. Johnson; and Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken and Mike Foreman. The crew is at Kennedy for a full launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test or TCDT. Endeavour's seven astronauts arrived at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility in their T-38 training aircraft between 10:45 and 10:58 a.m. EST. The terminal countdown demonstration test provides astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. Endeavour is targeted to launch March 11 at 2:28 a.m. EDT on a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. On the mission, Endeavour and its crew will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A flatbed trailer carrying the final components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory for the International Space Station delivers them to the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The components are the Kibo Exposed Facility, or EF, and the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, or ELM-ES. The EF provides a multipurpose platform where science experiments can be deployed and operated in the exposed environment. The payloads attached to the EF can be exchanged or retrieved by Kibo's robotic arm, the JEM Remote Manipulator System. The ELM-ES will be attached to the end of the EF to provide payload storage space and can carry up to three payloads at launch. In addition, the ELM-ES provides a logistics function where it can be detached from the EF and returned to the ground aboard the space shuttle. The two JEM components will be carried aboard space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission targeted for launch in May 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

2.8% Ares I Acoustic Reentry Wind Tunnel Model in Ames 9X7ft Supersonic Wind Tunnel test-97-0193; model flying backwards in tunnel

S123-E-009868 (24 March 2008) --- Astronauts Dominic Gorie, STS-123 commander, and Peggy Whitson, Expedition 16 commander, take a moment to pose for a photo on the aft flight deck of Space Shuttle Endeavour while docked with the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, an overhead crane lifts the Flight Support System carrier with the Soft Capture Mechanism under protective cover. The carrier is one of four associated with the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. It will be installed in the payload canister for transfer to Launch Pad 39A. At the pad, all the carriers will be loaded into space shuttle Atlantis’ payload bay. Launch of Atlantis is targeted for Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

September 11th remembrance ceremony held in front of NASA Research Park Bldg-17 (Lunar Science Institute) hosted by the American Legion, Post 881, Moffett Field. Flag detail - Lt Randy Vincent - NASA Protective Services, Ty Locatelli, Carlos Pinedo - NASA Fire Department

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Orbiter Processing Facility bay No. 2, auxiliary power unit 3, or APU3, is in place on space shuttle Endeavour for the STS-126 mission. The auxiliary power unit is a hydrazine-fueled, turbine-driven power unit that generates mechanical shaft power to drive a hydraulic pump that produces pressure for the orbiter's hydraulic system. There are three separate APUs, three hydraulic pumps and three hydraulic systems, located in the aft fuselage of the orbiter. When the three auxiliary power units are started five minutes before lift-off, the hydraulic systems are used to position the three main engines for activation, control various propellant valves on the engines and position orbiter aerosurfaces. The auxiliary power units are not operated after the first orbital maneuvering system thrusting period because hydraulic power is no longer required. One power unit is operated briefly one day before deorbit to support checkout of the orbiter flight control system. One auxiliary power unit is restarted before the deorbit thrusting period. The two remaining units are started after the deorbit thrusting maneuver and operate continuously through entry, landing and landing rollout. On STS-126, Endeavour will deliver a multi-purpose logistics module to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for Nov. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Viewed from inside the Payload Changeout Room on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier is installed behind the shuttle external airlock (top) in space shuttle Atlantis’ payload bay for the STS-125 mission. STS-125 is the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The payload comprises four carriers holding various equipment for the mission. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 14 on the 11-day mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A view from above the flame trench on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center shows more repair work under way. The mobile launcher platform, with the space shuttle on top, straddles the trench during launch. Damage to the trench occurred during the launch of Discovery on the STS-124 mission. A 75- by 20-foot section of the east wall was destroyed and debris scattered as far as the pad perimeter fence. Repairs are expected to be completed before the targeted Oct. 8 launch of Atlantis on the STS-125 mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – After rolling out of Orbiter Processing Facility 2, space shuttle Endeavour turns toward the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. In the VAB, Endeavour will be attached to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters. After additional preparations are made, the shuttle will be rolled out to Launch Pad 39B. Endeavour is the backup shuttle, if needed for rescue, for space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-125 mission to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope targeted for October. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Vibration and laser testing is being conducted on Ares I-X segments at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Here, the Inert Solid Rocket Motor Segment is configured with targets both vertically and horizontally in attempts to validate the predicted “Shell Modes” during the actual Modal Testing. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the high bay of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center secure the Hubble vertical platform to the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier for the Hubble Space Telescope. The Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, is one of four carriers supporting hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the telescope. SLIC is built with state-of-the-art, lightweight, composite materials - carbon fiber with a cyanate ester resin and a titanium metal matrix composite. These composites have greater strength-to-mass ratios than the metals typically used in spacecraft design. The Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC, and the Flight Support System, or FSS, have also arrived at Kennedy. The Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will be delivered in early August. The carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the Hubble servicing mission, targeted for launch Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Spotting Prometheus

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, STS-125 crew members look at cameras they will use on the mission. From left are Mission Specialists Mike Massimino, Andrew Feustel and Mike Good, Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Commander Scott Altman. The crew is at Kennedy for a crew equipment interface test, which provides hands-on experience with hardware and equipment for the mission. Atlantis is targeted to launch on the STS-125 Hubble Servicing Mission 4 on Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Positioned on its 12-wheeled, 24-tire transporter, the payload canister with the STS-124 mission payload, Japanese Experiment Module - Pressurized Module and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System, or RMS, inside, begins its slow journey to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. At the pad, the payload will be transferred into the payload changeout room on the rotating service structure. The transporter is 65 feet long and 23 feet wide. The transporter’s wheels are independently steerable, permitting it to move forward, backward, sideways or diagonally and to turn on its own axis like a carousel. It is equipped with pneumatic-actuated braking and hydrostat¬ic leveling and drive systems. It is steered from a two-seat operator cab mounted at one end. From the payload changeout room, the pressurized module and RMS then will be transferred into space shuttle Discovery’s payload bay. Launch is targeted for May 31. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the STS-124 crew looks at the action of the slidewire basket used to exit the fixed service structure in the event of an emergency. At left is Commander Mark Kelly. At right are Pilot Ken Ham and Mission Specialists Akihiko Hoshide, Karen Nyberg and Greg Chamitoff. Not seen are Mission Specialists Ron Garan and Mike Fossum. Hoshide represents the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The crew is at Kennedy for a dress launch rehearsal called the terminal countdown demonstration test. TCDT provides astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. On the STS-124 mission, the crew will deliver and install the Japanese Experiment Module – Pressurized Module and Japanese Remote Manipulator System. Discovery's launch is targeted for May 31. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A water lily stretches above the water in a canal on NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The center shares a boundary with the Merritt Island Wildlife Nature Refuge, consisting of 140,000 acres. The Refuge provides a wide variety of habitats: coastal dunes, saltwater estuaries and marshes, freshwater impoundments, scrub, pine flatwoods, and hardwood hammocks that provide habitat for more than 1,500 species of plants and animals. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

S122-E-009497 (16 Feb. 2008) --- NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson, Expedition 16 commander; Steve Frick (second left), STS-122 commander; Daniel Tani, STS-122 mission specialist; and Russian Federal Space Agency cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, Expedition 16 flight engineer, take a moment for a photo on the middeck of Space Shuttle Atlantis while docked with the International Space Station. Tani, who joined the station's Expedition 16 crew as flight engineer in October, is being replaced by ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts (out of frame), who arrived at the station with the STS-122 crew.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Delta II rocket with NASA's Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope , or GLAST, on top ignites for liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Pad 17-B. Liftoff was at 12:05 p.m. EDT. GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. Launch is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. June 11. Photo credit: Carleton Bailie photograph for United Launch Alliance

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers begin removing the protective cover from the Hubble Fine Guidance Sensor, or FGS. The FGS will be integrated onto the Orbital Replacement Unit carrier in the clean room of the facility. The sensor will extend the life of the pointing control system on the Hubble Space Telescope. On the mission, this FGS will replace one of the three sensors that is failing and thus outfit the telescope with two completely healthy units, which are needed. A third, older FGS aboard the telescope will provide additional target-pointing efficiency and redundancy. Space shuttle Atlantis is targeted to launch on the STS-125 mission Oct. 8. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

American spaceflight participant Richard Garriott, left, Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Yuri V. Lonchakov and Expedition 18 Commander Michael Fincke, right, participate in the traditional blessing prior to the bus ride to building 254 where the crew don their spacesuits, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan carrying Fincke, Lonchakov and Garriott. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. --- The STS-123 crewmembers are greeted by NASA VIPs and guests at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. From left, in the blue flight suits, are Commander Dominic Gorie, Mission Specialist Mike Foreman, Pilot Gregory H. Johnson, and Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken, Takao Doi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Rick Linnehan. From left, the NASA managers in the back row are Space Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach, Kennedy Space Center Director Bill Parsons, and Chairman of Mission Management Team LeRoy Cain. Space shuttle Endeavour landed on Runway 15 at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility to end the STS-123 mission, a 16-day flight to the International Space Station. This was the 16th night landing at Kennedy. The main landing gear touched down at 8:39:08 p.m. EDT. The nose landing gear touched down at 8:39:17 p.m. and wheel stop was at 8:40:41 p.m. The mission completed nearly 6.6 million miles. The landing was on the second opportunity after the first was waved off due to unstable weather in the Kennedy Space Center area. The STS-123 mission delivered the first segment of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, known as Dextre. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., work on closeouts of the payload attach fitting on NASA's Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, spacecraft. The GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the Universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our Universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. A launch date still is to be determined. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The North Polar Region of Enceladus

Phoenix Makes a Grand Entrance

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-123 Pilot Gregory H. Johnson, at left, is greeted by Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach following his arrival at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The crew for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 mission is at Kennedy for a full launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test or TCDT. Endeavour's seven astronauts arrived at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility in their T-38 training aircraft between 10:45 and 10:58 a.m. EST. The terminal countdown demonstration test provides astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. Endeavour is targeted to launch March 11 at 2:28 a.m. EDT on a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. On the mission, Endeavour and its crew will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

PHOTO DATE: 11-17-08 LOCATION: Bldg 2N, 212 SUBJECT: Photographic support for Media Services: Photograph STS-126 Flight Day 3 Mission Status Briefing. PHOTOGRAPHER: JAMES BLAIR

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The GOES-O/Delta IV second stage is being mated to the first stage in the Horizontal Integration Facility on Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GOES–O is one of a series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. The multi-mission GOES series N-P will be a vital contributor to weather, solar and space operations and science. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, are actively engaged in a cooperative program to expand the existing GOES system with the launch of the GOES N-P satellites. Launch of the GOES-O is targeted for no earlier than April 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After meeting with NASA officials about their involvement in the second annual Space & Air Show at Kennedy Space Center Nov. 8-9, Blue Angel pilots Lt. Frank Weisser and Lt. Dan McShane board their U.S. Navy F-18 Hornet as they prepare to return to their home base in Pensacola, Fla. The air show will be only the second time the Blue Angels have performed at Kennedy. Their precision flight team will perform high-speed passes, fast rolls, mirror formations, tight turns and their signature Delta formation showcasing the capabilities of the powerful aircraft. The 2008 Space & Air Show will include aircraft displays and space-related exhibits on the ground and plenty of action in the skies over Kennedy. Returning to the show is the 920th Rescue Wing, an Air Force Reserve Command combat search and rescue unit based at Patrick Air Force Base in Central Florida. Also, more than 20 astronauts and special guests will be on hand to personally meet guests, pose for photos and sign memorabilia. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Marte Vallis

Enceladus Offset Spreading Center

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the payload changeout room, or PCR, on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers make small adjustments to the payload ground-handling mechanism, or PGHM, that will remove the cargo from the payload canister. The cargo comprises four carriers holding various equipment for the STS-125 mission aboard space shuttle Atlantis to service NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The PGHM removes payloads from a transportation canister and installs them into the shuttle. It is essentially NASA’s largest fork-lift. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building, space shuttle Endeavour waits for the overhead crane (upper right) to be attached. The crane will raise and then lift Endeavour into high bay 1. There, Endeavour will be attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters in preparation for its upcoming mission, STS-123, to the International Space Station targeted for March 11. The mission will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KAZAKHSTAN – The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft ,carrying Expedition 18 Commander Michael Fincke, Flight Engineer Yury V. Lonchakov and American Spaceflight Participant Richard Garriott launches Oct. 12 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The three crew members are scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on Oct. 14. Fincke and Lonchakov will spend six months on the station, while Garriott will return to Earth Oct. 24 with two of the Expedition 17 crew members currently on the space station. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis rolls away from the rotating and fixed service structures (right) on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. First motion was at 6:48 a.m. EDT. Atlantis sits on the mobile launcher platform, which in turn rests on the crawler-transporter, traveling less than 1 mph. Atlantis is rolling back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to await launch on its STS-125 mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis' targeted launch on Oct. 14 was delayed when a system that transfers science data from the orbiting observatory to Earth malfunctioned on Sept. 27. The new target launch date is under review. The space shuttle is mounted on a Mobile Launcher Platform and will be delivered to the Vehicle Assembly Building atop a crawler transporter. traveling slower than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The rollback is expected to take approximately six hours. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

S124-E-005522 (2 June 2008) --- The International Space Station is featured in this image photographed by an STS-124 crewmember as Space Shuttle Discovery approaches the station during rendezvous and docking activities on flight day three. Docking occurred at 2:03 p.m. (EDT) on June 2, 2008.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians check the alignment of the payload transportation canister as it is lowered over the GLAST spacecraft for installation. The spacecraft will be moved to pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. At the pad, NASA's Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope will be lifted into the mobile service tower and encapsulated in the fairing for launch. GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the Universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our Universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. The launch date is targeted no earlier than June 3. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Exterior view of Mobile Launcher Platform

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, technicians load replacement parts for the Zvezda service module toilet on the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Discovery. The toilet malfunctioned last week and was initially repaired by replacing a microprocessor valve. After the station crew members experienced additional difficulties with the toilet, they were directed to use Soyuz toilet facilities at first and are using the main toilet again after rigging a urine bypass. The spare toilet parts have been added to Discovery’s manifest for delivery to the station on the STS-124 mission. On the 14-day mission, Discovery and its crew will deliver the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Japanese Experiment Module – Pressurized Module and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System. Launch is scheduled for 5:02 p.m. EDT May 31. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Layers of twisted metal remain after demolition April 27 of the mobile service tower, or gantry, at Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This mammoth structure, with its cavernous clean room, was imploded to make room for the construction of launch pad access and servicing facilities for the new Falcon rockets to be launched by Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX. The gantry was used for the final spacecraft launch preparations for NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, currently orbiting Saturn. The launch occurred on Oct. 15, 1997, aboard an Air Force Titan IV-Centaur rocket. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

ISS016-E-028524 (9 Feb. 2008) --- An overhead view of the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory in Space Shuttle Atlantis' cargo bay was provided by Expedition 16 crewmembers. Before docking with the International Space Station, astronaut Steve Frick, STS-122 commander, flew the shuttle through a roll pitch maneuver or basically a backflip to allow the space station crew a good view of Atlantis' heat shield. Using digital still cameras equipped with both 400 and 800 millimeter lenses, the ISS crewmembers took a number of photos of the shuttle's thermal protection system and sent them down to teams on the ground for analysis. A 400 millimeter lens was used for this image.

Foothill-DeAnza Community College Dstrict Internship Program poster Session NOTE: Photo taken by Summer Photo Intern Nick Tran.

S124-E-006920 (6 June 2008) --- Astronauts Ken Ham (foreground), STS-124 pilot; Mark Kelly, commander; Mike Fossum (partially obscured, left) and Ron Garan (partially obscured, right), both mission specialists, work in the newly installed Kibo Japanese Pressurized Module while Space Shuttle Discovery is docked with the station.

Phoenix Workspace

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The GOES-O/Delta IV second stage is being mated to the first stage in the Horizontal Integration Facility on Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. GOES–O is one of a series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. The multi-mission GOES series N-P will be a vital contributor to weather, solar and space operations and science. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, are actively engaged in a cooperative program to expand the existing GOES system with the launch of the GOES N-P satellites. Launch of the GOES-O is targeted for no earlier than April 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is viewed from the air on Launch Pad 39B after the rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. To the right of the shuttle is the fixed service structure with the 80-foot lightning mast on top. First motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building was at 11:15 p.m. Sept. 18. Endeavour completed the 4.2-mile journey at 6:59 a.m. EDT. For the first time since July 2001, two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time at the center. Endeavour will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch Oct. 10. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. That flight is targeted for launch Nov. 12. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier with the flexible hose rotary coupler is lowered into the payload canister in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The carrier is part of space shuttle Endeavour's payload on the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. Endeavour will also carry the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo holding supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware. Endeavour is targeted for launch on Nov. 14. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) primary mirror being moved into N-211, readied and move into the Ames Vacuum Chamber for the coating process.

KAZAKHSTAN – The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft is transported by railcar to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 10 for launch Oct. 12 to carry Expedition 18 Commander Michael Fincke, Flight Engineer Yury V. Lonchakov and American Spaceflight Participant Richard Garriott to the International Space Station. The three crew members will dock their Soyuz to the space station on Oct. 14. Fincke and Lonchakov will spend six months on the station, while Garriott will return to Earth Oct. 24 with two of the Expedition 17 crew members currently on the space station. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

American spaceflight participant Richard Garriott, left, and Expedition 18 Commander Michael Fincke answer reporters' questions during a press conference held at the Cosmonaut Hotel, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Garriott and Fincke will launch on the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft along with Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Yuri V. Lonchakov on Oct. 12 and dock with the International Space Station on Oct. 14. Fincke and Lonchakov will spend six months on the station, while Garriott will return to Earth Oct. 24 with two of the Expedition 17 crew members currently on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

S123-E-006089 (13/14 March 2008) --- Astronaut Garrett Reisman, Expedition 16 flight engineer, participates in the mission's first scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the seven-hour and one-minute spacewalk, Reisman and astronaut Rick Linnehan (out of frame), STS-123 mission specialist, prepared the Japanese logistics module-pressurized section (JLP) for removal from Space Shuttle Endeavour's payload bay; opened the Centerline Berthing Camera System on top of the Harmony module; removed the Passive Common Berthing Mechanism and installed both the Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) tool change out mechanisms on the Canadian-built Dextre robotic system, the final element of the station's Mobile Servicing System.

CLV ascent model installation 9x7ft. wind tunnel test-97-0180 with Marshall space Flight Center crew Darin Reed, Chrissi Hamilton, Don Nance, Bill Crosby

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In Building 1555, the wings of the Pegasus XL launch vehicle are checked for fit. The Pegasus will launch NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer Mission, or IBEX, satellite from Kwajalein Island in the Marshall Islands, South Pacific. IBEX will make the first map of the boundary between the solar system and interstellar space. IBEX is the first mission designed to detect the edge of the solar system. As the solar wind from the sun flows out beyond Pluto, it collides with the material between the stars, forming a shock front. IBEX contains two neutral atom imagers designed to detect particles from the termination shock at the boundary between the solar system and interstellar space. IBEX also will study galactic cosmic rays, energetic particles from beyond the solar system that pose a health and safety hazard for humans exploring beyond Earth orbit. IBEX will make these observations from a highly elliptical orbit that takes it beyond the interference of the Earth's magnetosphere. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A solid rocket booster, or SRB, segment from the STS-126 launch is lowered onto a rail car at the NASA Railroad yard at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The segment will be taken to Utah. After a mission, the spent boosters are recovered, cleaned, disassembled, refurbished and reused for another launch. After the segments are hydrolased inside, they are placed on flatbed trucks and transferred to the NASA Railroad yard. The NASA Railroad locomotive backs up the rail cars and the segments are lowered onto the car. After being covered for the trip, the segments will be moved to Titusville for interchange with Florida East Coast Railway to begin the trip back to Utah. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians detach the cables from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft Star-27 kick motor and nozzle after their insertion into the adapter cone. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is the first mission designed to detect the edge of the Solar System. As the solar wind from the sun flows out beyond Pluto, it collides with the material between the stars, forming a shock front. IBEX contains two neutral atom imagers designed to detect particles from the termination shock at the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX also will study galactic cosmic rays, energetic particles from beyond the Solar System that pose a health and safety hazard for humans exploring beyond Earth orbit. IBEX will make these observations from a highly elliptical orbit that takes it beyond the interference of the Earth's magnetosphere. IBEX is targeted for launch from the Pegasus XL rocket on Oct. 5. Photo credit: NASA/R. Bledsoe

This artist conception shows the closest known planetary system to our own, called Epsilon Eridani. Observations from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope show that the system hosts two asteroid belts.

S122-E-010922 (18 Feb. 2008) --- Astronaut Rex Walheim (right), STS-122 mission specialist, uses a handheld laser ranging device -- designed to measure the range between two spacecraft -- through one of the overhead windows on the aft flight deck of Space Shuttle Atlantis after undocking from the International Space Station. Astronaut Daniel Tani, mission specialist, uses a still camera to photograph the station in its new configuration.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers observe the progress of the GLAST spacecraft as it is lifted toward the upper level of the mobile service tower. In the tower, GLAST will be mated with the Delta II second stage. GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the Universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our Universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. The launch date is targeted no earlier than June 3. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payload canister with the Hubble Space Telescope equipment is inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, or PHSF. The payload comprises four carriers holding various equipment for the mission. The canister maintains a controlled environment. In the PHSF, the carriers will be stored until a new target launch date can be set for Atlantis’ STS-125 mission in 2009. Atlantis’ October target launch date was delayed after a device on board Hubble used in the storage and transmission of science data to Earth shut down on Sept. 27. Replacing the broken device will be added to Atlantis’ servicing mission to the telescope. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

Dust Devil Tracks

S126-E-011521 (26 Nov. 2008) --- Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, STS-126 mission specialist, works with transfer of supplies in the Columbus lab of the International Space Station.

S126-E-008053 (18 Nov. 2008) --- Astronaut Steve Bowen, STS-126 mission specialist, participates in the mission's first session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 52-minute spacewalk, Bowen and astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (out of frame), mission specialist, worked to clean and lubricate part of the station's starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joints (SARJ) and to remove two of SARJ's 12 trundle bearing assemblies. The spacewalkers also removed a depleted nitrogen tank from a stowage platform on the outside of the complex and moved it into Endeavour's cargo bay. They also moved a flex hose rotary coupler from the shuttle to the station stowage platform, as well as removing some insulation blankets from the common berthing mechanism on the Kibo laboratory.

Director's Colloquium: Ruslan Belikov, Ames Astrophysicist presents 'Imaging other Earths and High Contrast Coronagraphy at Ames abstract: Exoplanet detection over the past decade - Audio available through Ames Library

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39, astronaut rescue team leader Capt. George Hoggard, in the white sweatshirt, instructs members of the crew for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 mission on the operation of an M-113 armored personnel carrier. The crew members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 mission will each practice driving the M-113 in turn as part of his training on emergency egress procedures. An M-113 will be available to transport the crew to safety in the event of a contingency on the pad before their launch. The STS-123 crew is at Kennedy for a full launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test or TCDT. Endeavour's seven astronauts arrived at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility in their T-38 training aircraft between 10:45 and 10:58 a.m. EST. The terminal countdown demonstration test provides astronauts and ground crews with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. Endeavour is targeted to launch March 11 at 2:28 a.m. EDT on a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. On the mission, Endeavour and its crew will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Flags wave near Launch Pad 39A where space shuttle Endeavour waits for liftoff. The rotating service structure was rolled back starting at 8:23 a.m. and complete at 8:55 a.m. Above the orange external tank is seen the "beanie cap" at the end of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, extending from the fixed service structure. Vapors are created as the liquid oxygen in the external tank boil off. The hood vents the gaseous oxygen vapors away from the space shuttle vehicle. Below is the orbiter access arm with the White Room at the end, flush against the shuttle. The crew gains access into the orbiter through the White Room. The rotating structure provides protected access to the orbiter for changeout and servicing of payloads at the pad. The structure is supported by a rotating bridge that pivots about a vertical axis on the west side of the pad's flame trench. After the RSS is rolled back, the orbiter is ready for fuel cell activation and external tank cryogenic propellant loading operations. The pad is cleared to the perimeter gate for operations to fill the external tank with about 500,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants used by the shuttle’s main engines. This is done at the pad approximately eight hours before the scheduled launch. Endeavour and its crew will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Launch is scheduled for 2:28 a.m. EDT March 11. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

European Space Agency's 'Jules Verne' Automated Transfer Vehicle ATV-1 re-entry in Earth's atmosphere over Pacific Ocean. The breakup ad fragmentation of the ESA's ATV-1 was captured in dramatic fashion by scientists aboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory and a Gulfstream V aircraft as it re-entered the atmosphere early Monday morning over the South Pacific. Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center/ESA/Jesse Carpenter/Bill Moede

NASA Day at AT&T Park: NASA and the San Francisco Giants share a day to celebrate the 50 year anniversaries.

S122-E-008923 (15 Feb. 2008) --- Astronaut Rex Walheim, mission specialist, performs work on the outside of the Columbus laboratory, the newest piece of hardware on the International Space Station. Astronaut Stanley Love (out of frame), mission specialist, shared this final period of STS-122 extravehicular activity with Walheim.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - From inside the Payload Changeout Room on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers oversee the opening of the doors of the payload canister. The canister contains space shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission payload, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo (center) and the Lightweight Multi-Purpose Experiment Support Structure Carrier (bottom). The payload will be moved into the PCR. Later, the payload will be installed in Endeavour's payload bay. Endeavour is targeted for launch on Nov. 14. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

S122-E-008149 (13 Feb. 2008) --- Anchored to a foot restraint on the station's robotic Canadarm2, astronaut Rex Walheim, STS-122 mission specialist, transfers a large nitrogen tank assembly -- used for pressurizing the station's ammonia cooling system -- during the second scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, spacecraft is being prepared for its move to the Hazardous Processing Facility for fueling. The GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our Universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. A launch date is still to be determined. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Kerley

Periodic Layering in Becquerel Crater, Mars

Soil on Phoenix MECA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In an area near S.R. 520 in Orange County, Florida, a worker ties a line to a steel beam that will be added to a tower being constructed for a Doppler weather radar facility for the 45th Weather Squadron. In the background is the radome that will be on top of the tower. The new site replaces one at Patrick Air Force Base. It will be used by NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the 45th Space Wing and their customers. The site will be able to monitor weather conditions directly above and surrounding the launch pads at Kennedy. The weather radar is essential in issuing lightning and other severe weather warnings and vital in evaluating lightning launch commit criteria. The new radar, replacing what was installed 25 years ago at Patrick Air Force Base, includes Doppler capability to detect winds and identify the type, size and number of precipitation particles. The site is ideally distant from the launch pads and has unobstructed views of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy. The radar will be used by forecasters at the USAF 45th Weather Squadron. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- After exiting the crew transport vehicle, STS-122 Commander Steve Frick tells the media how thankful he and the crew are for the shuttle and mission preparation that made the mission such a success. After a round trip of nearly 5.3 million miles, space shuttle Atlantis and crew returned to Earth with a landing at 9:07 a.m. EST. The shuttle landed on orbit 202 to complete the 13-day STS-122 mission. Main gear touchdown was 9:07:10 a.m. Nose gear touchdown was 9:07:20 a.m. Wheel stop was at 9:08:08 a.m. Mission elapsed time was 12 days, 18 hours, 21 minutes and 44 seconds. During the mission, Atlantis' crew installed the new Columbus laboratory, leaving a larger space station and one with increased science capabilities. The Columbus Research Module adds nearly 1,000 cubic feet of habitable volume and affords room for 10 experiment racks, each an independent science lab. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

This is an overall view of the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia during the Expedition 7 mission, Wednesday, April 30, 2003. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A second shipping container of major flight hardware for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is transported to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to begin preparations for its targeted October launch. The container holds the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier, or SLIC, and the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier, or ORUC. The payload carriers will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during the servicing mission. The three payload carriers or pallets are the Flight Support System, the SLIC and the ORUC. At the end of July, a fourth and final carrier, the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment carrier will join the others in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where the Hubble payload is being prepared for launch. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - After its shipping cover was removed, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo Exposed Facility is moved to a high bay in the Space Station Processing Facility, or EF, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. When it is installed on the Kibo laboratory, the EF will provide a multipurpose platform where science experiments can be deployed and operated in the exposed environment. The payloads attached to the EF can be exchanged or retrieved by Kibo's robotic arm, the JEM Remote Manipulator System. The EF, along with the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, will be carried aboard space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission targeted for launch May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA Ames Robotics Academy Interns at the Lunar Science Institute (LSI) building 17

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – After arrival of the cargo plane, the shipping container holding the OSTM/Jason-2 satellite is offloaded at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The satellite will be taken to the Astrotech processing facility. The OSTM, or Ocean Topography Mission, on the Jason-2 satellite is a follow-on to Jason-1. It will take oceanographic studies of sea surface height into an operational mode for continued climate forecasting research and science and industrial applications. This satellite altimetry data will help determine ocean circulation, climate change and sea-level rise. OSTM is a joint effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales and the European Meteorological Satellite Organisation. OSTM/Jason-2 will be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II 7320 from Vandenberg on June 15. Photo credit: NASA/Steve Greenberg, JPL

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 crew participate in a crew equipment interface test, or CEIT. Here, Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus, with glasses, receives guidance from a Kennedy employee, as Mission Specialist Steve Bowen looks on, at center wearing glasses. The CEIT provides hands-on experience with hardware and equipment slated to fly on their mission. Endeavour will deliver a multi-purpose logistics module to the International Space Station on the STS-126 mission. Launch is targeted for Nov. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

D-Star Panorama by Opportunity False Color

ISS018-E-008676 (16 Nov. 2008) --- Backdropped by a blue and white Earth, Space Shuttle Endeavour approaches the International Space Station during STS-126 rendezvous and docking operations. Docking occurred at 4:01 p.m. (CST) on Nov. 16, 2008. The Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module is visible in Endeavour's cargo bay with over 14,000 pounds of cargo for the space station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers place an element of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo Exposed Facility, or EF, on the floor of the high bay. When it is installed on the Kibo laboratory, the EF will provide a multipurpose platform where science experiments can be deployed and operated in the exposed environment. The payloads attached to the EF can be exchanged or retrieved by Kibo's robotic arm, the JEM Remote Manipulator System. The EF, along with the Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, will be carried aboard space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission targeted for launch May 15, 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – After space shuttle Discovery's landing on Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, NASA VIPs take a close look at the orbiter. From left are Center Director Bill Parsons and Associate Administrator for Space Operations Bill Gerstenmaier. At right are the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Director of Program Management and Integration Yuichi Yamaura and Vice President Kaoru Mamiya. Discovery's landing ended the STS-124 mission, a 14-day flight to the International Space Station. The main landing gear touched down at 11:15:19 a.m. EDT. The nose landing gear touched down at 11:15:30 a.m. and wheel stop was at 11:16:19 a.m. The mission completed 5.7 million miles. The STS-124 mission delivered the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's large Japanese Pressurized Module and its remote manipulator system to the space station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Hooded Merganser ducks swim on a pond in the Merritt island National Wildlife Refuge, which borders NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Their habitat includes wooded ponds, lakes and rivers. They are most often seen along rivers and estuaries during the fall and winter. They feed chiefly on small fish, which they pursue in long, rapid, underwater dives, and also frogs and aquatic insects. The center shares a boundary with the refuge that includes salt-water estuaries, brackish marshes, hardwood hammocks and pine flatwoods. The diverse landscape provides habitat for more than 310 species of birds, 25 mammals, 117 fishes and 65 amphibians and reptiles. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Singularity University First Meeting with Ames Center Director Pete Worden,

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, workers prepare to close the hatch on the Japanese Experiment Module, called Kibo. The closing is in preparation for the transfer to a payload canister and the move to the launch pad. On the mission, space shuttle Discovery will transport the Kibo module and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System, or JEM-RMS, to complete the Kibo laboratory. The launch of Discovery is targeted for April 24. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

September 11th remembrance ceremony held in front of NASA Research Park Bldg-17 (Lunar Science Institute) hosted by the American Legion, Post 881, Moffett Field. Step off to Amazing Grace - POW/MIA Detail; TSgt Robert Soua, Detail Commander, 129th Security Forces, TSgt Rachel Velasco, SSgt Susan Avalos, SSgt Alex Cohen, SSgt Elias Gonzalez

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- NASA Flow Director for space shuttle Endeavour, Ken Tenbusch (left) holds the tie cut by Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach (right) after the successful launch of Endeavour. The tie-cutting is a tradition for first-timers. Liftoff was on time at 2:28 a.m. EDT. The crew will make a record-breaking 16-day mission to the International Space Station and deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Beneath the Haze