The Orion test capsule undergoes stationary recovery testing in Norfolk, VA on Aug. 13, 2013. NASA and the U.S Navy led the tests using the USS Arlington...The stationary recovery tests allow the teams to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes, the hardware and the test personnel in a controlled environment. ..During the test, the U.S Navy Dive Team checked the capsule for hazards while sailors from the USS Arlington approached the capsule in inflatable boats, and towed it back to the ship’s flooded well deck. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

This artist concept illustrates a supermassive black hole with millions to billions times the mass of our sun. Supermassive black holes are enormously dense objects buried at the hearts of galaxies.

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., NASA's Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM, satellite is mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket poised for launch at Space Launch Complex 3E. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission LDCM is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government. The Landsat Program provides repetitive acquisition of high resolution multispectral data of the Earth's surface on a global basis. The data from the Landsat spacecraft constitute the longest record of the Earth's continental surfaces as seen from space. It is a record unmatched in quality, detail, coverage, and value. Liftoff is planned for Feb. 11, 2013 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. For more information, visit: http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_landsat_main_index.html Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, modifications to Firing Room 3 in the Launch Control Center, or LCC, continue. Wiring and conduits below the floor have been upgraded. The legacy flooring was removed and new flooring has been installed. Some of the new launch control work stations are being positioned for installation in the room. Firing Rooms inside the LCC are being upgraded by the Ground System Development and Operations Program at Kennedy to support the processing and launch of multiple types of rockets and spacecraft, whether they are government or commercial models. Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 is transitioning to support multiple users with the Firing Rooms being modified to be more generic in nature for upcoming programs. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

The doors of the gantry support structure are opened to reveal the Minotaur V rocket on Pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Friday, Sept. 6, 2013 in Virginia. The Minotaur V will launch NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE). LADEE is a robotic mission that will orbit the moon where it will provide unprecedented information about the environment around the moon and give scientists a better understanding of other planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond. LADEE is scheduled to launch at 11:27 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

This frame from a movie was produced with data from NASA Aqua spacecraft showing the spread of carbon monoxide pollution across North America from fires in the Western U.S., including the Beaver Creek Fire in Idaho and the Rim Fire in California.

DATE: 5-21-13 LOCATION: NBL - Pool Topside SUBJECT: Mike Hopkins during INCR-37 ISS EVA Maintenance 95027 run with astronaut Kathleen Rubins. PHOTOGRAPHER: Lauren Harnett

With the famed Tsar Bell in the background, Expedition 35-36 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy of NASA posed for pictures March 7 during a traditional tour of the Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow. Cassidy, Soyuz Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin are preparing for launch to the International Space Station March 29, Kazakh time, in their Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA / Stephanie Stoll

ISS038-E-007980 (23 Nov. 2013) --- A close inspection of this image, photographed by one of the Expedition 38 crew members aboard the International Space Station, reveals a pin-head sized view of an object which is actually the comet ISON, seen just to the right of center and a little below center in the frame. Hardware components of the orbital outpost and Earth's atmosphere above the horizon take up most of the image. Most of the other bright dots in the sky are heavenly bodies. The comet is distinguishable by its tail.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

ISS037-E-006454 (3 Oct. 2013) --- European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, Expedition 37 flight engineer, prepares to use the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation System (CEVIS) in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station.

Technicians work on assembly of the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion service module mass simulator at the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at Kennedy Space Center on March 13, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

ISS036-E-006166 (3 June 2013) --- Inside the Cupola, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, an Expedition 36 flight engineer, uses a 400mm lens on a digital still camera to photograph a target of opportunity on Earth some 250 miles below him and the International Space Station. Cassidy has been aboard the orbital outpost since late March and will continue his stay into September.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Dan Mitchell, director of location-based entertainment for Rovio Entertainment, helps a child use a giant slingshot to launch a plush Angry Bird character during the grand opening of the new Angry Birds Space Encounter. Finland-based Rovio Entertainment, the creator of the Angry Birds Space game, partnered with Kennedy Space Center to bring the beloved characters to life. It is the first Angry Birds interactive exhibit in the United States designed for people of all ages. The 4,485-square-foot facility hosts the space adventures of the Angry Birds as they travel into an intergalactic wormhole, come face-to-face with Space Pigs and discover heroic superpowers. Six interactive stations are designed to encourage children in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields of study. Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

Edwards, Calif. – ED13-0266-013- Sierra Nevada Corporation, or SNC, team members prepare for 60 mph tow tests of the company's Dream Chaser flight vehicle on taxi and runways at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Ground testing at 10, 20, 40 and 60 miles per hour is helping the company validate the performance of the spacecraft's braking and landing systems prior to captive-carry and free-flight tests scheduled for later this year. SNC is continuing the development of its Dream Chaser spacecraft under the agency's Commercial Crew Development Round 2, or CCDev2, and Commercial Crew Integrated Capability, or CCiCap, phases, which are intended to lead to the availability of commercial human spaceflight services for government and commercial customers. To learn more about CCP and its industry partners, visit www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew. Image credit: NASA/Ken Ulbrich

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers load NASA's TDRS-L satellite onto a trailer at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The TDRS is the latest spacecraft destined for the agency's constellation of communications satellites that allows nearly continuous contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Project Morpheus lander sits inside the bay of a support building at the Shuttle Landing Facility, or SLF. Testing of the prototype lander has been ongoing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for free flight testing at Kennedy. The SLF will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus utilizes an autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, payload that will allow it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is one of 20 small projects comprising the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, program in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. AES projects pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/exploration/morpheus/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

You Can Bartok the Talk, But Can You Barwok the Walk?

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – Following arrival at Port Canaveral, Fla., the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will boost the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft into orbit is being towed off the barge, Delta Mariner. The launch vehicle will then be transported to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center for checkout in preparation for launch. TDRS-L is the second of three next-generation satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop an Atlas V rocket in January 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay service to missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/content/tracking-and-data-relay-satellite-tdrs/ Photo credit: NASA/ Kim Shiflett

PHOTO DATE: 10-28-13 LOCATION: NBL - Pool Topside SUBJECT: Expedition 42/43 crew training at the NBL with Scott Kelly and Samantha Cristoforetti during ISS EVA Maintenance 2 PRF. PHOTOGRAPHER: BILL STAFFORD

Dr. Woodrow Whitlow, Jr. (left), Associate Administrator for Mission Support Directorate at NASA Headquarters presents Donna Brazile, keynote speaker at a program celebrating National Women's History Month, with a framed NASA montage, Thursday, March 14, 2013 in Washington. The theme of theprogram was "Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination," and was sponsored by the HQ Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management Division at NASA Headquarters. The event also commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the Women's Suffrage March on Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

DATE: 11-20-13 LOCATION: Van Horn, Tx SUBJECT: Blue Origin Milestone 3.6 BE-3 Engine Test Fire PHOTOGRAPHER: Lauren Harnett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Jason Townsend of NASA's Social Media Team welcomes agency social media followers to the first day of activities of a NASA Social revolving around NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-K mission. NASA Socials are in-person meetings for people who engage with the agency through Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social networks. The satellite, known as TDRS-K, is set to launch at 8:48 p.m. EST on Jan. 30 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. About 50 followers were selected to participate in the TDRS-K prelaunch and launch activities and share them with their own fan base. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Media and NASA Social participants view Orion recovery operations and tour the USS Arlington at the Norfolk Naval base in Virginia on Aug. 15, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

Several fractures cross through Gorgonum Chaos in this image captured by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket set to carry NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, begins its move from the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad. Liftoff for the TDRS-K is planned for Jan. 30, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_tdrs_index.html Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

At the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 35-36 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy of NASA (left) displays a flight data file book titled “Fast Rendezvous” March 21 as he, Soyuz Commander Pavel Vinogradov (center) and Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin (right) train for launch to the International Space Station March 29, Kazakh time, in their Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a 5 ½ month mission. The “fast rendezvous” refers to the expedited four-orbit, six-hour trip from the launch pad to reach the International Space Station March 29 through an accelerated rendezvous burn plan, the first time this approach will be used for crews flying to the international complex. NASA/Victor Zelentsov

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Project Morpheus prototype lander has been attached to a tether and is being prepared for a tether test on a transportable launch platform positioned at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility. The tether test includes lifting the lander 20 feet by crane, ascending another 10 feet, maneuvering backwards 10 feet, and then flying forward and descending to its original position, landing at the end of the tether. Testing of the prototype lander was performed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for tethered and free flight testing at Kennedy. The landing facility will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus utilizes an autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, payload that will allow it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

Expedition 36/37 Flight Engineer Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency, a major in the Italian Air Force, salutes in tribute to Russian space icons interred in the Kremlin Wall during a tour of Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow May 8. Parmitano, Flight Engineer Karen Nyberg of NASA and Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin are preparing for their launch May 29, Kazakh time, in their Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-month mission on the International Space Station. NASA/Stephanie Stoll

ISS036-E-005828 (3 June 2013) --- One of the Expedition 36 crew members aboard the International Space Station photographed this image of a docked Russian Progress cargo spacecraft backdropped by the ocean between Antarctica and Australia. A close look just above the right solar panel on the Progress reveals a half moon.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a full-size mock-up of the Orion spacecraft and launch abort system were transported to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. In the background are full-size replicas of the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters that mark the entranceway to the new Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit. Crane operators and technicians practice de-stacking operations on mock-ups of Orion and the launch abort system in the Vehicle Assembly Building in order to keep processing procedures and skills current. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry crews to space beyond low Earth orbit. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orion’s first unpiloted test flight is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket. A second uncrewed flight test is scheduled for 2017 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

The Orion space capsule is seen as it rolls down Pennsylvania Avenue during the inaugural parade honoring President Barack Obaama, Monday Jan. 21, 2013, in Washington. Obama was sworn-in as the nation's 44th President earlier in the day. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

U.S. President Obama recognizes NASA Administrator Charles Bolden during his remarks at the 3rd Annual White House Science Fair in the East Room of the White House on Monday, April 22, 2013. The science fair celebrated student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

This colorized map from NASA Dawn mission shows the types of rocks and minerals distributed around the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

Earth observation taken during a day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message: Southwest Egypt.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Ed Hoffman and Annie Caraccio discuss the 'Young Professional's Perspective at NASA' during the final day of a weeklong series called 'Masters with Masters.' Hoffman, NASA's chief Knowledge officer, and Caraccio, a chemical engineer in the Engineering and Technology Directorate at Kennedy, were joined by Philip Harris, an International Operations engineer from the Johnson Space Center via a television link with NASA's office in Moscow. Photo credit: NASA_Jim Grossmann

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

BOEING HIGH CAPACITY FUEL TANK BEING READIED FOR PLACEMENT ON WEST TEST AREA TEST STAND IN ANTICIPATION OF FURTHER TESTING.

This image of a Martian rock dubbed Sayunei is illuminated by ultraviolet LEDs light emitting diodes is part of the first set of nighttime images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imagery camera at the end of the robotic arm of NASA Mars rover Curiosity.

Earth observation taken during a day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message: Aydar Lake, Uzbekistan.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A NASA F-18 and an Orbital Sciences L-1011 carrier aircraft taxi to the runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., before taking off on a mission to launch NASA's IRIS spacecraft into low-Earth orbit. IRIS, short for Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, was launched aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket released from the L-1011. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In Hangar N at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, PaR Systems, Inc. development engineer Wayne Cheng, left, and operations engineer Jeff Elston operate a robotic system used in nondestructive testing. The 11-axis robotic system takes X-ray images of hardware for evaluation. NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida recently established a partnership agreement with PaR Systems, Inc. of Shoreview, Minn., for operation of the Hangar N facility and its nondestructive testing and evaluation equipment. As the spaceport transitions from a historically government-only launch facility to a multi-user spaceport for both federal and commercial customers, partnerships between the space agency and other organizations will be a key element in that effort. Hangar N is located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station adjacent to Kennedy and houses a unique inventory of test and evaluation equipment and the capability for current and future mission spaceflight support. Photo credit: NASA/ Dimitri Gerondidakis

Teams peform Orion Parachute Test Vehicle (PTV) loading operations on July 22, 2013 in preparation for the July 24 parachute drop test at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

TEST FLIGHT OF THE LANDER PROTOTYPE “MIGHTY EAGLE” OVER A SIMULATED LUNAR LANDSCAPE. SEPTEMBER 20, 2013

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Monica DeFelice, one of nine Florida Institute of Technology aspiring journalists visiting Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 22, interviews astronaut and Expedition 35 flight engineer Chris Cassidy during an International Space Station downlink in the Press Site auditorium. The journalists, in collaboration with Florida Today, are working on a multimedia project that examines health in zero gravity and how life in space can help people live better on Earth. These multimedia stories will be published for the print and online versions of Florida Today. During their visit, they worked on multimedia deadline news assignments at the Press Site. They also met with Kennedy Director Bob Cabana who talked about NASA's goals for the future and his own experience in space, answering questions about health effects of spaceflight. The journalists toured the Vehicle Assembly Building and the Apollo Saturn V Center. Learn about the Florida Institute of Technology journalists' findings on their Facebook page at http:__www.facebook.com_FT3atFIT or Twitter at #SpaceHealth. Photo credit: NASA_Jim Grossmann

ISS037-E-000022 (10 Sept. 2013) --- The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station?s Poisk Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2) and heads toward a landing in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 11, 2013 (Kazakhstan time). Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, Expedition 36 commander; along with NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, both flight engineers, are ending a five-and-a-half month stay at the space station where they served as members of the Expedition 35 and 36 crews.

JSC2013-E-026155 (April 2013) --- Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, Expedition 36/37. Photo credit: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

MOJAVE DESERT, Calif. – In the Mojave Desert in California, students and engineers participate in a pre-task briefing as preparations continue for the June 15 launch of a Garvey Spacecraft Corporation Prospector P-18D rocket on a high-altitude, suborbital flight. The rocket will carry four satellites made from four-inch cube section. Collectively known as CubeSats, the satellites will record shock, vibrations and heat inside the rocket. They will not be released during the test flight, but the results will be used to prove or strengthen their designs before they are carried into orbit in 2014 on a much larger rocket. A new, lightweight carrier is also being tested for use on future missions to deploy the small spacecraft. The flight also is being watched closely as a model for trying out new or off-the-shelf technologies quickly before putting them in the pipeline for use on NASA's largest launchers. Built by several different organizations, including a university, a NASA field center and a high school, the spacecraft are four-inch cubes designed to fly on their own eventually, but will remain firmly attached to the rocket during the upcoming mission. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/elana/cubesatlaunchpreview.html Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

U.S. Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) speaks at a Green Propellant Infusion Mission press conference at the Reserve Officers Association, Tuesday, July 9, 2013 in Washington. The NASA GPIM program, led by Ball Aerospace in conjunction with Aerojet Rocketdyne, is demonstrating a high-performance "green" fuel in space. The propellant used on this mission offers nearly 50 percent better performance when compared to traditional hydrazine. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, guests participate in an early viewing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and other exhibits inside the 90,000-square-foot facility. The new $100 million facility will include interactive exhibits that tell the story of the 30-year Space Shuttle Program and highlight the future of space exploration. The "Space Shuttle Atlantis" exhibit is scheduled to open June 29, 2013.Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

ISS037-E-004959 (2 Oct. 2013) --- NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg, Expedition 37 flight engineer, performs the Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) hardware replacement in the Harmony node of the International Space Station.

Crew Commercial Office's PAO activities for Boeing's rollout of their CST-100 capsule - "First Look" Media Event. Photo Date: July 22, 2013. Location: Boeing - Houston Product Support Center. Photographer: Robert Markowitz

The Orion test capsule undergoes stationary recovery testing in Norfolk, VA on Aug. 13, 2013. NASA and the U.S Navy led the tests using the USS Arlington...The stationary recovery tests allow the teams to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes, the hardware and the test personnel in a controlled environment. ..During the test, the U.S Navy Dive Team checked the capsule for hazards while sailors from the USS Arlington approached the capsule in inflatable boats, and towed it back to the ship’s flooded well deck. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, a granite plaque marks the spot where space shuttle Atlantis' nose gear came to a stop at the conclusion of STS-135, the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program. Permanent reminders indicate where on the runway the orbiters Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis stopped rolling as each finished its last mission in 2011. In addition to the granite markers, which are installed alongside the runway, there are etchings in the grooved concrete along the runway's centerline to mark each wheelstop. The etchings and markers were created and installed by local artist Chad Stout of C Spray Glass Blasting in Cocoa, Fla. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket set to carry NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, nears the launch pad after leaving the Vertical Integration Facility. Liftoff for the TDRS-K is planned for Jan. 30, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

On Nov. 8, 2013, NASA Terra spacecraft acquired this image of Super Typhoon Haiyan as it tore across the central Philippines, leaving a trail of destruction in its path. Among the worst-hit areas is eastern Leyte island and the city of Tacloban.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands on the launch pad at Launch Complex 40, awaiting a test firing of the vehicle's nine Merlin first-stage engines. The test is part of prelaunch preparations for the upcoming SpaceX 2 mission. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is planned for March 1, 2013, at 10:10 a.m. EST, from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Dragon will be making its third trip to the space station. It will carry supplies and experiments to the orbiting laboratory. The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_station_structure_launch_spacex2-feature.html Photo credit: NASA_Frankie Martin

This set of images from NASA Curiosity rover shows a patch of rock before and after it was cleaned by Curiosity Dust Removal Tool DRT.

Earth observation taken during a night pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message: Orion.

Crew Commercial Office's PAO activities for Boeing's rollout of their CST-100 capsule - "First Look" Media Event. Photo Date: July 22, 2013. Location: Boeing - Houston Product Support Center. Photographer: Robert Markowitz

Wind has played a large role in sculpting the complex features in this image captured by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft. This image is located north of Gusev Crater.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 34 crewmember.

DATE: 5-21-13 LOCATION: NBL - Pool Topside SUBJECT: Mike Hopkins during INCR-37 ISS EVA Maintenance 95027 run with astronaut Kathleen Rubins. PHOTOGRAPHER: Lauren Harnett

John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, introduces a panel to discuss the upcoming launch of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, at a press conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington on Monday, Oct. 28th, 2013. MAVEN is the agency's next mission to Mars and the first devoted to understanding the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet. (Photo credit: NASA/Jay Westcott)

NextSafe 2.5 Motion Simulation Experiment Crew evaluation of vision system technologies

Teams peform Orion Parachute Test Vehicle (PTV) loading operations on July 22, 2013 in preparation for the July 24 parachute drop test at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

Expedition 38 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, on bus left, Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA, and, Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, right, wave farewell to friends and family as they depart the Cosmonaut hotel ahead of their launch on a Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Julio Najarro of Mechanical Systems checks out the fully assembled rocket to be launched as part of a NASA's Rocket University program. The launch will test systems designed by the student engineers. As part of Rocket University, the engineers are given an opportunity to work a fast-track project to develop skills in developing spacecraft systems of the future. As NASA plans for future spaceflight programs to low-Earth orbit and beyond, teams of engineers at Kennedy are gaining experience in designing and flying launch vehicle systems on a small scale. Four teams of five to eight members from Kennedy are designing rockets complete with avionics and recovery systems. Launch operations require coordination with federal agencies, just as they would with rockets launched in support of a NASA mission. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

ISS037-E-028082 (9 Nov. 2013) --- Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy, Expedition 37 flight engineer, attired in a Russian Orlan spacesuit, participates in a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) in support of assembly and maintenance on the International Space Station. During the five-hour, 50-minute spacewalk, Ryazanskiy and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov (out of frame) continued the setup of a combination EVA workstation and biaxial pointing platform that was installed during an Expedition 36 spacewalk on Aug. 22.

The Soyuz TMA-11M rocket is rolled out to the launch pad by train on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for November 7 and will send Expedition 38 Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA and Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

STS093-348-006 (22-27 July 1999) --- Astronaut Steven A. Hawley, mission specialist, communicates with students using the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment-2 (SAREX II) equipment on the flight deck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia.

DATE: 7-3-13 LOCATION: Bldg 9NW - ISS Mockups. SUBJECT: Expedition 36S crew members, Kotov, Ryazansky and Hopkins and 37S crew (Wakata, Tyurin, Mastracchio) during Emergency Scenarios Training. PHOTOGRAPHER: Lauren Harnett

NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory is fully loaded with seats and instrument racks in preparation for NASA's 2013 SEAC4RS climate science mission.

A View from Afar

Earth observation taken during a night pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message: Day turns to night at the terminator.

Charlie Precourt, Vice President and General Manager, ATK Space Launch Division, gestures while speaking at a panel discussion on deep space exploration using the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft at the Newseum in Washington on Tuesday, November 12, 2013. Photo Credit: (NASA/Jay Westcott)

Expedition 43 Commander (Soyuz 41) astronaut Terry Virts during his T-38 Ops flight at Ellington Field. Photo Date: October 22, 2013. Location: Ellington Field - Hangar 276. Photographer: Robert Markowitz

The Orion Test Capsule was loaded on a Navy INLS "Improved Navy Lighterage System" at Fort Eustis Tuesday from where it will be transported to Little Creek Amphibious Base in Norfolk.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Media attending a pre-launch news conference at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. heard from Julie Robinson, NASA program scientist for the International Space Station. Scheduled for launch March 1 atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the SpaceX Dragon capsule will be making its third trip to the space station. The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the orbiting laboratory. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_station_structure_launch_spacex2-feature.html Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett

The Orion Test Capsule spent 4 hour in the water tank under NASA Langley's gantry to prove it is ready for the open water recovery test at Norfolk Naval Station.

250 students participated in the Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars (LARSS) Presentations focused on 3D modeling of STARBUKS calibration components in the National Transonic Facility, hypersonic aerodynamic inflatable decelerator, and optimization of a microphone-based array for flight testing. Reid Center LaRC Hampton, VA

PHOTO DATE: 5-9-13 LOCATION: Bldg. 9NW - ISS Mockups SUBJECT: ISS Routine Ops training session with Butch Wilmore from Soyuz 40, Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoforetti from Soyuz 41 and Scott Kelly from Soyuz 42. PHOTOGRAPHER: Lauren Harnett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians install the piping for a new exhaust system in crawler-transporter 1, or CT-1. Work continues in high bay 3 to upgrade CT-1 as part of its general maintenance. CT-1 could be available to carry commercial launch vehicles to the launch pad. The crawler-transporters were used to carry the mobile launcher platform and space shuttle to Launch Complex 39 for space shuttle launches for 30 years. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians prepare the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft for encapsulation inside its payload fairing. MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NextSafe-3 Simulator with Cockpit view, Head worn displays

ISS038-E-010407 (30 Nov. 2013) --- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 38 flight engineer, is pictured in a hatch in the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Crawler-transporter 1 approaches the slope on the crawlerway leading up to Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. New jacking, equalizing and leveling, or JEL, hydraulic cylinders were installed on CT-1 and will undergo a leveling and turning test as the crawler travels along the slope to the top of the pad. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy continues to upgrade the crawler-transporter as part of its general maintenance. CT-1 could be available to carry a variety of launch vehicles to the launch pad. Two crawler-transporters were used to carry the mobile launcher platform and space shuttle to Launch Complex 39 for space shuttle launches for 30 years. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Security monitors the Soyuz TMA-11M rocket as it is rolled out to the launch pad by train on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for November 7 and will send Expedition 38 Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA and Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

ISS037-E-000038 (10 Sept. 2013) --- The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft departs from the International Space Station?s Poisk Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2) and heads toward a landing in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 11, 2013 (Kazakhstan time). Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, Expedition 36 commander; along with NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, both flight engineers, are ending a five-and-a-half month stay at the space station where they served as members of the Expedition 35 and 36 crews.

The F ring shows off a rich variety of phenomena in this image from NASA Cassini spacecraft.

PHOTO DATE: 29 April 2013 LOCATION: Bldg. 9NW, Space Vehicle Mockup Training Facility - ISS Mockups SUBJECT: Expedition 39/40 (Soyuz 38) crew members, Steve Swanson, Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemiev during Routine Ops sim in the ISS mockups at the Johnson Space Center.

This image of Arruntia AV-L-03, from the atlas of the giant asteroid Vesta, was created from images taken as NASA Dawn mission flew around the object, also known as a protoplanet. The set of maps was created from mosaics of10,000 images from Dawn's framing camera instrument, taken at a low altitude of about 130 miles (210 kilometers). This map is mostly at a scale about that of regional road touring maps, where every inch of map is equivalent to a little more than 3 miles of asteroid (one centimeter equals 2 kilometers). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19507

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, all of the old crawler track panels have been removed from the surface and construction workers are repairing the concrete surface and catacomb roof below. Framing for the new crawler track panels is being installed in repaired areas of the pad surface. Launch Pad 39B is being refurbished to support NASA’s Space Launch System and other launch vehicles. The Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, Program office at Kennedy is leading the center’s transformation to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft. For more information about GSDO, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

ISS034-E-040265 (5 Feb. 2013) --- Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, Expedition 34 flight engineer, holds two Material Science Laboratory Solidification and Quench Furnace (MSL SQF) Sample Cartridge Mechanical Protection Containers (MPCs), during MSL Sample Cartridge Exchange, in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, enclosed in its payload fairing, passes through the Launch Complex 39 area at NASA's Kennedy Space Center as it travels from the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., to its launch site. TDRS-K will lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. For more information, go to http:__www.nasa.gov_tdrs Photo credit: NASA_Glenn Benson

This frame from an animation from NASA Cassini spacecraft shows the swirling clouds in a vortex spawned by a great northern storm on Saturn. The clouds are moving in a clockwise direction.

Date: 08-23-13 Location: Bldg 9NW, ISS Airlock Mockup Subject: Expedition 38 crew members Rick Mastracchio and Koichi Wakata during INC-38 ISS EVA Prep & Post #2 training in the ISS Airlock mockup with instructors Megan Murphey, Michael Dino and Tamara York. In addition, non-assigned astronaut Jeanette Epps is participating Photographer: James Blair

With a picture of the Russian great designer Sergei Korolev over his right shoulder, Expedition 35-36 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy (right) poses for pictures March 7 with his crewmates, Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin (left) and Soyuz Commander Pavel Vinogradov (center) at the Gagarin Museum at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. The three crewmembers are training for their launch to the International Space Station March 29, Kazakh time, in their Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazkahstan. NASA / Stephanie Stoll

NextSafe 2.5 Motion Simulation Experiment Crew evaluation of vision system technologies