NASA Gallery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers talk near the opened hatch of the Italian-built Node 2. A future element of the International Space Station, Node 2 arrived at KSC June 1. The second of three Station connecting modules, Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab and provides attach locations for the Japanese laboratory, European laboratory, the Centrifuge Accommodation Module and, later, Multipurpose Logistics Modules. It will provide the primary docking location for the Shuttle when a pressurized mating adapter is attached to Node 2. Installation of the module will complete the U.S. Core of the ISS. Node 2 is the designated payload for mission STS-120. No orbiter or launch date has been determined yet.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, workers talk near the opened hatch of the...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Italian-built module, U.S. Node 2, begins its transfer from the Shuttle Landing Facility to the Space Station Processing Facility. Inthe background, left, is the Beluga aircraft that brought it to KSC. The second of three connecting modules on the International Space Station, Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab and provides attach locations for the Japanese laboratory, European laboratory, the Centrifuge Accommodation Module and, later, Multipurpose Logistics Modules. It will provide the primary docking location for the Shuttle when a pressurized mating adapter is attached to Node 2. Installation of the module will complete the U.S. Core of the ISS. Node 2 is the designated payload for mission STS-120. No orbiter or launch date has been determined yet.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in the Payload Changeout Room (PCR) at Launch Pad 39A are preparing to close the payload doors for flight on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, targeted for liftoff on Mission STS-79 around Sept. 12. The payloads in Atlantis' cargo bay will play key roles during the upcoming spaceflight, which will be highlighted by the fourth docking between the U.S. Shuttle and Russian Space Station Mir. Located in the aft (lowermost) area of the payload bay is the SPACEHAB Double Module, filled with supplies and other items slated for transfer to the Russian Space Station Mir as well as research equipment. The SPACEHAB is connected by tunnel to the Orbiter Docking System (ODS). This view looks directly at the top of the ODS and shows clearly the Androgynous Peripheral Docking System (APDS) that interfaces with the Docking Module on Mir to achieve a linkup.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, workers check the connections after the Mars Exploration Rover 1 (MER-B) above was mated with the third stage of the Delta rocket below. The second of twin rovers being sent to Mars, it is equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow it to have a human-like, 3D view of the terrain. Each rover could travel as far as 100 meters in one day to act as Mars scientists' eyes and hands, exploring an environment where humans can't yet go. MER-B is scheduled to launch from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, June 26 at one of two available times, 12:27:31 a.m. EDT or 1:08:45 a.m. EDT.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in the Payload Changeout Room (PCR) at Launch Pad 39A are preparing to close the payload doors for flight on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, targeted for liftoff on Mission STS-79 around Sept. 12. The SPACEHAB Double Module located in the aft area of the payload bay is filled with supplies and other items slated for transfer to the Russian Space Station Mir. STS-79 marks the second flight of a SPACEHAB in support of the Shuttle-Mir dockings, and the first flight of the double-module configuration. The SPACEHAB is connected by tunnel to the Orbiter Docking System (ODS), with the Androgynous Peripheral Docking System (APDS) clearly visible on top of the ODS. The APDS provides the docking interface for the linkup with Mir, while the ODS provides a passageway from the orbiter to the Russian space station and the SPACEHAB.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Astronaut Tim Kopra (second from right) talks with workers in the Space Station Processing Facility about the Intravehicular Activity (IVA) constraints testing on the Italian-built Node 2, a future element of the International Space Station. . The second of three Station connecting modules, the Node 2 attaches to the end of the U.S. Lab and provides attach locations for several other elements. Kopra is currently assigned technical duties in the Space Station Branch of the Astronaut Office, where his primary focus involves the testing of crew interfaces for two future ISS modules as well as the implementation of support computers and operational Local Area Network on ISS. Node 2 is scheduled to launch on mission STS-120, Station assembly flight 10A.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The orbiter Ku-band antenna looms large in this view of the Space Shuttle Atlantis' payload bay. Visible just past the antenna system - stowed on the starboard side of the payload bay wall - is the Orbiter Docking System (ODS), and connected to the ODS via a tunnel is the Spacehab Double Module in the aft area of the payload bay. This photograph was taken from the starboard wing platform on the fifth level of the Payload Changeout Room (PCR) at Launch Pad 39A. Work is under way in the PCR to close Atlantis' payload bay doors for flight. Atlantis currently is being targeted for liftoff on Mission STS-79, the fourth docking of the U.S. Shuttle to the Russian Space Station Mir, around Sept. 12.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers prepare to lift a nose cone to top out one of a pair of replica space shuttle solid...

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A pair of replica space shuttle solid rocket boosters stand at the entry of the space shuttle...

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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians prepare the Orbital...

Long Exposure Photos of Mobile Launcher

A long-exposure view of the mobile launcher at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Cranes and rigging are being...

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At the Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-97 Mission Specialist Joseph Tanner (left) is greeted by Center Director Roy...

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In bay 3 of the Orbiter Processing Facility, a tool storage assembly unit is being...

Boeing CFT Starliner Move to VIF, SLC-41

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, set to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the agency’s Boeing...

Parker Solar Probe Delta IV Heavy LVOS

A view from above in the Vertical Integration Facility near Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force...

Artemis II OSA Arrival to MPPF

Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida complete routine inspections the Artemis II Orion stage...

Parker Solar Probe Solar Array Deployment

NASA's Parker Solar Probe solar arrays are deployed for testing at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville,...

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Space Shuttle Discovery makes its way along the crawlerway to Launch Pad 39B. First...

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STS098-713a-019 (16 February 2001) --- The International Space Station is backdropped over clouds, water and land in...

Orion EM-1 Crew Module Adapter Move to Clean Room

Inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida,...

Parker Solar Probe Spacecraft Arrival, Offload and Transport

NASA's Parker Solar Probe, secured in its shipping container, arrives at the Astrotech processing facility near the...

Orion Stage Adapter (OSA) Lift in High Bay

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers...

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In bay 3 of the Orbiter Processing Facility, workers oversee the lowering of the tool...

ULA Delta IV Heavy Second Stage & Port Common Booster Core for t

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy second stage, packaged in its shipping container, arrives at the Horizontal...