NASA Gallery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After leaving the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Shuttle Discovery makes its slow - up to 1 mile per hour - trek along the crawlerway to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for the STS-82 mission. The Shuttle is assembled on a Mobile Launcher Platform, seen in this view taken from above, and the entire assemblage is carried out to the launch pad on the crawler transporter, which is underneath the MLP. A seven-member crew will perform the second servicing of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during the 10-day STS-82 mission, which is targeted for a Feb. 11 liftoff.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After leaving the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Shuttle Discovery makes its slow...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, examines one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107 as Bob McLean, Southwest Texas State University, looks on. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation. The latter was sponsored by the Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, examines one of the...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - From left, Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, and Valerie Cassanto, Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., process one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation. The latter was sponsored by the Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - From left, Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, and Valerie...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - From left, Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, and Valerie Cassanto, Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., process one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation. The latter was sponsored by the Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - From left, Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, and Valerie...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - From left, Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, and Valerie Cassanto, Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., analyze one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation. The latter was sponsored by the Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - From left, Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida, and Valerie...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - From left, Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida; Valerie Cassanto, Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc.; and Dr. Dennis Morrison, NASA Johnson Space Center, process one of the experiments carried on mission STS-107. Several experiments were found during the search for Columbia debris. Included in the Commercial ITA Biomedical Experiments payload on mission STS-107 are urokinase cancer research, microencapsulation of drugs, the Growth of Bacterial Biofilm on Surfaces during Spaceflight (GOBBSS), and tin crystal formation. The latter was sponsored by the Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - From left, Barry Perlman, Pembroke Pines Charter Middle School in Florida; Valerie...

NASA DFRC Deputy Director Steven Schmidt and DFRC Shuttle Program Manager Joe D'Agostino greet Commander Eileen Collins and the crew of STS-114

NASA DFRC Deputy Director Steven Schmidt and DFRC Shuttle Program Manager Joe D'Agostino greet Commander Eileen...

Crew of STS-98, L to R: Mission Specialists Robert L. Curbeam, Thomas D. Jones, and Marsha S. Ivins, Commander Kenneth D. Cockrell, and Pilot Mark L. Polansky

The crew of STS-98 poses for a group photo shortly before leaving NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center after a...

Guy Bluford, First African American in Space: 40 Years of Inspiration

In 1983, NASA’s Guy Bluford broke barriers and made history as the first African American astronaut in space. Hear...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-120 Mission Specialists Michael Foreman (third from right) and STS-115 Mission Specialists Joseph Tanner (second from right) and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (right) look over the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Pressurized Module. Known as Kibo, the JEM consists of six components: two research facilities -- the Pressurized Module and Exposed Facility; a Logistics Module attached to each of them; a Remote Manipulator System; and an Inter-Orbit Communication System unit. Kibo also has a scientific airlock through which experiments are transferred and exposed to the external environment of space. The various components of JEM will be assembled in space over the course of three Space Shuttle missions. STS-115 will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 Truss, to attach to the first port truss segment, the P1 Truss, as well as deploy solar array sets 2A and 4A.. STS-120 will deliver the second of three Station connecting modules, Node 2, which attaches to the end of U.S. Lab. It will provide attach locations for the Japanese laboratory, European laboratory, the Centrifuge Accommodation Module and later Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules. The addition of Node 2 will complete the U.S. core of the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Dressed in protective suits, STS-114 Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi, with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), handles equipment that will be used on the mission. He and other crew members are at KSC for equipment familiarization. STS-114 is classified as Logistics Flight 1 to the International Space Station, delivering new supplies and replacing one of the orbital outpost’s Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 will also carry a Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. The crew is slated to conduct at least three spacewalks: They will demonstrate repair techniques of the Shuttle’s Thermal Protection System, replace the failed CMG with one delivered by the Shuttle, and install the External Stowage Platform.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-114 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas (left) works with equipment while Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi watches. Noguchi is with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). They and other crew members are at KSC for equipment familiarization. STS-114 is classified as Logistics Flight 1 to the International Space Station, delivering new supplies and replacing one of the orbital outpost’s Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 will also carry a Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. The crew is slated to conduct at least three spacewalks: They will demonstrate repair techniques of the Shuttle’s Thermal Protection System, replace the failed CMG with one delivered by the Shuttle, and install the External Stowage Platform.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Dressed in protective suits, STS-114 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas (left) and Soichi Noguchi, who is with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), handle equipment in the Space Station Processing Facility that will be used on the mission. They and other crew members are at KSC for equipment familiarization. STS-114 is classified as Logistics Flight 1 to the International Space Station, delivering new supplies and replacing one of the orbital outpost’s Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 will also carry a Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. The crew is slated to conduct at least three spacewalks: They will demonstrate repair techniques of the Shuttle’s Thermal Protection System, replace the failed CMG with one delivered by the Shuttle, and install the External Stowage Platform.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, astronaut Lee Archambault and STS-114 Mission Specialist Charles Camarda watch as crew members work with equipment that will be used on the mission. Archambault supports launch and landing operations at the Kennedy Space Center as an Astronaut Office representative. Crew members are at KSC for equipment familiarization. STS-114 is classified as Logistics Flight 1 to the International Space Station, delivering new supplies and replacing one of the orbital outpost’s Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 will also carry a Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. The crew is slated to conduct at least three spacewalks: They will demonstrate repair techniques of the Shuttle’s Thermal Protection System, replace the failed CMG with one delivered by the Shuttle, and install the External Stowage Platform.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-79 Mission Specialist John E. Blaha arrives at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility with five fellow astronauts, ready to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). The TCDT is a dress rehearsal for launch for the flight crew and launch team. Over the next several days, the astronauts will take part in training exercises at the launch pad that will culminate in a simulated launch countdown. The Space Shuttle Atlantis is being prepared for liftoff around Sept. 12 on STS-79, the fourth docking between the U.S. Shuttle and Russian Space Station Mir. During the approximately nine-day flight, Blaha will change places with fellow spaceflight veteran Shannon Lucid, who is wrapping up a record-setting stay on Mir. Blaha will remain aboard the Station for about four months, returning to Earth in January 1997 withthe crew of Shuttle Mission STS-81.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-114 Mission Specialists Andrew Thomas (center) and Soichi Noguchi (right) work with equipment while Mission Specialist Charles Camarda (left) watches. Noguchi is with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). They and other crew members are at KSC for equipment familiarization. STS-114 is classified as Logistics Flight 1 to the International Space Station, delivering new supplies and replacing one of the orbital outpost’s Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 will also carry a Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. The crew is slated to conduct at least three spacewalks: They will demonstrate repair techniques of the Shuttle’s Thermal Protection System, replace the failed CMG with one delivered by the Shuttle, and install the External Stowage Platform.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-82 crew members and workers at KSC's Vertical Processing Facility get a final look at the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) in its flight configuration for the STS-82 mission. The crew is participating in the Crew Equipment Integration Test (CEIT). NICMOS is one of two new scientific instruments that will replace two outdated instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). NICMOS will provide HST with the capability for infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of astronomical targets. The refrigerator-sized NICMOS also is HST's first cryogenic instrument - its sensitive infrared detectors must operate at very cold temperatures of minus 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 58 degrees Kelvin. NICMOS will be installed in Hubble during STS-82, the second Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Liftoff is scheduled Feb. 11 aboard Discovery with a crew of seven.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-82 Pilot Scott J. "Doc" Horowitz flashes a wide grin for photographers after landing his T-38 jet at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. Horowitz and the other six members of the STS-82 crew came from their home base at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to spend the last few days before launch at KSC. STS-82 is scheduled for liftoff on Feb. 11 during a 65-minute launch window that opens at 3:56 a.m. EST. The 10-day flight aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery will be the second Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-82 Pilot Scott J. "Doc" Horowitz flashes a wide grin for photographers after...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dr. Jonathan Clark (right), husband of STS-107 Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, and their son (left) visit a new residence hall at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Fla., named for his late wife. Family members of the STS-107 astronauts, other dignitaries, members of the university community and the public gathered for a dedication ceremony for the Columbia Village at FIT. Each of the seven new residence halls in the complex is named for one of the STS-107 astronauts who perished during the Columbia accident -- Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dr. Jonathan Clark (right), husband of STS-107 Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, and...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-82 Payload Commander Mark C. Lee prepares to step down from the T-38 jet he flew from an air field serving the astronauts' home base at Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, to KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility. Lee and the other six members of the STS-82 crew will spend the last few days before launch at KSC. STS-82 is scheduled for liftoff on Feb. 11 during a 65-minute launch window that opens at 3:56 a.m. EST. The 10-day flight aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery will be the second Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-82 Payload Commander Mark C. Lee prepares to step down from the T-38 jet he flew...

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-114 Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas works on equipment in the Space Station Processing Facility. He and other crew members are at KSC for equipment familiarization. STS-114 is classified as Logistics Flight 1 to the International Space Station, delivering new supplies and replacing one of the orbital outpost’s Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 will also carry a Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. The crew is slated to conduct at least three spacewalks: They will demonstrate repair techniques of the Shuttle’s Thermal Protection System, replace the failed CMG with one delivered by the Shuttle, and install the External Stowage Platform.

Discovery and Payload on approach to the ISS during the STS-120 Mission

ISS016-E-006328 (25 Oct. 2007) --- Backdropped by a blue and white Earth, Space Shuttle Discovery approaches the...

Discovery and Payload on Approach to ISS during the STS-131 Mission

ISS023-E-022354 (7 April 2010) --- Space shuttle Discovery is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition...

Discovery and Payload on approach to the ISS during the STS-120 Mission

ISS016-E-006311 (25 Oct. 2007) --- Backdropped by a colorful Earth, Space Shuttle Discovery approaches the...