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Space Shuttle Orbiter and Columbia and International Space Station (ISS)
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NASA TV's This Week at NASA,
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Scientists now believe Earth
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04/09/10
| Description |
Scientists now believe Earth's nearest neighbor Venus is more like our planet than they previously thought. New findings based on pictures and infrared imagery captured by the European Space Agency's Venus Express mission and NASA's Magellan spacecraft confirm that Venus is not a cold rock but a dynamic host of active volcanoes like those found in Hawaii. * Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rover, has reached another milestone in its travels around the Red Planet. The rover has covered more than twelve-and-a-half miles since landing on Mars six years ago. * The first, full-scale, friction stir welded and spun-formed tank dome was unveiled by NASA and its partners at a special ceremony at the Marshall Space Flight Center. * Four members of the STS-130 Endeavour space shuttle crew expressed their appreciation for employees of the Marshall Space Flight Center during a recent visit. The crew thanked employees for supporting the successful February mission to the International Space Station. Among other contributions, Marshall provided the three main engines that powered the crew on their 14-day mission. * Twenty-nine years ago, on April 12, 1981, space shuttle Columbia was launched from the Kennedy Space Center. Commanded by Gemini and Apollo veteran John Young and piloted by first-time flyer Bob Crippen, this first space shuttle mission, STS-1, was also the first U.S. manned orbital space flight since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project almost six years earlier. |
| Date |
04/09/10 |
|
Ron Dittemore and Michael Ko
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| Title |
Ron Dittemore and Michael Kostelnik |
| Full Description |
Ronald D. Dittemore (right), a 26-year NASA veteran, announces his intention to step aside as the Space Shuttle Program Manager at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to pursue other opportunities. Also pictured at the Washington, DC announcement is Michael Kostelnik, Deputy Associate Administrator for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station Programs. Dittemore, who has served as the Shuttle Program Manager for more than four years, will remain in his current position until the Columbia Accident Investigation Board finishes its investigation and a complete "Return to Flight" path has been established. Dittemore retired recently, he had publicly planned to do so before the accident. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ] |
| Date |
04/23/2003 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
STS-40 Landing at Edwards
| Photo Description |
Space Shuttle Columbia nears its touchdown on Runway 22 at Edwards, California, at 8:39 a.m., 14 June 1991, as the STS-40 life sciences mission comes to an end at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated Dryden Flight Research Center) after nine days of orbital flight. Aboard Columbia during the extended mission were Bryan D. O'Connor, mission commander, Sidney M. Gutierrez, pilot, mission specialists James P. Bagian, Tamara E. Jernigan, and Margaret Rhea Seddon, and payload specialists Francis Andrew Gaffney and Millie Hughes-Fulford. STS-40 was the first space shuttle mission dedicated to life sciences research to explore how the body reacts to a weightless environment and how it readjusts to gravity on return to earth. Columbia was launched on the STS-40 mission 5 June 1991, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
1991 |
|
STS-58 Landing at Edwards wi
…
| Photo Description |
A drag chute slows the space shuttle Columbia as it rolls to a perfect landing concluding NASA's longest mission at that time, STS-58, at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, with a 8:06 a.m. (PST) touchdown 1 November 1993 on Edward's concrete runway 22. The planned 14 day mission, which began with a launch from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 7:53 a.m. (PDT), October 18, was the second spacelab flight dedicated to life sciences research. Seven Columbia crewmembers performed a series of experiments to gain more knowledge on how the human body adapts to the weightless environment of space. Crewmembers on this flight included: John Blaha, commander, Rick Searfoss, pilot, payload commander Rhea Seddon, mission specialists Bill MacArthur, David Wolf, and Shannon Lucid, and payload specialist Martin Fettman. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
1993 |
|
STS-68 on Runway with 747 SC
…
| Photo Description |
The space shuttle Endeavour receives a high-flying salute from its sister shuttle, Columbia, atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, shortly after Endeavor?s landing 12 October 1994, at Edwards, California, to complete mission STS-68. Columbia was being ferried from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, where it will undergo six months of inspections, modifications, and systems upgrades. The STS-68 11-day mission was devoted to radar imaging of Earth's geological features with the Space Radar Laboratory. The orbiter is surrounded by equipment and personnel that make up the ground support convoy that services the space vehicles as soon as they land. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
October 1994 |
|
STS-68 on Runway with 747 SC
…
| Photo Description |
The space shuttle Endeavour receives a high-flying salute from its sister shuttle, Columbia, atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, shortly after Endeavor?s landing 12 October 1994, at Edwards, California, to complete mission STS-68. Columbia was being ferried from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, where it will undergo six months of inspections, modifications, and systems upgrades. The STS-68 11-day mission was devoted to radar imaging of Earth's geological features with the Space Radar Laboratory. The orbiter is surrounded by equipment and personnel that make up the ground support convoy that services the space vehicles as soon as they land. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
October 1994 |
|
Shuttle Columbia Mated to 74
…
| Photo Description |
The crew of NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), seen mated with the Space Shuttle Columbia behind them, are from viewers left: Tom McMurtry, pilot, Vic Horton, flight engineer, Fitz Fulton, command pilot, and Ray Young, flight engineer. The SCA is used to ferry the shuttle between California and the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and other destinations where ground transportation is not practical. The NASA 747 has special support struts atop the fuselage and internal strengthening to accommodate the additional weight of the orbiters. Small vertical fins have also been added to the tips of the horizontal stabilizers for additional stability due to air turbulence on the control surfaces caused by the orbiters. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
1981 |
|
Onboard photo: Astronauts at
…
| Name of Image |
Onboard photo: Astronauts at work |
| Date of Image |
1997-07-01 |
| Full Description |
Onboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-94) Payload Commander Janice E. Voss works at the Combustion Module (CM-1) experiment. Using a video monitor, Voss observes a flame during one of the many burns in this facility that were conducted throughout the 16-day Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1) mission. The combustion hardware is designed to sample and analyze gasses and soot on orbit and will be used to continue these studies onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Combustion is the single most important chemical process in every day life, in electricity, heat and automobiles, among other applications. This process is considered equally important in space and with the absence of gravity, the behavior of flames, soot, heat and gasses needs to be studied for beneficial uses as well as safety concerns in long-duration flights. |
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Onboard photo: Astronauts at
…
| Name of Image |
Onboard photo: Astronauts at work |
| Date of Image |
1997-11-19 |
| Full Description |
Onboard Space Shuttle Columbia's (STS-87) first ever Extravehicular Activity (EVA), astronaut Takao Doi works with a 156-pound crane carried onboard for the first time. The crane's inclusion and the work with it are part of a continuing preparation effort for future work on the International Space Station (ISS). The ongoing project allows for evaluation of tools and operating methods to be applied to the construction of the Space Station. This crane device is designed to aid future space walkers in transporting Orbital Replacement Units (ORU), with a mass up to 600 pounds (like the simulated battery pictured here), from translating carts on the exterior of ISS to various worksites on the truss structure. Earlier Doi, an international mission specialist representing Japan, and astronaut Winston E. Scott, mission specialist, had installed the crane in a socket along the middle port side of Columbia's cargo bay for the evaluation. The two began the crane operations after completing a contingency EVA to snag the free-flying Spartan 201 and berth it in the payload bay (visible in the background). |
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Long Duration Exposure Facil
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| Name of Image |
Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) |
| Date of Image |
1984-04-01 |
| Full Description |
The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was designed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to test the performance of spacecraft materials, components, and systems that have been exposed to the environment of micrometeoroids and space debris for an extended period of time. The LDEF proved invaluable to the development of future spacecraft and the International Space Station (ISS). The LDEF carried 57 science and technology experiments, the work of more than 200 investigators. MSFC`s experiments included: Trapped Proton Energy Determination to determine protons trapped in the Earth's magnetic field and the impact of radiation particles, Linear Energy Transfer Spectrum Measurement Experiment which measures the linear energy transfer spectrum behind different shielding configurations, Atomic oxygen-Simulated Out-gassing, an experiment that exposes thermal control surfaces to atomic oxygen to measure the damaging out-gassed products, Thermal Control Surfaces Experiment to determine the effects of the near-Earth orbital environment and the shuttle induced environment on spacecraft thermal control surfaces, Transverse Flat-Plate Heat Pipe Experiment, to evaluate the zero-gravity performance of a number of transverse flat plate heat pipe modules and their ability to transport large quantities of heat, Solar Array Materials Passive LDEF Experiment to examine the effects of space on mechanical, electrical, and optical properties of lightweight solar array materials, and the Effects of Solar Radiation on Glasses. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Orbiter Challenger's STS-41C mission April 6, 1984, the LDEF remained in orbit for five years until January 1990 when it was retrieved by the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia STS-32 mission and brought back to Earth for close examination and analysis. |
|
Long Duration Exposure Facil
…
| Name of Image |
Long Duration Exposure Facility |
| Date of Image |
1984-04-07 |
| Full Description |
This is an onboard photo of the deployment of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Challenger STS-41C mission, April 7, 1984. After a five year stay in space, the LDEF was retrieved during the STS-32 mission by the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia in January 1990 and was returned to Earth for close examination and analysis. The LDEF was designed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to test the performance of spacecraft materials, components, and systems that have been exposed to the environment of micrometeoroids, space debris, radiation particles, atomic oxygen, and solar radiation for an extended period of time. Proving invaluable to the development of both future spacecraft and the International Space Station (ISS), the LDEF carried 57 science and technology experiments, the work of more than 200 investigators, 33 private companies, 21 universities, 7 NASA centers, 9 Department of Defense laboratories, and 8 forein countries. |
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Space Shuttle STS-78 Columbi
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| Name of Image |
Space Shuttle STS-78 Columbia launch |
| Date of Image |
1996-06-20 |
| Full Description |
Midmorning proved the perfect time for a Space Shuttle launch as the thunderstorms that characteristically develop later in the day during hot Florida summers held off long enough to allow a flawless liftoff for the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-78) and her crew of seven and the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS), managed by Marshall Space Flight Center. During the 17 day spaceflight, the crew conducted a diverse slate of experiments divided into a mix of life science and microgravity investigations, and, in a marner very similar to future international space station operations, LMS researchers from the United States and their European counterparts shared resources such as crew time and equipment. |
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Space Shuttle Columbia lifto
…
| Name of Image |
Space Shuttle Columbia liftoff |
| Date of Image |
1996-06-20 |
| Full Description |
Midmorning proved the perfect time for a Space Shuttle launch as the thunderstorms that characteristically develop later in the day during hot Florida summers held off long enough to allow a flawless liftoff for the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-78) and her crew of seven and the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS), managed by Marshall Space Flight Center. During the 17 day spaceflight, the crew conducted a diverse slate of experiments divided into a mix of life science and microgravity investigations, and, in a marner very similar to future international space station operations, LMS researchers from the United States and their European counterparts shared resources such as crew time and equipment. |
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STS-80 Mission Insignia
| Name of Image |
STS-80 Mission Insignia |
| Date of Image |
1996-08-01 |
| Full Description |
This mission patch for mission STS-80 depicts the Space Shuttle Columbia and the two research satellites its crew deployed into the blue field of space. The uppermost satellite is the Orbiting Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrograph-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ORFEUS-SPAS), a telescope aimed at unraveling the life cycles of stars and understanding the gases that drift between them. The lower satellite is the Wake Shield Facility (WSF), flying for the third time. It will use the vacuum of space to create advanced semiconductors for the nation's electronics industry. ORFEUS and WSF are joined by the symbol of the Astronaut Corps, representing the human contribution to scientific progress in space. The two bright blue stars represent the mission's Extravehicular Activities (EVA), final rehearsals for techniques and tools to be used in assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). Surrounding Columbia is a constellation of 16 stars, one for each day of the mission, representing the stellar talents of the ground and flight teams that share the goal of expanding knowledge through a permanent human presence in space. |
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View of Life and Microgravit
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| Name of Image |
View of Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS) Module in Cargo Bay |
| Date of Image |
1996-06-20 |
| Full Description |
Launched on June 20, 1996, the STS-78 mission?s primary payload was the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS), which was managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). During the 17 day space flight, the crew conducted a diverse slate of experiments divided into a mix of life science and microgravity investigations. In a manner very similar to future International Space Station operations, LMS researchers from the United States and their European counterparts shared resources such as crew time and equipment. Five space agencies (NASA/USA, European Space Agency/Europe (ESA), French Space Agency/France, Canadian Space Agency /Canada, and Italian Space Agency/Italy) along with research scientists from 10 countries worked together on the design, development and construction of the LMS. This onboard photo represents a view of the LMS Module in the Cargo Bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia. |
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Space Shuttle Columbia lifto
…
| Name of Image |
Space Shuttle Columbia liftoff |
| Date of Image |
1996-06-20 |
| Full Description |
Midmorning proved the perfect time for a Space Shuttle launch as the thunderstorms that characteristically develop later in the day during hot Florida summers held off long enough to allow a flawless liftoff for the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-78) and her crew of seven and the Life and Microgravity Spacelab (LMS), managed by Marshall Space Flight Center. During the 17 day spaceflight, the crew conducted a diverse slate of experiments divided into a mix of life science and microgravity investigations, and, in a marner very similar to future international space station operations, LMS researchers from the United States and their European counterparts shared resources such as crew time and equipment. |
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STS-83 Mission Insignia
| Name of Image |
STS-83 Mission Insignia |
| Date of Image |
1997-01-14 |
| Full Description |
The crew patch for NASA's STS-83 mission depicts the Space Shuttle Columbia launching into space for the first Microgravity Sciences Laboratory 1 (MSL-1) mission. MSL-1 investigated materials science, fluid dynamics, biotechnology, and combustion science in the microgravity environment of space, experiments that were conducted in the Spacelab Module in the Space Shuttle Columbia's cargo bay. The center circle symbolizes a free liquid under microgravity conditions representing various fluid and materials science experiments. Symbolic of the combustion experiments is the surrounding starburst of a blue flame burning in space. The 3-lobed shape of the outermost starburst ring traces the dot pattern of a transmission Laue photograph typical of biotechnology experiments. The numerical designation for the mission is shown at bottom center. As a forerunner to missions involving International Space Station (ISS), STS-83 represented the hope that scientific results and knowledge gained during the flight will be applied to solving problems on Earth for the benefit and advancement of humankind. |
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Space Shuttle STS-94 Columbi
…
| Name of Image |
Space Shuttle STS-94 Columbia launch |
| Date of Image |
1997-07-01 |
| Full Description |
The Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-94) soared from Launch Pad 39A begirning its 16-day Microgravity Science Laboratory -1 (MSL-1) mission. The launch window was opened 47 minutes earlier than the originally scheduled time to improve the opportunity to lift off before Florida summer rain showers reached the space center. During the space flight, the MSL-1 was used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that were planned for use on the International Space Station which were managed by scientists and engineers from the Marshall Space Flight Center, while the flight crew conducted combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. Also onboard was the Hitchhiker Cryogenic Flexible Diode (CRYOFD) experiment payload, which was attached to the right side of Columbia's payload bay. These payloads had previously flown on the STS-83 mission in April, which was cut short after nearly four days because of indications of a faulty fuel cell. STS-94 was a reflight of that mission. |
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Space Shuttle Columbia Launc
…
| Name of Image |
Space Shuttle Columbia Launch |
| Date of Image |
1997-07-01 |
| Full Description |
The Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-94) soared from Launch Pad 39A begirning its 16-day Microgravity Science Laboratory -1 (MSL-1) mission. The launch window was opened 47 minutes earlier than the originally scheduled time to improve the opportunity to lift off before Florida summer rain showers reached the space center. During the space flight, the MSL-1 was used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that were planned for use on the International Space Station which were managed by scientists and engineers from the Marshall Space Flight Center, while the flight crew conducted combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. Also onboard was the Hitchhiker Cryogenic Flexible Diode (CRYOFD) experiment payload, which was attached to the right side of Columbia's payload bay. These payloads had previously flown on the STS-83 mission in April, which was cut short after nearly four days because of indications of a faulty fuel cell. STS-94 was a reflight of that mission. |
|
STS-87 Mission Insignia
| Name of Image |
STS-87 Mission Insignia |
| Date of Image |
1997-08-01 |
| Full Description |
The STS-87 patch is shaped like a space helmet symbolizing the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on the mission in support of testing of tools for the assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). Earth is shown reflected on the backside of the helmet. The Space Shuttle Columbia forms the interface between the Earth and the heavens, the back and front sides of the helmet in profile. The three red lines emerging from Columbia represent the astronaut symbol as well as the robot arm, which was used to deploy and retrieve the Spartan satellite. The letters 'ug' represent the payloads studying microgravity science in space on this United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4) mission. Gold flames outlining the helmet visor represent the corona of the Sun, which will be studied by Spartan. The flag of Ukraine is next to the name of the payload specialist who is the first person from that nation to fly on the Space Shuttle. |
|
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-
…
| Name of Image |
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-52) landing |
| Date of Image |
1997-07-17 |
| Full Description |
Framed by the Vehicle Assembly Building at right and the Mate-Demate Device at left, the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia (STS-94) glided onto Runway 33 of Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. On board for the reflight of STS-83 were a crew of seven and the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1)which was managed by scientists and engineers from the Marshall Space Flight Center. Mission STS-94 marked the 23rd flight of Columbia and the 85th mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program in 1981. During the mission, the Spacelab module was used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducted combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. |
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Space Shuttle STS-87 Columbi
…
| Name of Image |
Space Shuttle STS-87 Columbia launch |
| Date of Image |
1997-11-19 |
| Full Description |
Like a rising sun lighting up the afternoon sky, the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-87) soared from Launch Pad 39B on the fourth flight of the United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4) and Spartan-201 satellite which were managed by scientists and engineers from the Marshall Space Flight Center. During the 16-day mission, the crew oversaw experiments in microgravity, deployed and retrieved a solar satellite, and tested a new experimental camera, the AERCam Sprint. Two crew members, Dr. Takao Doi and Winston Scott also performed a spacewalk to practice International Space Station maneuvers. |
|
Onboard photo: Astronauts at
…
| Name of Image |
Onboard photo: Astronauts at work |
| Date of Image |
1997-11-19 |
| Full Description |
Onboard Space Shuttle Columbia's (STS-87) first ever Extravehicular Activity (EVA), astronaut Takao Doi works with a 156-pound crane carried onboard for the first time. The crane's inclusion and the work with it are part of a continuing preparation effort for future work on the International Space Station (ISS). The ongoing project allows for evaluation of tools and operating methods to be applied to the construction of the Space Station. This crane device is designed to aid future space walkers in transporting Orbital Replacement Units (ORU), with a mass up to 600 pounds (like the simulated battery pictured here), from translating carts on the exterior of ISS to various worksites on the truss structure. Earlier Doi, an international mission specialist representing Japan, and astronaut Winston E. Scott, mission specialist, had installed the crane in a socket along the middle port side of Columbia's cargo bay for the evaluation. The two began the crane operations after completing a contingency EVA to snag the free-flying Spartan 201 and berth it in the payload bay (visible in the background). |
|
Onboard photo: Astronauts at
…
| Name of Image |
Onboard photo: Astronauts at work |
| Date of Image |
1997-07-01 |
| Full Description |
Onboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-94) Mission Specialist Michael L. Gernhardt performs an observation at the Expedite Processing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) rack in the Spacelab Science Module. The EXPRESS rack accommodates experiments compatible with the Shuttle mid-deck, since the mid-deck will be used to ferry payloads to the International Space Station (ISS). The Microgravity Sciences Laboratory (MSL-1) mission provides an opportunity to test and demonstrate this Space Station hardware. Shown here in the rack is the Astro/Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus, used for studying the adaptation of higher plant systems to space flight. |
|
STS-114 Space Shuttle Discov
…
| Name of Image |
STS-114 Space Shuttle Discovery Performs Back Flip For Photography |
| Date of Image |
2005-07-28 |
| Full Description |
Launched on July 26, 2005 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-114 was classified as Logistics Flight 1. Among the Station-related activities of the mission were the delivery of new supplies and the replacement of one of the orbital outpost's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 also carried the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. A major focus of the mission was the testing and evaluation of new Space Shuttle flight safety, which included new inspection and repair techniques. Upon its approach to the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Shuttle Discovery underwent a photography session in order to assess any damages that may have occurred during its launch and/or journey through Space. Discovery was over Switzerland, about 600 feet from the ISS, when Cosmonaut Sergei K. Kriklev, Expedition 11 Commander, and John L. Phillips, NASA Space Station officer and flight engineer photographed the spacecraft as it performed a back flip to allow photography of its heat shield. Astronaut Eileen M. Collins, STS-114 Commander, guided the shuttle through the flip. The photographs were analyzed by engineers on the ground to evaluate the condition of Discovery?s heat shield. The crew safely returned to Earth on August 9, 2005. The mission historically marked the Return to Flight after nearly a two and one half year delay in flight after the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy in February 2003. |
|
STS-114 Space Shuttle Discov
…
| Name of Image |
STS-114 Space Shuttle Discovery Performs Back Flip For Photography |
| Date of Image |
2005-07-28 |
| Full Description |
Launched on July 26, 2005 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-114 was classified as Logistics Flight 1. Among the Station-related activities of the mission were the delivery of new supplies and the replacement of one of the orbital outpost's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 also carried the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. A major focus of the mission was the testing and evaluation of new Space Shuttle flight safety, which included new inspection and repair techniques. Upon its approach to the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Shuttle Discovery underwent a photography session in order to assess any damages that may have occurred during its launch and/or journey through Space. Discovery was over Switzerland, about 600 feet from the ISS, when Cosmonaut Sergei K. Kriklev, Expedition 11 Commander, and John L. Phillips, NASA Space Station officer and flight engineer photographed the spacecraft as it performed a back flip to allow photography of its heat shield. Astronaut Eileen M. Collins, STS-114 Commander, guided the shuttle through the flip. The photographs were analyzed by engineers on the ground to evaluate the condition of Discovery?s heat shield. The crew safely returned to Earth on August 9, 2005. The mission historically marked the Return to Flight after nearly a two and one half year delay in flight after the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy in February 2003. |
|
STS-114 Space Shuttle Discov
…
| Name of Image |
STS-114 Space Shuttle Discovery Performs Back Flip For Photography |
| Date of Image |
2005-07-28 |
| Full Description |
Launched on July 26, 2005 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-114 was classified as Logistics Flight 1. Among the Station-related activities of the mission were the delivery of new supplies and the replacement of one of the orbital outpost's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 also carried the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. A major focus of the mission was the testing and evaluation of new Space Shuttle flight safety, which included new inspection and repair techniques. Upon its approach to the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Shuttle Discovery underwent a photography session in order to assess any damages that may have occurred during its launch and/or journey through Space. Discovery was over Switzerland, about 600 feet from the ISS, when Cosmonaut Sergei K. Kriklev, Expedition 11 Commander, and John L. Phillips, NASA Space Station officer and flight engineer photographed the spacecraft as it performed a back flip to allow photography of its heat shield. Astronaut Eileen M. Collins, STS-114 Commander, guided the shuttle through the flip. The photographs were analyzed by engineers on the ground to evaluate the condition of Discovery?s heat shield. The crew safely returned to Earth on August 9, 2005. The mission historically marked the Return to Flight after nearly a two and one half year delay in flight after the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy in February 2003. |
|
STS-90 Mission Insignia
| Name of Image |
STS-90 Mission Insignia |
| Date of Image |
1997-12-08 |
| Full Description |
The STS-90 crew patch reflects the dedication of the mission to neuroscience in celebration of the decade of the brain. Earth is revealed through a neuron-shaped window, which symbolizes new perspectives in the understanding of nervous system development, structure and function, both here on Earth and in the microgravity environment of space. The Space Shuttle Columbia is depicted with its open payload bay doors revealing the Spacelab within. An integral component of the mission, the laboratory/science module provided by the European Space Agency (ESA), signifies the strong international involvement in the mission. The seven crew members and two alternate payload specialists, Chiaki Naito-Mukai and Alexander W. Dunlap, are represented by the nine major stars of the constellation Cetus (the whale) in recognition of the International Year of the Ocean. The distant stars illustrate the far reaching implications of the mission science to the many sponsoring agencies, helping prepare for long-duration space flight aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The moon and Mars are depicted to reflect the crew's recognition that those two celestial bodies will be the next great challenges in human exploration of space and represent the key role that life science research will play in supporting such missions. |
|
Underside View of STS-114 Sp
…
| Name of Image |
Underside View of STS-114 Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Date of Image |
2005-07-28 |
| Full Description |
Launched on July 26, 2005, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-114 was classified as Logistics Flight 1. Among the Station-related activities of the mission were the delivery of new supplies and the replacement of one of the orbital outpost's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 also carried the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. A major focus of the mission was the testing and evaluation of new Space Shuttle flight safety, which included new inspection and repair techniques. Upon its approach to the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Shuttle Discovery underwent a photography session in order to assess any damages that may have occurred during its launch and/or journey through Space. Discovery was over Switzerland, about 600 feet from the ISS, when Cosmonaut Sergei K. Kriklev, Expedition 11 Commander, and John L. Phillips, NASA Space Station officer and flight engineer photographed the under side of the spacecraft as it performed a back flip to allow photography of its heat shield. Astronaut Eileen M. Collins, STS-114 Commander, guided the shuttle through the flip. The photographs were analyzed by engineers on the ground to evaluate the condition of Discovery?s heat shield. The crew safely returned to Earth on August 9, 2005. The mission historically marked the Return to Flight after nearly a two and one half year delay in flight after the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy in February 2003. |
|
STS-114 Space Shuttle Discov
…
| Name of Image |
STS-114 Space Shuttle Discovery Landed on Runway |
| Date of Image |
2005-08-08 |
| Full Description |
The sun rises on the Space Shuttle Discovery as it rests on the runway at Edward?s Air Force Base in California after a safe landing at 5:11 am (PDT) on August 9, 2005. The STS-114 landing concluded a historic 14 day return to flight mission to the International Space Station (ISS) after nearly a two and one half year delay in flight after the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy in February 2003. Three successful space walks performed during the mission included a demonstration of repair techniques to the Shuttle?s thermal tiles known as the Thermal Protection System, the replacement of a failed Control Moment Gyroscope which helps keep the station oriented properly, and the installation of the External Stowage Platform, a space ?shelf? for holding spare parts during Station construction. The shuttle?s heat shield repair was a first for Shuttle repair while still in space. |
|
Underside View of STS-114 Sp
…
| Name of Image |
Underside View of STS-114 Space Shuttle Discovery |
| Date of Image |
2005-07-28 |
| Full Description |
Launched on July 26, 2005 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-114 was classified as Logistics Flight 1. Among the Station-related activities of the mission were the delivery of new supplies and the replacement of one of the orbital outpost's Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs). STS-114 also carried the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module and the External Stowage Platform-2. A major focus of the mission was the testing and evaluation of new Space Shuttle flight safety, which included new inspection and repair techniques. Upon its approach to the International Space Station (ISS), the Space Shuttle Discovery underwent a photography session in order to assess any damages that may have occurred during its launch and/or journey through Space. Discovery was over Switzerland, about 600 feet from the ISS, when Cosmonaut Sergei K. Kriklev, Expedition 11 Commander, and John L. Phillips, NASA Space Station officer and flight engineer photographed the under side of the spacecraft as it performed a back flip to allow photography of its heat shield. Astronaut Eileen M. Collins, STS-114 Commander, guided the shuttle through the flip. The photographs were analyzed by engineers on the ground to evaluate the condition of Discovery?s heat shield. The crew safely returned to Earth on August 9, 2005. The mission historically marked the Return to Flight after nearly a two and one half year delay in flight after the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy in February 2003. |
|
Rollout of a Soyuz TMA-2 Abo
…
| Title |
Rollout of a Soyuz TMA-2 Aboard an R7 Rocket |
| Explanation |
It takes a big rocket to go into space. Last weekend, this huge Russian rocket [ http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=8960 ] was launched [ http://space.com/missionlaunches/soyuz_launch_030425.html ] toward Earth-orbiting International Space Station [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021103.html ] (ISS), carrying two astronauts who will make up the new Expedition 7 [ http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.Projects/Human.Exploration.and.Development.of.Space/Human.Space.Flight/International.Space.Station/ISS.Missions/Expedition.7/ ] crew. Seen here [ http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=8960 ] during rollout at the Baikonur Cosmodrome [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/assembly/elements/fgb/baikonur.html ], the rocket's white top is actually a Soyuz TMA-2 [ http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz.html ], the most recent version of the longest serving type of human spacecraft. The base [ http://www.russianspaceweb.com/soyuz_lv.html ] is a Russian [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rs.html ] R7 rocket [ http://www.russianspaceweb.com/r7.html ], originally developed as a prototype Intercontinental Ballistic Missile [ http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercontinental_ballistic_missile ] in 1957. The rocket spans the width of a football field and has a fueled mass of about half a million kilograms. Russian rockets [ http://www.russianspaceweb.com/rockets_launchers.html ] like this will be primary transportation system to the ISS [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/ ] while NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/ ] studies the underlying reasons behind the recent tragic break-up [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030203.html ] of the Space Shuttle Columbia [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010412.html ]. |
|
Sprint the Flying Space Came
…
| Title |
Sprint the Flying Space Camera |
| Explanation |
Yes, but can your soccer ball do this? The ball near the middle of the above photograph [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/sts-87/images/esc/Flightday13/ ] is actually a robotic camera designed to float about a Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950806.html ] and the International Space Station [ http://station.nasa.gov/ ] and take pictures. Named "Sprint", it is NASA's first Autonomous Extravehicular Activity Robotic Camera (AERCam) [ http://tommy.jsc.nasa.gov/~hnguyen/sprint_html/sprint_src.html ] and was tested earlier this month by the crew [ http://shuttle.nasa.gov/sts-87/crew/ ] of Space Shuttle Columbia. Sprint's diameter is actually about 50 percent larger than a soccer ball, and astronauts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971210.html http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/astrobio.html ] make a goal of "not" kicking it. |
|
America Returns to Human Spa
…
| Title |
America Returns to Human Space Flight |
| Explanation |
NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/ ]'s launch of the massive Space Shuttle [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950806.html ] Discovery yesterday brought a nation known for its tremendous space program back to human space flight. Shuttle flights [ http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/index.html ] had been suspended for over two years previously following the tragic loss [ http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/home/ ] of the Space Shuttle Columbia crew [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030203.html ] on 2003 February 1. The complex, powerful Space Shuttle Discovery [ http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/resources/orbiters/discovery.html ] lifted a crew of seven into an Earth orbit that will bring them to the International Space Station [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html ] (ISS). The shuttle crew [ http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/crew/ ] will deliver supplies to the ISS [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021208.html ], perform repairs, and test new methods for inspecting and repairing the shuttle's thermal protection system [ http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Evolution_of_Technology/TPS/Tech41.htm ]. Three space walks are planned. This Return to Flight [ http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/main/index.html ] Mission STS-114 is pictured above [ http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=26625 ] launching from Pad 39B [ http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/pads.htm ] on Cape Canaveral [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011022.html ], Florida [ http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/state/florida.html ]. |
|
Columbia's payload bay and a
…
| Title |
Columbia's payload bay and airlock preparation for tunnel reinstallation |
| Description |
KSC payloads processing employees work to reservice the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module in the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia's payload bay for the STS-94 mission in Orbiter Processing Facility 1. That mission is now scheduled to lift off in early July. This was the first time that this type of payload was reserviced without removing it from the payload bay. This new procedure pioneers processing efforts for quick relaunch turnaround times for future payloads. The Spacelab module was scheduled to fly again with the full complement of STS-83 experiments after that mission was cut short due to a faulty fuel cell. During the scheduled 16-day STS-94 mission, the experiments will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. |
| Date |
05.01.1997 |
|
Columbia's rollover to VAB
| Title |
Columbia's rollover to VAB |
| Description |
While KSC workers in the Launch Complex 39 Area watch, The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia rolls over to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) June 4 from Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)1 atop its transporter in preparation for the STS-94 mission. Once inside the VAB, Columbia will be hoisted to be mated with its solid rocket boosters and external tank. Columbia was moved to the OPF April 8 after the completion of the STS-83 mission. KSC payloads processing employees then began work to reservice the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module in the orbiters payload bay for the STS-94 mission. This was the first time that this type of payload was reserviced without removing it from the payload bay. This new procedure pioneers processing efforts for possible quick relaunch turnaround times for future payloads. The MSL-1 module will fly again with the full complement of STS-83 experiments after that mission was cut short due to indications of a faulty fuel cell. During the scheduled 16-day STS-94 mission, the experiments will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. |
| Date |
05.01.1997 |
|
Columbia's rollover to VAB (
…
| Title |
Columbia's rollover to VAB (pond in foreground) |
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia is reflected in a nearby pond as it rolls over to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) June 4 from Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) 1 atop its transporter in preparation for the STS-94 mission. Once inside the VAB, Columbia will be hoisted to be mated with its solid rocket boosters and external tank. Columbia was moved to the OPF April 8 after the completion of the STS-83 mission. KSC payloads processing employees then began work to reservice the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module in the orbiters payload bay for the STS-94 mission. This was the first time that this type of payload was reserviced without removing it from the payload bay. This new procedure pioneers processing efforts for possible quick relaunch turnaround times for future payloads. The MSL-1 module will fly again with the full complement of STS-83 experiments after that mission was cut short due to indications of a faulty fuel cell. During the scheduled 16-day STS-94 mission, the experiments will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. |
| Date |
05.01.1997 |
|
Shuttle Columbia Mated to 74
…
| Title |
Shuttle Columbia Mated to 747 SCA with Crew |
| Description |
International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., The crew of NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), seen mated with the Space Shuttle Columbia behind them, are from viewers left: Tom McMurtry, pilot, Vic Horton, flight engineer, Fitz Fulton, command pilot, and Ray Young, flight engineer. The SCA is used to ferry the shuttle between California and the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and other destinations where ground transportation is not practical. The NASA 747 has special support struts atop the fuselage and internal strengthening to accommodate the additional weight of the orbiters. Small vertical fins have also been added to the tips of the horizontal stabilizers for additional stability due to air turbulence on the control surfaces caused by the orbiters. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell |
| Date |
01.01.1981 |
|
Shuttle Columbia Post-landin
…
| Title |
Shuttle Columbia Post-landing Tow - with Reflection in Water |
| Description |
A rare rain allowed this reflection of the Space Shuttle Columbia as it was towed 16 Nov. 1982, to the Shuttle Processing Area at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (from 1976 to 1981 and after 1994, the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, following its fifth flight in space. Columbia was launched on mission STS-5 11 Nov. 1982, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on concrete runway 22. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines withtwo solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. MartinMarietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external, tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site. |
| Date |
01.01.1982 |
|
Enterprise - First Tailcone
…
| Title |
Enterprise - First Tailcone Off Free Flight |
| Description |
The Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise flies free after being released from NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) to begin a powerless glide flight back to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, on its fourth of the five free flights in the Shuttle program's Approach and Landing Tests (ALT), 12 October 1977. The tests were carried out at Dryden to verify the aerodynamic and control characteristics of the orbiters in preperation for the first space mission with the orbiter Columbia in April 1981. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid, rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site. |
| Date |
10.12.1977 |
|
STS-40 Landing at Edwards
| Title |
STS-40 Landing at Edwards |
| Description |
International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttle Columbia nears its touchdown on Runway 22 at Edwards, California, at 8:39 a.m., 14 June 1991, as the STS-40 life sciences mission comes to an end at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated Dryden Flight Research Center) after nine days of orbital flight. Aboard Columbia during the extended mission were Bryan D. O'Connor, mission commander, Sidney M. Gutierrez, pilot, mission specialists James P. Bagian, Tamara E. Jernigan, and Margaret Rhea Seddon, and payload specialists Francis Andrew Gaffney and Millie Hughes-Fulford. STS-40 was the first space shuttle mission dedicated to life sciences research to explore how the body reacts to a weightless environment and how it readjusts to gravity on return to earth. Columbia was launched on the STS-40 mission 5 June 1991, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the |
| Date |
01.01.1991 |
|
STS-55 Landing at Edwards
| Title |
STS-55 Landing at Edwards |
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Columbia completes the STS-55 Spacelab D-2 mission 6 May with a landing at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, at 7:30 a.m. (PDT). The landing was scheduled for the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, but was diverted to Dryden during the final hours of flight because of unacceptable weather at the Florida facility. The STS-55 mission began with the launch from Kennedy at 7:50 a.m. (PDT), 26 April. Aboard Columbia were commander Steve Nagel, pilot Tom Henricks, mission specialists Jerry Ross, Charles Precourt, and Bernard Harris, and payload specialists Hans Schlegel and Ulrich Walter, both from Germany. During Columbia's flight the NASA space shuttle fleet logged more than one year of combined flight time in space, including the time of all previous orbiters and Columbia on this flight. That mark was reached at 7:01:42 (PDT) on 5 May, and with Columbia's landing the total flight time had reached 365 days, 23 hours, and 28 minutes. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site. |
| Date |
01.01.1993 |
|
STS-58 Landing at Edwards wi
…
| Title |
STS-58 Landing at Edwards with Drag Chute |
| Description |
A drag chute slows the space shuttle Columbia as it rolls to a perfect landing concluding NASA's longest mission at that time, STS-58, at the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, with a 8:06 a.m. (PST) touchdown 1 November 1993 on Edward's concrete runway 22. The planned 14 day mission, which began with a launch from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 7:53 a.m. (PDT), October 18, was the second spacelab flight dedicated to life sciences research. Seven Columbia crewmembers performed a series of experiments to gain more knowledge on how the human body adapts to the weightless environment of space. Crewmembers on this flight included: John Blaha, commander, Rick Searfoss, pilot, payload commander Rhea Seddon, mission specialists Bill MacArthur, David Wolf, and Shannon Lucid, and payload specialist Martin Fettman. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles, are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site. |
| Date |
01.01.1993 |
|
STS-68 747 SCA Ferry Flight
…
| Title |
STS-68 747 SCA Ferry Flight Takeoff for Delivery to Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Columbia, atop NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), taking off for the Kennedy Space Center shortly after its landing on 12 October 1994, at Edwards, California, to complete mission STS-68. Columbia was being ferried from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, where it will undergo six months of inspections, modifications, and systems upgrades. The STS-68 11-day mission was devoted to radar imaging of Earth's geological features with the Space Radar Laboratory. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid, rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site. |
| Date |
10.01.1994 |
|
STS-68 on Runway with 747 SC
…
| Title |
STS-68 on Runway with 747 SCA - Columbia Ferry Flyby |
| Description |
Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., The space shuttle Endeavour receives a high-flying salute from its sister shuttle, Columbia, atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, shortly after Endeavor's landing 12 October 1994, at Edwards, California, to complete mission STS-68. Columbia was being ferried from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, where it will undergo six months of inspections, modifications, and systems upgrades. The STS-68 11-day mission was devoted to radar imaging of Earth's geological features with the Space Radar Laboratory. The orbiter is surrounded by equipment and personnel that make up the ground support convoy that services the space vehicles as soon as they land. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation |
| Date |
10.01.1994 |
|
STS-68 on Runway with 747 SC
…
| Title |
STS-68 on Runway with 747 SCA/Columbia Ferry Flyby |
| Description |
Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., The space shuttle Endeavour receives a high-flying salute from its sister shuttle, Columbia, atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, shortly after Endeavor's landing 12 October 1994, at Edwards, California, to complete mission STS-68. Columbia was being ferried from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, to Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, where it will undergo six months of inspections, modifications, and systems upgrades. The STS-68 11-day mission was devoted to radar imaging of Earth's geological features with the Space Radar Laboratory. The orbiter is surrounded by equipment and personnel that make up the ground support convoy that services the space vehicles as soon as they land. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation |
| Date |
10.01.1994 |
|
STS-83 Columbia Rollout to P
…
| Title |
STS-83 Columbia Rollout to PAD 39-A (leaving VAB) |
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia begins its rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for the STS-83 mission. The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is the primary payload on this 16-day space flight. The MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the seven-member flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. |
| Date |
03.11.1997 |
|
STS-83 Columbia Rollout to P
…
| Title |
STS-83 Columbia Rollout to PAD 39-A (Sunrise in background) |
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia is rolled out to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for the STS-83 mission. The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is the primary payload on this 16-day space flight. The MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the seven-member flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. |
| Date |
03.11.1997 |
|
STS-83 Columbia Rollout to P
…
| Title |
STS-83 Columbia Rollout to PAD 39-A (water in foreground) |
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia is rolled out to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for the STS-83 mission. The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is the primary payload on this 16-day space flight. The MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the seven-member flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. |
| Date |
03.11.1997 |
|
STS-83 Columbia Rollout to P
…
| Title |
STS-83 Columbia Rollout to PAD 39-A (water in foreground) |
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia is rolled out to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for the STS-83 mission. The Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1) Spacelab module is the primary payload on this 16-day space flight. The MSL-1 will be used to test some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that are planned for use on the International Space Station while the seven-member flight crew conducts combustion, protein crystal growth and materials processing experiments. |
| Date |
03.11.1997 |
|
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