|
|
Making News
At NASA's Kennedy Space Cent
…
8/3/09
| Description |
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the STS-127 crew members take part in a news conference following their return to Earth on space shuttle Endeavour after the 16-day mission to the International Space Station. From left are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley, Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette, Tom Marshburn and Dave Wolf, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, who spent four months on the space station and returned on Endeavour. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett July 31, 2009 |
| Date |
8/3/09 |
|
STS-127 Crew Back on Earth
The STS-127 crew pause on th
…
8/3/09
| Description |
The STS-127 crew pause on the runway next to space shuttle Endeavour after their landing that completed the 16-day, 6.5-million mile journey on the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. This was the 71st landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Mark Polansky spoke to spectators and media gathered on the runway, thanking all the workers for their joint efforts that made the mission a success. Behind Polansky are Mission Specialists Christopher Cassidy and Tom Marshburn, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Julie Payette and Dave Wolf. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett July 31, 2009 |
| Date |
8/3/09 |
|
Eclipse View from the ISS
The International Space Stat
…
6/9/08
| Description |
The International Space Station (ISS) was in position to view the umbral (ground) shadow cast by the moon as it moved between Earth and the sun during a solar eclipse on March 29, 2006. This astronaut image captures the umbral shadow across southern Turkey, northern Cyprus and the Mediterranean Sea. Credit: NASA |
| Date |
6/9/08 |
|
JSC1892_ISSThe_Vision_and_Mi
…
ISS: THE VISION AND MISSION
…
2001
| Description |
ISS: THE VISION AND MISSION JSC1892 (2001) 7 1/4 Minutes This narrated production provides a broad, easy to understand overview of the International Space Station and outlines the goals and benefits of the station program. The video covers the international cooperation involved in building the station parts on the ground and launching them into space. Spectacular spacewalking scenes illustrate the challenge astronauts face in assembling the station in earth orbit. The focus shifts to the benefits of building a space station from medical and technological advances, to providing a point of inspiration for the next generation of engineers and scientists. The video concludes with ISS Program Manager Tommy Holloway, who delivers the mission statement of the station. The best mission downlink and onboard video was used in the creation of this video. |
| Date |
2001 |
|
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, M
…
** STS-131 UPDATE -- JSC/KSC
…
03/05/2010
| Description |
** STS-131 UPDATE -- JSC/KSC The STS-131 Crew and space shuttle Discovery continues their progress toward an April 5 launch to the International Space Station. Discovery has been rolled out to Launch Pad 39A, while the seven STS-131 astronauts participated in launch countdown dress rehearsal activities and other prelaunch training. ** AMES CREATES A WINNER -- ARC The World Wind Java computer program developed at the Ames Research Center has earned NASA's 2009 Software of the Year Award. World-Wind is an open-source platform used to display NASA and U.S. Geological Survey data on virtual 3-D globes of Earth and other planets. ** DEEP SPACE DOWN UNDER - JPL NASA is replacing an aging fleet of 230-foot-wide antennas used in the Deep Space Network with new ''beam wave guide'' antennas that enable the network to operate on several different frequency bands within the same antenna. The replacement antennas are approximately half the size of the originals. The NASA Deep Space Network - or DSN - is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. ** 2009 QASAR AWARD -- GRC Christopher DellaCorte, of the Glenn Research Center's Tribology & Mechanical Components branch has received the 2009 Quality and Safety Achievement or Qasar Award for figuring out what caused severe degradation of a starboard solar array alpha rotary joint on the International Space Station. ** STEM EDUCATORS WORKSHOP -- LARC Teachers became students while participating in the second annual NASA Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics -- STEM -- Educators, Workshops held this year in Charlotte, N.C. The 40-session workshop provided elementary, middle and high school teachers with creative hands-on ways to incorporate NASA content into their classrooms. The workshops are specifically designed to give teachers tangible resources for immediate use in classrooms. ** FIRST ROBOTICS KICKOFF -- HQ The NASA supported ''For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology'' Robotics program began its 19th year with regional competitions like this one held in Washington, D.C. FIRST is a nationwide competition that teams young people with professionals to solve engineering design problems in a competitive way. |
| Date |
03/05/2010 |
|
Crew Impact Attenuation Syst
…
Steve Nevins examines instru
…
2/20/09
| Description |
Steve Nevins examines instrumentation next to the Crew Impact Attenuation System (CIAS) Test Article in the garage across from building 1297. Langley engineers recently designed and fabricated the 20,000-pound test article which completed seven preliminary impact tests at Langley's Landing and Impact Dynamics gantry since the start of the year. Later this month, technicians will attach energy absorbing struts to ready the hardware for testing the Orion seat pallet system. The CIAS test article emulates the Orion crew module interface to the seat pallet that will accommodate between four and six astronauts. Once energy absorbing struts are attached to the seat pallet, a new phase of testing for Orion will begin. The series of tests will evaluate Orion's energy absorbing seat system, which will help reduce loads on the astronauts and protect them from injury when returning to Earth from a mission to the International Space Station or the moon. Credit: NASA/Sean Smith |
| Date |
2/20/09 |
|
Constellation -- January 200
…
Illustrations of the propose
…
7/18/08
| Description |
Illustrations of the proposed Constellation Spacesuit System depict different preliminary configurations of the new spacesuit system. On the left, the "initial capability" suit will provide basic pressure suit functions for use inside the Orion spacecraft for launch, entry and on-orbit activities during low-Earth orbit missions to the International Space Station. On the right, the "lunar capability" suit will use core components of the initial capability suit and additional hardware, including a new thermal micro-meteoroid protection garment. It will be the lunar exploration suit for the Constellation Program. In the center, another illustration of the lunar capability suit shows additional equipment and the micrometeoroid outer garment highlighted in blue. |
| Date |
7/18/08 |
|
NASA_eClips_Our_World_Commun
…
Communication is very import
…
07/09/10
| Description |
Communication is very important for astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). Learn about the many ways that astronauts can communicate with people on Earth while they are on-board the ISS. |
| Date |
07/09/10 |
|
NASA_eClips_Real_World_Time_
…
The International Space Stat
…
07/09/10
| Description |
The International Space Station (ISS) orbits Earth once every 90 minutes. Learn how astronauts keep track of what time it is while on-board using Universal Time. Learn how students can talk to astronauts on the ISS using amateur radio on the ISS. |
| Date |
07/09/10 |
|
Kibo Elements Arrive at NASA
…
Two elements of the Japan Ae
…
10/6/08
| Description |
Two elements of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Sept. 24, 2008, to begin processing for flight. The exposed facility and the experiment logistics module-exposed section traveled from Japan to Kennedy via a Russian Antonov-124 aircraft. The exposed facility is a unique platform that will be located outside the pressurized module and will contain Earth observation and materials science experiments. The logistics exposed section will serve as an on-orbit storage area for materials, tools and supplies. The elements are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in 2009 on the third and final Kibo assembly mission. |
| Date |
10/6/08 |
|
X-38
One of NASA's three X-38 Cre
…
11/4/09
| Description |
One of NASA's three X-38 Crew Return Vehicle technology demonstrators that flew at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., a decade ago has found a new home in America's heartland. In this image from test flights in 1999, the X-38 research vehicle drops away from NASA's B-52 mothership immediately after being released from the B-52's wing pylon. More than 30 years earlier, this same B-52 launched the original lifting-body vehicles flight tested by NASA and the Air Force at what is now called the Dryden Flight Research Center and the Air Force Flight Test Center. The wingless lifting body craft was transferred this past weekend from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to the Strategic Air and Space Museum, located just off Interstate 80 at Ashland, Neb., about 20 miles southeast of Omaha. The X-38 adds to the museum's growing collection of aerospace vehicles and other historical artifacts. The move of the second X-38 built to the museum has a fitting connection, as the X-38 vehicles were air-launched from NASA's famous B-52B 008 mothership. The B-52 bomber served as the backbone of the Air Force's Strategic Air Command during the command's history. Prior to cancellation, the X-38 program was developing the technology for proposed vehicles that could return up to seven International Space Station crewmembers to Earth in case of an emergency. These vehicles would have been carried to the space station in the cargo bay of a space shuttle and attached to station docking ports. If an emergency arose that forced the ISS crew to leave the space station, a Crew Return Vehicle would have undocked and returned them to Earth much like the space shuttle, although the vehicle would have deployed a parafoil for the final descent and landing. Photo Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas |
| Date |
11/4/09 |
|
Parting View
Suspended in space and backd
…
3/26/09
| Description |
Suspended in space and backdropped by the blackness of space and the jewel-like blue of Earth sits the International Space Station. This image of the... |
| Date |
3/26/09 |
|
Parting View
Suspended in space and backd
…
3/26/09
| Description |
Suspended in space and backdropped by the blackness of space and the jewel-like blue of Earth sits the International Space Station. This image of the station was taken as STS-119 performed a fly around after undocking. Image Credit: NASA |
| Date |
3/26/09 |
|
NASA and Russian Space Agenc
…
NASA Administrator Charles B
…
10/2/09
| Description |
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Left, and Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov turn to pose for a photograph at Mission Control Center Moscow in Korolev, Russia shortly after the successful docking of the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft with the International Space Station (ISS) marking the start of Expedition 21 with Flight Engineer Jeffrey N. Williams, Expedition 21 Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev, and Spaceflight Participant Guy LalibertÎÿ_, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. LalibretÎÿ_ will return to Earth with the Expedition 20 crew on Oct. 11, 2009. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls |
| Date |
10/2/09 |
|
NASA Connect - Personal Sate
…
NASA Connect Video containin
…
1/22/04
| Description |
NASA Connect Video containing six segments as described below. NASA Connect Segment exploring the aspects of microgravity and how it affects objects in space. Explores object motion and friction and tests the PSA prototype in accordance with these forces. NASA Connect Segment exploring more aspects of the Personal Satellite Assistant. It explains motion and its relationship with the mass of objects in connection to the PSA. NASA Connect Segment explaining mechanical systems. It also compares and contrasts a mechanical system to the system of the International Space Station and Personal Satellite Assistants. NASA Connect Segment explaining the literary origins of robots. It also explores the development of the robot and how scientists use robots in research and technology. NASA Connect Segment exploring the different types of robots. It also explores robots such as the Mars Rover that scientists at NASA use to explore beyond the Earth. NASA Connect Segment involving students in an activity that investigates volume and surface area in two different cylinders. The video also explains basic mathematical functions to help answer the questions. |
| Date |
1/22/04 |
|
NASA Destination Tomorrow -
…
NASA Destination Tomorrow Vi
…
6/1/03
| Description |
NASA Destination Tomorrow Video containing three segments as described below. NASA Destination Tomorrow Segment exploring the function of aerobraking and how this helps reduce costs and create more room in aircraft. NASA Destination Tomorrow Segment exploring new materials technology development and how it has revolutionized the world of science and technology. NASA Destination Tomorrow Segment exploring a newly discovered moon called Titan that revolves around the planet Saturn. |
| Date |
6/1/03 |
|
NASA SCI Files - ISS Life
NASA Sci Files segment explo
…
5/14/03
| Description |
NASA Sci Files segment exploring the International Space Station and how living in space is different than living on Earth. |
| Date |
5/14/03 |
|
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, J
…
The three crew members of Ex
…
06/04/10
| Description |
The three crew members of Expedition 23 made a safe return to Earth after their Soyuz flight from the International Space Station.* The Glenn Research Center hosted Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and other VIPs at several gatherings to underscore the center's contributions to the state and nation.* As this year's hurricane season gets underway, the Goddard Space Flight Center has unveiled, for the media, NASA's new climate simulation center.* Space is the focus of this year's World Science Festival in New York. * Four student teams representing high schools in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Utah, and North Carolina were at the Glenn Research Center to compete in NASA's Balloonsat High Altitude Flight Days.* Officials representing Palmdale, the Dryden Flight Research Center and the AERO Institute participated in a rededication ceremony to mark the reopening of Dryden's Educator Resource and Visitor Center. |
| Date |
06/04/10 |
|
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, J
…
More than 250 students joine
…
06/11/10
| Description |
More than 250 students joined with astronaut Leland Melvin and Administrator Charles Bolden at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to help kickoff NASA's Summer of Innovation.* The launch nears for Expedition 24's three new members. Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, and NASA astronauts Dough Wheelock and Shannon Walker are slated to liftoff on a Soyuz rocket for the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 15.* The Langley Research Center has broken ground on a new facility dedicated to bringing astronauts home safely from space. * The Marshall Space Flight Center honored the ''best of the best'' during its Honor Awards ceremony. *NASA's second Global Hawk Earth sciences aircraft has completed its first checkout flight. * The California School for the Blind is among six schools in the San Francisco Bay Area that've hosted “Space Dayâ€ activities including a Traveling Space Museum from the Ames Research Center. * The Ames Research Center turned the spotlight on NASA's collaborative “Smart Skiesâ€ project by showcasing the curriculum's software at a kick-off media event.* |
| Date |
06/11/10 |
|
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, D
…
* The new members of the Exp
…
12/18/09
| Description |
* The new members of the Expedition 22 crew, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer of NASA, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are in final preparation for their upcoming mission to the International Space station. Prior to their departure to the launch site from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Creamer told reporters what he√¢d miss most while in space. * More than 16,000 geophysicists from around the world met in San Francisco for the fall American Geological Union meeting. The AGU's annual event covers topics in all areas of Earth and space sciences. NASA scientists and researchers used the occasion to present a wide range of findings and discoveries. *Celebrated painter and long- time contributor to the Nation's aerospace fine arts programs, Dr. Robert McCall turns 90 this week. McCall has spent much of his career documenting and artistically translating America's space program for the public. |
| Date |
12/18/09 |
|
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, F
…
* President Obama spoke with
…
02/19/10
| Description |
* President Obama spoke with the crews of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. * New findings by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in the Andromeda galaxy have provided a major advance in understanding a type of supernova believed critical to studying dark energy. * The telescope aboard NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, was successfully activated during a January 15 test flight of almost six hours. * A new NASA Web site can help our future explorers and leaders better understand the how's and why's of climate change and what they can do to make our planet more habitable. * Scott Carpenter: ''Godspeed John Glenn'' Forty-eight years ago, Mercury astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth when an Atlas rocket successfully carried his Friendship 7 capsule into space. |
| Date |
02/19/10 |
|
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, M
…
** STS-131 UPDATE: JSC/KSC T
…
03/05/10
| Description |
** STS-131 UPDATE: JSC/KSC The STS-131 Crew and space shuttle Discovery continues their progress toward an April 5 launch to the International Space Station. Discovery has been rolled out to Launch Pad 39A, while the seven STS-131 astronauts participated in launch countdown dress rehearsal activities and other prelaunch training. ** AMES CREATES A WINNER: ARC The World Wind Java computer program developed at the Ames Research Center has earned NASA's 2009 Software of the Year Award. World-Wind is an open-source platform used to display NASA and U.S. Geological Survey data on virtual 3-D globes of Earth and other planets. ** DEEP SPACE DOWN UNDER: JPL NASA is replacing an aging fleet of 230-foot-wide antennas used in the Deep Space Network with new ''beam wave guide'' antennas that enable the network to operate on several different frequency bands within the same antenna. The replacement antennas are approximately half the size of the originals. The NASA Deep Space Network - or DSN - is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions. ** 2009 QASAR AWARD: GRC Christopher DellaCorte, of the Glenn Research Center's Tribology & Mechanical Components branch has received the 2009 Quality and Safety Achievement or Qasar Award for figuring out what caused severe degradation of a starboard solar array alpha rotary joint on the International Space Station. ** STEM EDUCATORS WORKSHOP: LARC Teachers became students while participating in the second annual NASA Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics -- STEM -- Educators, Workshops held this year in Charlotte, N.C. The 40-session workshop provided elementary, middle and high school teachers with creative hands-on ways to incorporate NASA content into their classrooms. The workshops are specifically designed to give teachers tangible resources for immediate use in classrooms. ** FIRST ROBOTICS KICKOFF HQ: The NASA supported ''For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology'' Robotics program began its 19th year with regional competitions like this one held in Washington, D.C. FIRST is a nationwide competition that teams young people with professionals to solve engineering design problems in a competitive way. |
| Date |
03/05/10 |
|
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, A
…
The crew of STS-131 returned
…
04/23/10
| Description |
The crew of STS-131 returned home to Houston following their fifteen days in space aboard shuttle Discovery. * The first images are in from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, and scientists who study the sun say they are a stunning treasure trove of data about Earth's star. * NASA helped celebrate Earth Day's fortieth anniversary with nine consecutive days of activities and public exhibits on the National Mall in Washington. * Robonaut 2, or R2, as it, or he, is also known, is scheduled to become the first human-like robot to take up permanent residence on the International Space Station. * Hundreds of students from middle schools, high schools, and colleges representing 20 states were in northern Alabama for the annual Space Launch Initiative, or LaunchFest. * The STS-130 crew paid a visit to NASA Headquarters where they played highlights of their February mission to the International Space Station for employees and guests. The six-astronaut crew of space shuttle Endeavour was commanded by George Zamka, Terry Virts was the pilot, Mission Specialists were Nicholas Patrick, Bob Behnken, Steve Robinson and Kay Hire. * On April 24, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Since then, the observatory orbiting 350 miles above Earth has produced hundreds of thousands of unprecedented images of different corners of the universe. |
| Date |
04/23/10 |
|
From Cloudy to Clear
| Description |
During a recent flyby of Titan, the Cassini spacecraft looked beyond the utterly overcast moon and spied clear, distant Rhea in the blackness. |
| Full Description |
During a recent flyby of Titan, the Cassini spacecraft looked beyond the utterly overcast moon and spied clear, distant Rhea in the blackness. Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) is two-and-a-half times smaller than Earth and much less massive. This circumstance causes its atmosphere to extend to much higher altitudes above the surface than does Earth's. The Cassini spacecraft is unable to fly much closer than about 1000 kilometers (600 miles) above Titan's surface -- much closer, and the spacecraft would experience excessive torques from the atmosphere that could interfere with its ability to track the target. By contrast, the International Space Station orbits Earth at an altitude of about 350 kilometers (220 miles). The bright, fresh crater on Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) appears near the center of the moon's crescent. The image was taken in visible-light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 20, 2006, at a distance of approximately 53,000 kilometers (33,000 miles) from Titan and 873,000 kilometers (543,000 miles) from Rhea. Image scale is 320 meters (1,050 feet) per pixel on Titan and 5 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel on Rhea. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . *Credit:* NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute |
| Date |
June 21, 2006 |
|
Auroras Underfoot
| title |
Auroras Underfoot |
| description |
If you think auroras look spectacular from Earth, check out the view astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle and International Space Station get when the Earth's magnetosphere is struck by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from our Sun. |
|
Storm Clouds - First Space S
…
| title |
Storm Clouds - First Space Station Image |
| description |
A mass of storm clouds was observed and recorded from the International Space Station (ISS) by Expedition 1 crew members. The picture, made with an Electrical Still Camera (ESC), was the first Earth observation still image downlinked by the three-man crew. Expedition 1 crew members were cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, flight engineer, astronaut William Shepherd, mission commander, and cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko, Soyuz commander. Because the station's communication system was still under construction, the image files had to be compressed at high levels for downlink, resulting in the loss of information. *Image Credit*: NASA |
|
Eclipsed Earth
| title |
Eclipsed Earth |
| date |
03.29.2006 |
| description |
The shadow of the moon falls on Earth as seen from the International Space Station, 230 miles above the planet, during a total solar eclipse at about 4:50 a.m. EST March 29. This digital photo was taken by the Expedition 12 crew, who are wrapping up a six-month mission on the ISS. Visible near the shadow are portions of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea and the coast of Turkey. *Credit:* NASA |
|
Artist's Conception of Space
…
| Title |
Artist's Conception of Space Station Freedom |
| Full Description |
Alan Chinchar's 1991 rendition of the Space Station Freedom in orbit. The painting depicts the completed space station. Earth is used as the image's backdrop with the Moon and Mars off in the distance. Freedom was to be a permanently crewed orbiting base to be completed in the mid 1990's. It was to have a crew of 4. Freedom was an attempt at international cooperation that attempted to incorporate the technological and economic assistance, of the United States, Canada, Japan, and nine European nations. The image shows four pressurized modules (three laboratories and a habitat module) and six large solar arrays which were expected to generate 56,000 watts of electricity for both scientific experiments and the daily operation of the station. Space Station Freedom never came to fruition. Instead, in 1993, the original partners, as well as Russia, pooled their resources to create the International Space Station. |
| Date |
1991 |
| NASA Center |
Headquarters |
|
Photo of Hermann Oberth
| Title |
Photo of Hermann Oberth |
| Full Description |
Hermann Oberth (1894-1989) is considered to be one of the top three pioneers in modern rocketry and is credited with suggesting that space stations would be essential if humans wished to travel to other planets. Oberth was the only one out of the three (Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Robert Goddard are the other two) to see human spaceflight come to fruition. He was inspired by the tales of Jules Verne in From the Earth to the Moon and Travel to the Moon. He is also the author of Die Rakete zu den Planetenraumen, published in 1923. The book inspired many to pursue spaceflight, despite its challenges. Oberth was a guest at the Apollo 11 launch in July 1969 as well as at the launch of the STS-51J, Atlantis mission. |
| Date |
UNKNOWN |
| NASA Center |
Headquarters |
|
STS-84 Landing
| Title |
STS-84 Landing |
| Full Description |
Framed by the Vehicle Assembly Building in the distance, at left, and the Mate- Demate Device, the Space Shuttle Atlantis with its drag chute deployed touches down on KSC's Runway 33 at the conclusion of STS-84 mission. The Shuttle Training Aircraft piloted by Astronaut Kenneth D. Cockrell, acting deputy chief of the Astronaut Office, is flying in front of Atlantis. Main gear touchdown was at 9:27:44 a.m. EDT on May 24, 1997. The first landing opportunity was waved off because of low cloud cover. It was the 37th landing at KSC since the Shuttle program began in 1981, and the eighth consecutive landing at KSC. STS-84 was the sixth of nine planned dockings of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. Atlantis was docked with the Mir for five days. STS-84 Mission Specialist C. Michael Foale replaced astronaut and Mir 23 crew member Jerry M. Linenger, who has been on the Russian Space Station since January 15. Linenger returned to Earth on Atlantis with the rest of the STS-84 crew, Mission Commander Charles J. Precourt, Pilot Eileen Marie Collins, and Mission Specialists Carlos I. Noriega, Edward Tsang Lu, Elena V. Kondakova of the Russian Space Agency and Jean-Francois Clervoy of the European Space Agency. Foale is scheduled to remain on the Mir for approximately four months, until he is replaced by STS-86 crew member Wendy B. Lawrence in September. Besides the docking and crew exchange, STS-84 included the transfer of more than 7,300 pounds of water, logistics and science experiments and hardware to and from the Mir. Scientific experiments conducted during the STS-84 mission, and scheduled for Foale's stay on the Mir, are in the fields of advanced technology, Earth Sciences, fundamental biology, human life sciences, International Space Station risk mitigation, microgravity sciences and space sciences. |
| Date |
5/24/1997 |
| NASA Center |
Kennedy Space Center |
|
Gernhardt on Robot Arm
| Title |
Gernhardt on Robot Arm |
| Full Description |
The pale blue Earth serves as backdrop for astronaut Michael Gernhardt during his Extravehicular Activity (EVA). He is standing on a Manipulator Foot Restraint (MFR) attached to the Remote Manipulator System (RMS). He is positioned over the Payload Bay and Endeavour's forward section is reflected in his visor. A thermal cube is attached to the RMS and records temperatures during spacesuit evaluations. Unlike earlier spacewalking astronauts, Gernhardt was able to use an electronic cuff checklist, a prototype developed for the assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). |
| Date |
09/16/1995 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Shuttle Endeavour Mated to 7
…
| Photo Description |
NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft No. 911, with the space shuttle orbiter Endeavour securely mounted atop its fuselage, taxies to the runway to begin the ferry flight from Rockwell's Plant 42 at Palmdale, California, where the orbiter was built, to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. At Kennedy, the space vehicle was processed and launched on orbital mission STS-49, which landed at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, 16 May 1992. NASA 911, the second modified 747 that went into service in November 1990, has special support struts atop the fuselage and internal strengthening to accommodate the added weight of 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 |
1991 |
|
Shuttle Discovery Landing at
…
| Photo Description |
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center pilot Tom McMurtry lands NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft with Space Shuttle Discovery attached at Rockwell Aerospace's Palmdale, California, facility about 1:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). There for nine months of scheduled maintenance, Discovery and the 747 were completing a two-day flight from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, that began at 7:04 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on 27 September and included an overnight stop at Salt Lake City International Airport, Utah. At the conclusion of this mission, Discovery had flown 21 shuttle missions, totaling more than 142 days in orbit. |
| 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 |
28 September 1995 |
|
Shuttle Endeavour Mated to 7
…
| Photo Description |
NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft No. 911, with the space shuttle orbiter Endeavour securely mounted atop its fuselage, begins the ferry flight from Rockwell's Plant 42 at Palmdale, California, where the orbiter was built, to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. At Kennedy, the space vehicle was processed and launched on orbital mission STS-49, which landed at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, 16 May 1992. NASA 911, the second modified 747 that went into service in November 1990, has special support struts atop the fuselage and internal strengthening to accommodate the added weight of 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 |
1991 |
|
X-38: Artist Concept of Re-E
…
| Photo Description |
This is an artist's depiction of NASA's proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) re-entering the earth's atmosphere. A team of NASA researchers began free flight tests of the X-38, a technology demonstrator for the CRV, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in 1998. The CRV is being designed as a "lifeboat" for the International Space Station |
| Project Description |
The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. ItÕs landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, DrydenÕs B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground. |
| Photo Date |
1997 |
|
X-38 research aircraft remov
…
X-38 research aircraft - sec
…
X-38 research aircraft - Fir
…
X-38 vehicle descending towa
…
X-38 research aircraft deorb
…
X-38 research aircraft landi
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X-38 research aircraft launc
…
Three Lifting Bodies on Lake
…
| Photo Description |
The wingless, lifting body aircraft sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3 and the HL-10. The lifting body aircraft studied the feasibility of maneuvering and landing an aerodynamic craft designed for reentry from space. These lifting bodies were air launched by a B-52 mother ship, then flew powered by their own rocket engines before making an unpowered approach and landing. They helped validate the concept that a space shuttle could make accurate landings without power. The X-24A flew from April 17, 1969 to June 4, 1971. The M2-F3 flew from June 2, 1970 until December 20, 1972. The HL-10 flew from December 22, 1966 until July 17, 1970 and logged the highest and fastest records in the lifting body program. |
| Project Description |
The X-24 was one of a group of lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center (FRC--now Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, in a joint program with the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base from 1963 to 1975. The lifting bodies were used to demonstrate the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and be landed like an airplane at a predetermined site. Lifting bodies' aerodynamic lift, essential to flight in the atmosphere, was obtained from their shape. The addition of fins and control surfaces allowed the pilots to stabilize and control the vehicles and regulate their flight paths. Built by Martin Aircraft Company, Maryland, for the U.S. Air Force, the X-24A was a bulbous vehicle shaped like a teardrop with three vertical fins at the rear for directional control. It weighed 6,270 pounds, was 24.5 feet long and 11.5 feet wide (measuring just the fuselage, not the distance between the tips of the outboard fins). Its first unpowered glide flight was on April 17, 1969, with Air Force Maj. Jerauld Gentry at the controls. Gentry also piloted its first powered flight on March 19, 1970. The X-24A was flown 28 times in the program that, like the HL-10, validated the concept that a Space Shuttle vehicle could be landed unpowered. The fastest speed achieved by the X-24A was 1,036 miles per hour (mph--Mach 1.6). Its maximum altitude was 71,400 feet. It was powered by an XLR-11 rocket engine with a maximum theoretical vacuum thrust of 8,480 pounds. The X-24A was later modified into the X-24B. The bulbous shape of the X-24A was converted into a "flying flatiron" shape with a rounded top, flat bottom, and double delta platform that ended in a pointed nose. The X-24B demonstrated that accurate unpowered reentry vehicle landings were operationally feasible. Top speed achieved by the X-24B was 1,164 mph and the highest altitude it reached was 74,130 feet. The vehicle is on display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The pilot on the last powered flight of the X-24B was Bill Dana, who also flew the last X-15 flight about seven years earlier. The X-24A shape was later borrowed for the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) technology demonstrator for the International Space Station. The X-24B is on public display at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The M2-F3 was a modified version of the M2-F2. NASA pilots said the M2-F2 had lateral control problems, even though it had a stability augmentation control system. When the M2-F2 was rebuilt at Dryden and redesignated the M2-F3, it was modified with an additional third vertical fin--centered between the tip fins--to improve control characteristics. The first flight of the M2-F3, with NASA pilot Bill Dana at the controls, was on June 2, 1970. It was a glide flight to evaluate changes in the vehicle's performance due to the modifications. The modified vehicle exhibited much better lateral, stability and control characteristics than had the M2-F2. Over the next 26 missions, the M2-F3 reached a top speed of l,064 mph (Mach 1.6). Bill Dana was the pilot, and the high-speed flight took place on December 13, 1972. The highest altitude reached by the vehicle was 71,500 feet on December 21, 1972, the date of its last flight, with NASA pilot John Manke at the controls. A reaction jet control system, similar to thrusters used on orbiting spacecraft, was also installed to obtain research data about their effectiveness for vehicle control. As the M2-F3's portion of the lifting body program neared an end, it evaluated a rate command augmentation control system, and a side-arm control stick similar to side-arm controllers now used on many modern aircraft. The M2-F3 is now on display in the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D. C. The HL-10 was delivered to the FRC by Northrop in January 1966. Its first flight was on December 22 of the same year. The pilot was Bruce Peterson. The HL-10 was flown 37 times and it set several program records. On February 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Maj. Peter Hoag flew it to 1,228 mph (Mach 1.86), fastest speed of any of the lifting bodies. Nine days later, NASA's Bill Dana flew the HL-10 to 90,303 feet, the highest altitude reached by any of the lifting body vehicles. The HL-10 was also the first lifting body to fly supersonically--on May 9, 1969, with Manke at the controls. The HL-10 featured a flat bottom and rounded top--much like an airfoil--and it had a delta planform. In its final configuration, three vertical fins, two of them canted outwards from the body and a tall center fin, gave the craft directional control. A flush canopy blended into the smooth rounded nose. It was about 21 feet long, with a span of 13.6 feet. Its glide-flight weight was 6,473 lbs. and its maximum gross weight was over 10,000 lbs. Flights with the HL-10 contributed substantially to the decision to design the space shuttles without air-breathing engines that would have been used for landings. Its final flight was on July 17, 1970. The HL-10 is now on public display at Dryden. |
| Photo Date |
December 18, 1969 |
|
STS-68 747 SCA Ferry Flight
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle Endeavour, 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. Endeavour 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. |
| 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 |
|
Research pilot Mark Pestana
| Photo Date |
April 16, 2001 |
|
Shuttle Atlantis Landing at
…
| Photo Description |
NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down on the lakebed runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert Tuesday, 3 December 1985 at 1:33:49 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, concluding the STS 61-B international mission. The eight-day mission successfully deployed three communications satellites including the Mexican Morelos B, the Australian Aussat 2 and an RCA Satcom K-2 satellite. In addition, two spacewalks were performed to experiment with construction of structures in space. Crew of the 61-B mission included Commander Brewster H. Shaw, Jr., Pilot Bryan D. O'Connor, Mission Specialists Mary L. Cleave, Sherwood C. Spring and Jerry L. Ross, and Payload Specialists Rudolfo Neri Vela of Mexico and Charles Walker of McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co. |
| 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 |
1985 |
|
STS Challenger Mated to 747
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger atop NASA's Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), NASA 905, after leaving the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, for the ferry flight that took the orbiter to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for its first launch. |
| 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 |
July 4, 1982 |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Mated to
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle Enterprise atop the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft as it leaves NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Enterprise, first orbiter built, was not spaceflight rated and was used in 1977 to verify the landing, approach, and glide characteristics of the orbiters. It was also used for engineering fit-checks at the shuttle launch facilities. Following approach and landing tests in 1977 and its use as an engineering vehicle, Enterprise was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. |
| 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 |
1983 |
|
Shuttle Discovery Mated to 7
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle Discovery rides atop "905," NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, on its delivery flight from California to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where it was prepared for its first orbital mission for 30 August to 5 September 1984. The NASA 747, obtained in 1974, 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. A second modified 747, no. 911, went in to service in November 1990 and is also used to ferry orbiters to destinations where ground transportation is not practical. |
| 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 |
1983 |
|
Shuttle Enterprise Being Wor
…
| Photo Description |
The Space Shuttle Enterprise being worked on in the weight & balance hangar. The Enterprise, the first orbiter built, was not spaceflight rated and was used in 1977 to verify the landing, approach, and glide characteristics of the orbiters in the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It was also used for engineering fit-checks at the shuttle launch facilities. Following approach and landing tests in 1977 and its use as an engineering vehicle, Enterprise was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. |
| 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 |
1983 |
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