I realized later that I had A LOT of faith in the guy operating this payloader. That was several tons of steel hanging above my head!

General view of the payload bay of Space Shuttle Discovery. The bay measures 60ft long and 15ft wide.

The Payload Operations Center is the science command post for the International Space Station. Located at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., it is the focal point for American and international science activities on board the space station. The Payload Operations Center’s unique capabilities allow science experts and researchers around the world to perform cutting-edge science in the unique microgravity environment of space.

Image credit: NASA

The first half of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V payload fairing is moved into position for a fit check at the Astrotech Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Aug. 13, 2022, for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series. It is scheduled to lift off from VSFB on Nov. 1 from Space Launch Complex-3 East. JPSS-2 will scan the globe as it orbits from the North to the South Pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day. From 512 miles above Earth, it will capture data that inform weather forecasts, extreme weather events, and climate change. The Visible Infrared Radiometer Suite instrument will collect imagery for global observations of the land, atmosphere, cryosphere, and oceans. Launching as a secondary payload to JPSS-2 is NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter. LOFTID is a demonstration of a hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator, or aeroshell, technology that could one day help land humans on Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

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Pub Hough pour la ligne de chargeuse ''Payloader'' - 1962.

Hough ad for payloader machinery line - 1962.

A raincloud drops it's payload as it passes down the River Clyde.

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V payload fairing is transported from Building 7525 to the Astrotech Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California on Aug. 10, 2022, for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series. It is scheduled to lift off from VSFB on Nov. 1 from Space Launch Complex-3. JPSS-2, which will be renamed NOAA-21 after reaching orbit, will join a constellation of JPSS satellites that orbit from the North to the South pole, circling Earth 14 times a day and providing a full view of the entire globe twice daily. The NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, and NOAA-20, previously known as JPSS-1, are both already in orbit. Each satellite carries at least four advanced instruments to measure weather and climate conditions on Earth. Launching as a secondary payload to JPSS-2 is NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter. LOFTID will demonstrate inflatable heat shield technology that could enable a variety of proposed NASA missions to destinations such as Mars, Venus, and Titan, as well as returning heavier payloads from low-Earth orbit. Photo credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Julio Paz

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The U-2 suspended from the ceiling of the Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, carries a payload from one of its earliest flights: a small lump of chewing gum. "If you climb up the wing of the airplane, open the canopy, and reach under the left rail, you will find my wad of tutti fruitti," says Carmine Vito, one of the first six pilots trained to fly the high-altitude reconnaissance craft for the CIA. Vito stuck it there on 5 July 1956 before taking off from Wiesbaden, Germany, on his first operational mission.

"I was a little nervous," recalls Vito. "And my throat was dry." His anxiety could have been attributed to his mission route right over Moscow at the height of the Cold War.

Vito is the only U-2 pilot to fly directly over Moscow. His flight was the third operational flight over potentially hostile territory, or what the pilots called "hot" flights. Carl Overstreet flew the first such flight of the U-2 on 20 June 1956. The mission covered Poland and East Germany. Then Hervy Stockman flew over Soviet territory on 4 July, going as far north as Leningrad to photograph naval shipyards and then west to the Baltic States to cover jet bomber bases. The fourth, fifth, and sixth missions were flown by Marty Knutson, Glen Dunaway, and Jake Kratt. All were successful.

"The Russians launched planes to intercept Overstreet on the first flight," notes Vito. "But they couldn't reach him." Stockman's flight was also detected by Soviet radar. Several MiG fighters scrambled to intercept him, too. As with previous flights, the intercepts failed. Soviet fighters could not approach the altitude needed to shoot down the lofty U-2.

Vito's selection for the Moscow mission was more a function of circumstance than of design when the orders came to fly. The U-2 detachment at Wiesbaden was typically given an alert notice from headquarters twelve hours before takeoff. The notice usually came before five p.m. During those twelve hours, ground crew and pilots prepared for the flight. Lockheed, Pratt & Whitney, and Kodak crews conducted ground checks of the airplane, engine, and cameras. Pilots suited up in their specialized partial pressure suits and breathed pure oxygen to ward off the effects of rapid decompression (the bends). To purge nitrogen from their blood, U-2 pilots had to be "on the hose" for at least two hours before they were given the green light for takeoff.

"Without a go signal from headquarters, everyone headed for the club after five that evening," explains Vito. "On that particular weekend, the 4th of July, most everyone was celebrating. When the late go came down from headquarters, I was the only one who had had only one drink. So, even though our order of mission flights had been predetermined by drawing straws, I was selected for the mission."

After forty-six years of describing this particular U-2 mission, Vito can't be certain if he's telling the story from actual memories or telling it from memories of previous descriptions. Whichever the case, he remembers the firework display keeping him awake that night and the obligatory steak and egg meal early the next morning. "They always fed us steak and eggs before a flight," he says. "I didn't want steak and eggs at two in the morning, but they were on the checklist. So I had to eat."

Vito's route took him over Kracow, Poland, and then to Brest and Baranovici in the Ukraine. He stayed on this east-northeasterly route, overflying Minsk on his way to the Soviet capital.

The mission began in bad weather. "We had about 200 feet of visibility on the ground," recalls Vito. "The sky was clear at 3,000 to 4,000 feet, but I had undercast halfway inbound." The weather cleared as Vito followed a railroad line from Minsk to Moscow. At an altitude of more than 66,000 feet, he listened to Peter and the Wolf, a Russian musical composition with narration, transmitted from a Soviet radio station. Small mosaic fields of the collective farms passed below him. "Those fields reminded me that Russian farmers tilled the land by hand," he says. "I couldn't get mad at people who work that hard. I was never mad at the Soviet people themselves, just at their government."

Vito's mission took him directly over Moscow and its extensive network of newly built air defenses, which ringed the city in three concentric circles at twenty, forty, and sixty miles from the city center. A smoggy sky hid the city below. "My bubble burst," Vito recalls. "I thought, Gee I came all this way for nothing. But the filters on my camera cut through the haze. A year or so later, I learned that the resulting film picked up some remarkable detail."

According to a CIA history of the U-2, Vito's mission came back with images of the Fili airframe plant where the Soviets were building their first jet bomber (known as the Bison to the West); a bomber arsenal in Ramenskoye; a rocket engine plant in Khimki; and a missile plant in Kaliningrad. From just east of Moscow, he turned north to the Baltic coast and then back south to West Germany.

"I learned later that the Soviets launched at least five fighters to intercept my flight," says Vito. "Two planes took off initially. The lead plane aborted takeoff, ran off the runway, and exploded. The wingman went through lead's flames and then bailed out. Two more airplanes scrambled and were refueled in the air. Those airplanes got lost or collided. The pilots bailed out. A fifth plane scrambled but couldn't find the tanker. He was lost and never found to this day." Vito never received credit for five aerial victories. "After all, I never fired a shot," he says.

On his way back to West Germany, the Canadian radar came on the air: "Lone Ranger, this is Tonto. Keep heading the way you are going. You have twenty-two minutes to touchdown."

"I knew they were talking to me because they had the best radar around and had picked us up on previous flights," recalls Vito. "But U-2 pilots had to observe complete silence on the radio. To this day, I wish I could have replied, 'Ti Ee Kemosabe.'"

Vito accumulated about 450 hours in about sixty-five flights in the U-2 from 1955 to 1959. His last flight was in the first U-2C at Edwards AFB. He left U-2 headquarters at the CIA in August 1960.

Vito's mission over Moscow as well as previous and subsequent U-2 flights have gone largely uncelebrated for reasons of national security. Only recently have these details surfaced from CIA files made public. Public programs sponsored by the CIA have even included discussions with their counterparts from the former Soviet Union. What was once the domain of government officials with the highest security clearances has now become primary research for Cold War historians. Vito and others associated with the early days of the U-2 program are finally enjoying some deserved recognition and acclaim.

Explained George Tenet, director of the CIA, in a symposium on the U-2 in 1998: "From the U-2 data captured by our overflights, data that was corroborated by intelligence obtained by other means, President Eisenhower could confidently resist the fierce domestic pressure to engage in a massive arms buildup. He knew for certain, for certain, that we had no bomber gap and no missile gap with the Soviet Union, all Soviet boasting to the contrary. By any measure, that was an intelligence triumph. The men and women who worked long and hard and often took great risks for the U-2's early successes can be forever proud of that.

"I want to say a special thanks to the pilots," Tenet continued, "from Carmine Vito to the U-2 pilots of today. The courage that Carmine and his colleagues showed made an enormous difference to the security of our country. These men allowed generations of Americans to live in peace and prosperity. On behalf of all Americans, I want to thank you, Carmine, and all your co-pilots and colleagues, for your great and selfless heroism."

Today's U-2 pilots of the US Air Force carry on that legacy in missions just as critical to the security of the United States and of its allies.

The payload fairing containing the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module is lifted by crane at the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Horizontal Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The payload will be hoisted up and mated to the ULA Atlas V rocket. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch atop the Atlas V from pad 41. Cygnus will deliver 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station. Photo credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

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Soyuz VS07 upper composite, comprising the Fregat upper stage, payload and fairing, was transferred from the S3B integration facility to the Soyuz launch pad (ZLS), hoisted into the mobile gantry where it was integrated atop Soyuz, on 31 March 2014.

Soyuz VS07 will lift off on 3 April 2014, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket will carry Sentinel-1, the first in the family of Copernicus satellites.

This satellite will be used to monitor many aspects of our environment, from detecting and tracking oil spills and mapping sea ice to monitoring movement in land surfaces and mapping changes in the way land is used. It will also play a crucial role in providing timely information to help respond to natural disasters and assist humanitarian relief efforts.

Credit: ESA–S. Corvaja, 2014

On Aug. 11, 2022, teams at the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California use a crane to raise to vertical one of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V payload fairing halves for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite mission. The payload fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. JPSS-2 is the third satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System series. It is scheduled to lift off from VSFB on Nov. 1 from Space Launch Complex-3 East. JPSS-2 will scan the globe as it orbits from the North to the South Pole, crossing the equator 14 times a day. From 512 miles above Earth, it will capture data that inform weather forecasts, extreme weather events, and climate change. The Visible Infrared Radiometer Suite instrument will collect imagery for global observations of the land, atmosphere, cryosphere, and oceans. Launching as a secondary payload to JPSS-2 is NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), dedicated to the memory of Bernard Kutter. LOFTID is a demonstration of a hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator, or aeroshell, technology that could one day help land humans on Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

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Some more messing around in blender and mecabricks. Payload section feels limited might end up revamping it but for now it is what it is.

The Payload.The largest payload ever hauled over New Mexico highways is this 1.7 million pound electrical transformer. It was hauled from Thoreau, NM to an electrical Sub Station in Utah in the fall of 2015. The rig is propelled by one tugger and 5 pushers.

PictionID:44811519 - Title:Atlas Payload Component - Catalog:14_014436 - Filename:14_014436.TIF - - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum

A view of the internal weapon-bays reveals the payload of 4 SDB's and two AMRAAM missiles.

First of two Galileo navigation satellites SATs 9-10 being attached to the payload dispenser system, which will first secure the satellites during their flight to medium-altitude orbit and then release them into space. The satellites were hoisted into position and secured during 27–28 August 2015.

SATs 9-10 are scheduled to lift off at 02:08 GMT on 11 September (04:08 CEST; 23:08 local time, 10 September) from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on top of a Soyuz rocket. They are expected to become operational, after initial in-orbit testing, later in the autumn.

Credit: ESA–M. Pedoussaut, 2015

2017 Deming Logging Show

A heavy equipment payload is dropped from a U.S. Air Force C-130H Hercules aircraft over South Korea April 18, 2014, during exercise Max Thunder 14-1. Max Thunder is the U.S. Pacific Air Forces-led portion of Foal Eagle, a combined U.S.-South Korea field training exercise held annually in South Korea to ensure the operational readiness of air, space and cyberspace operations in the Korean theater of operations. (DoD photo by Capt. Raymond Geoffroy, U.S. Air Force/Released)

STS-51L Payload specialist Sharon Christa McAuliffe appears to be enjoying her ride during her training in the T-38 jet trainer. Part of Galveston Island and the Greater Houston Metropolitan area can be seen in the background.

In 1984, McAuliffe was selected from more than 11,000 applicants to become the first teacher to fly in space as part of NASA's Teacher in Space Project. 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1984, Challenger broke apart and McAuliffe and her six crewmates for the STS-51L mission perished.

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Credit: NASA

Image Number: S86-25178

Date: January 8, 1986

Signed by Ulrich H. Walter, payload specialist on STS-55/Columbia, the second German Spacelab flight. Also pictured, from left: Jerry Ross (who was at the conference); Bernard Harris, both mission specialists; and payload specialist Hans Schlegel.

Walter was in Aug. 1987 nominated as a German Science Astronaut; underwent from 1988-90 Basic Astronaut Training at the German Aerospace Center (DLR); and in Sept. 1990 assigned to the German D-2 Mission.

STS-55 (April 26 to May 6, 1993). was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Nearly 90 experiments were conducted during this German-sponsored Spacelab D-2 mission to investigate life sciences, materials sciences, physics, robotics, astronomy and the Earth and its atmosphere.

STS-55 also flew the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) making contact with students in 14 schools around the world. At mission conclusion, Astronauts traveled over 4.1 million miles in 160 Earth orbits, and logged over 239 hours in space.

STS-55 was Walter's only spaceflight.

Really happy for this as I believe I once had a portrait photo of Walter from the Johnson Space Center. A photo I sent him TTM was signed twice, apparently because the first autograph didn't adhere well to the photo.

In-person at the 29th ASE Planetary Conference, Vienna, Austria, early October 2016.

And while Jerry Ross was at the 29th ASE Planetary Conference, my friend didn't run into him. But I was able to get it signed almost two months later, at a Sinai Forum presentation at Purdue University Northwest in Westville, Indiana, 4 Dec. 2016.

Ret. Air Force Col. Jerry L. Ross was the first of two astronauts to complete seven missions - a record unlikely to be broken in the near future.

He had trained for an eighth, what was to have been his first, then his second flight - STS-1V/Mission 62A, the first launch from Vandenberg AFB on board Discovery, a mission which was canceled following the Challenger accident.

Interestingly, out of his seven flights, none of them were on Discovery!

Ross was selected as an astronaut in May 1980. His technical assignments since then have included EVA (spacewalks); Robotics; Space Shuttle Landing Chase Team; support crewman for STS-41B, 41C and 51A; spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) during STS-41B, 41C, 41D, 51A and 51D; Chief of the Mission Support Branch; member of the 1990 Astronaut Selection Board; Acting Deputy Chief of the Astronaut Office; Chief of the Astronaut Office EVA and Robotics Branch and Astronaut Office Branch Chief for Kennedy Space Center Operations Support. From 2004 to 2007, he served as the Chief Astronaut of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC).

Ross flew as a mission specialist on STS-61-B (1985), STS-27R (1988) and STS-37 (1991); was the Payload Commander on STS-55/Spacelab-D2 (1993); and served as a mission specialist on the second Space Shuttle to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir, STS-74 (1995), the first International Space Station (ISS) assembly mission, STS-88 (1998) and on another Space Station assembly mission, STS-110 (2002). A veteran of seven space flights, Ross has more than 1,393 hours in space, including 58 hours and 18 minutes of EVA on nine spacewalks.

Both his number of and time on spacewalks are all time second highest among NASA astronauts.

Ross served as Chief of the Vehicle Integration Test Office at the Johnson Space Center from 2003 through 2011. He retired from NASA in January 2012.

STS-61-B was launched at night from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on November 26, 1985. During the mission, the crew deployed the MORELOS-B, AUSSAT II and SATCOM Ku-2 communications satellites and operated numerous experiments inside the Space Shuttle. Ross conducted two 6-hour spacewalks to demonstrate Space Station construction techniques with the EASE/ACCESS experiments. After completing 108 orbits of the Earth in 165 hours, 4 minutes and 49 seconds, STS-61-B/Atlantis landed on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on December 3, 1985.

STS-27R/Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on December 2, 1988. The mission carried a Department of Defense payload as well as a number of secondary payloads. After 68 orbits of the Earth in 105 hours, 6 minutes and 19 seconds, the mission concluded with a dry lakebed landing on Runway 17 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on December 6, 1988.

STS-37/Atlantis launched from KSC on April 5, 1991, and deployed the 35,000-pound Gamma Ray Observatory, the heaviest civilian satellite ever launched by a Shuttle and the second of NASA's four “great observatories.” Ross performed two spacewalks totaling 10 hours and 49 minutes to manually deploy the obstructed Gamma Ray Observatory antenna and to test prototype Space Station EVA hardware. After 93 orbits of the Earth in 143 hours, 32 minutes and 44 seconds, the mission concluded with a landing on Runway 33 at Edwards Air Force Base on April 11, 1991.

STS-74 was NASA's second Space Shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. STS-74 launched on November 12, 1995, and landed at Kennedy Space Center on November 20, 1995. During the 8-day flight the crew aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis attached a permanent docking module to Mir, conducted a number of secondary experiments and transferred 3,000 pounds of supplies and experiment equipment between Atlantis and the Mir station. The STS-74 mission was accomplished in 129 orbits of the Earth, with Atlantis traveling 3.4 million miles in 196 hours, 30 minutes and 44 seconds.

STS-88/Endeavour (December 4 to December 15, 1998) was the first ISS assembly mission. During the 12-day mission, the U.S.-built Unity module was mated with the orbiting, unmanned Russian Zarya module. Ross performed three spacewalks totaling 21 hours and 22 minutes to connect umbilicals and attach tools and hardware to the exterior of the core modules of the ISS. The crew also deployed two small satellites, Mighty Sat 1 and SAC-A. The mission was accomplished in 185 orbits of the Earth in 283 hours and 18 minutes.

STS-110/Atlantis (April 8-19, 2002) was the 13th Shuttle mission to visit the ISS. This, the first mission in the final phase of the ISS assembly, included the delivery and installation of the S0 (S-Zero) Truss, the first use of the station's robotic arm to maneuver spacewalkers around the station and the first time that all of the spacewalks performed on a Shuttle mission were based from the Station's Quest Airlock. Ross performed two EVAs totaling 14 hours and 9 minutes. Mission duration was 259 hours and 42 minutes, with 171 orbits of the Earth.

Ross supported the Space Shuttle Program as an Astronaut from before the first launch in April 1981 to the last landing in July 2011. He also supported the International Space Station Program from its inception through the completion of assembly of the ISS in 2011.

Ross signed via venue, Purdue University Northwest, 4 Dec. 2016.

Harris signed in-person at the ASE Planetary Conference, late September/early October 2024.

NASA’s Pegasus barge arrives at the Launch Complex 39 turn basin at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on Sunday, June 21, 2026. Teams will offload and transport the observatory to the spaceport’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where it will undergo processing ahead of launch, targeted no earlier than Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026. Named for NASA’s first chief astronomer and “mother of the Hubble Space Telescope,” Roman will offer a field of view over 100 times larger than Hubble’s to study up to a billion galaxies, directly image exoplanets and planet‑forming disks, and address fundamental questions about dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics. Photo credit: NASA/Amber Jean Notvest

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NASA Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, second from right, speaks to Astrobotic CEO, John Thornton, left, and Astrobotic Mission Director, Sharad Bhaskaran, second from left, about their lunar lander, Friday, May 31, 2019, at Goddard Space Flight Center in Md. Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, and Orbit Beyond have been selected to provide the first lunar landers for the Artemis program's lunar surface exploration. Photo credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

In the SpaceX Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, scientists and engineers are completing encapsulation of the Jason-3 satellite in its payload faring. The Jason-3 satellite now will be moved to Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 4 and stacked atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Photo credit: NASA

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SAMSUNG CSC

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was one of the largest and heaviest fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single piston engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to eight tons, and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack roles could carry five-inch rockets or a significant bomb load of 2,500 pounds; it could carry over half the payload of the B-17 bomber on long-range missions (although the B-17 had a far greater range).

Twelve P-47H were lost in operational crashes with the 358th Group resulting in 11 deaths, two after VE Day, and two (44-21134 on 13 April 1945 and 44-21230 on 16 April 1945) were shot down in combat, both by ground fire.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 39 ft 2 in (11.96 m)

Wingspan: 40 ft 9 in (12.42 m)

Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)

Wing area: 300 ft² (27.87 m²)

Empty weight: 10,000 lb (4,535 kg)

Loaded weight: 13,300 lb (6,032 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Chrysler XIV-2220-2 sixteen-cylinder inverted Vee liquid-cooled engine, rated at 2.450 hp.

Performance:

Maximum speed: 503 mph at 30,000 ft (810 km/h at 9,145 m)

Range: 920 mi combat, 2.175 ml ferry (1.480 km / 3.500 km)

Service ceiling: 43,000 ft (13,100 m)

Rate of climb: 3,120 ft/min (15.9 m/s)

Wing loading: 44.33 lb/ft² ()

Power/mass: 0.19 hp/lb (238 W/kg)

Armament:

8× .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns (3.400 rounds)

Up to 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) of bombs, drop tanks and/or 10× 5 in (127 mm) unguided rockets

The kit and its assembly:

I had the (X)P-47H on the agenda for some time, and even the respective MPM kit stashed away. But it took some time to start this project - one reason actually being the, well, crudeness of the MPM offering. Anyway, I wanted to build a service aircraft, and I wondered how this would have looked like, way beyond 1944? That brought me towards the late bubble canopy versions of the P-47D - and suddenly the idea was born to convert the XP-47H into a respective service aircraft which would not only carry the Chrysler XIV-2220-1 V16 engine, but also other improvements of the type. This eventually led to the decision to make this build a kitbash, as a spine implantation would be the easiest way to incorporate the lowered back - or so I thought...

I chose the ancient Heller P-47(N) as donation kit. Not because it was “good”, it just had the right ingredients and was cheap and easy to procure. What sounded like a simple plan turned into a twisted route to vague success. I took the front fuselage and the lower belly from the MPM kit, as well as the horizontal stabilizers and mated it with the upper and rear fuselage of the Heller Thunderbolt. This could have been easy, if both kits would not have had different fuselage diameters - the Heller kit is about 1mm too narrow, even though the length is fine. In order to compensate, I built two new fuselage halves from the salvaged pieces, and once these were stable and more or less sanded even, put together. Inside, the cockpit was taken from the Heller kit, but the seat comes from the MPM kit, and a pilot figure was added. Another problem is the fact that the MPM kit features engraved panel lines, while the Heller kit has old school, raised details and lots of rivets.

The propeller from the MPM kit is a joke, so I built a replacement from scratch - from a drop tank front half from an ancient Revell F4U, and the individual propeller blades were taken from an Italeri F4U. Inside the fuselage, a styrene tube was implanted which holds the new propeller on a metal axis, so it can spin freely.

Other personal mods include lowered flaps and the large cooler intake was opened, with foamed styrene placed inside which mimics some mesh. The same method was also used inside of the intercooler outlets (primarily in order to block any light from shining through). Inside of the landing gear wells I added some structure made from styrene profiles.

Another bigger challenge was the wing attachment - Heller and MPM kit differ considerably in this aspect, so that swapping parts is not easy. The MPM kit has the wing roots molded onto the fuselage halves, while the Heller wings are, more or less, directly attached to the fuselage. As a consequence the Heller wings hold the complete landing gear wells, while the MPM solution has divided sections. I decided to get rid of the MPM wing roots, about 3mm of material, and onto these stubs the Heller wings were attached. The landing gear came from the Heller kit, but the main wheels come from a (new) Revell Me 262 - both MPM and Heller parts are not recommended for serious use... Finally, the many exhausts and cooler flaps were either sanded away and replaced by scratched parts, or added - e. g. the vents behind the cockpit. While the Heller kit features bomb and missile hardpoints under the wings I decided to leave them away - this is supposed to be a fast interceptor, not a train-hunting plough.

Painting and markings:

As this was to be a very late WWII aircraft, NMF was certain, and I wanted to place the service P-47H into the European conflict theatre, where its speed would IMHO be best used against German jet threats. I wanted a colorful aircraft, though, and settled for a machine of the 358th FG. This group actually flew Thunderbolts in the 365-367th Squadrons, and I found several profiles of these gaudy things.

Common to all of them was an orange tail and a dark blue back, while the engine cowling would be decorated with a red front and the air outlets would carry bands in red, white and blue, with lots of tiny stars sprinkled upon. Furthermore, I found specimen with white cowlings behind the red front end, or even yellow cowlings. Pretty cool.

I tried to mimic this look. The model was basically painted with Aluminum Metallizer (Humbrol 27002) overall. The effect is really good, even without rubbing treatment. Some panels were contrasted with Aluminium Plate and Polished Steel Metallizer (Modelmaster), as well as with Aluminum (Humbrol 56, which is rather a metallic grey). The latter was also used on the landing gear. The anti-glare panel in front of the cockpit was painted with Olive Drab (ANA 613 from Modelmaster).

Since there is no air intake opening on the inline engine I decided to paint the spinner in bright red (Humbrol 19), and tried to incorporate the white and blue theme with stars decoration to the rest of the nose. As a convenient coincidence, I found decals from an Italeri B-66 in the stash: it features a version with dark blue jet air intake decorations in the right size, colors and style for what I had been looking for. So, instead of painting everything by hand I decided to incorporate this decal option.

The area behind the spinner was painted white and then the B-66 decals applied to the front flanks. The radiator air intake scoop had to be cut out, but the overall size and shape were a very good match. Even the transition into the blue spine and cockpit area worked well!

The tail was painted with Humbrol 18, later some shading with Humbrol 82 was added. The blue spine was done with a mix of Humbrol 104 and 15 (Oxford Blue and Midnight Blue) - not a perfect match for the B-66 decal colors, but after some dirt and weathering these differences would blur.

Cockpit interior was painted in Humbrol 159 (Khaki Drab) and Zinc Chromate Green from Model Master. The landing gear wells received a chrome yellow primer (Humbrol 225 - actually RAF Mid Stone but a perfect match for the task) finish.

For weathering the kit received a rubbing treatment with grinded graphite, which adds a dark, metallic shine and emphasizes the kit’s raised panel lines. Some dry painting with Aluminum was added, too, simulating chipped paint on the leading edges. I also added some oil stains around the engine, and serious soot stains at the exhaust.

Decals were, beyond the B-66 decoration, puzzled together. The aircraft' code 'CH-F[bar]' is another exotic twist, in two ways. The bar under the letter marks a second use of that code within the squadron, and as a difference from normal code placement (normally exclusively on the fuselage) I placed the aircraft's individual code letter on the fin, a practice on some P-51s and a consequence of the relatively large letter decals.

The nose art is a fictional puzzle, consisting of a Czech MiG-21 pin-up from the Pardubice '89 meeting. The “Ohio Express” tag comes from a Tamiya 1:100 F-105 Thunderchief. A neat combination that even matches the overall colors well!

As a final step, a coat of semi matt acrylic varnish was applied, with the exception of the anti glare panel, which became purely matt.

A better XP-47H? Hard to tell, since this kitbashing was a messy and rather crude work, so the overall finish does not look as good as I hoped for. But the lowered spine and the fin root extension adds to a fast look of this thing, more elegant (if that's possible in this case?) than the Razorback prototypes. I can't help, but the finished article looks like an Evel Knievel stunt vehicle? The red spinner looks a bit odd, but I'll leave it this way.

Inside the Multi-Operations Support Building near the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 16, 2019, a row of Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble (SCAPE) suits are hanging inside a changing room. SCAPE technicians are practicing putting on the suits for a test simulation of loading propellants into a replicated test tank for Orion. Exploration Ground Systems is preparing for Artemis 1 with a series of hazardous hyper test events at the MPPF. After donning their suits, the technicians will complete a tanking to test the system before Orion arrives for processing. During preparations for launch, these teams will be responsible for loading the Orion vehicle with propellants prior to transportation to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be secured atop the Space Launch System rocket. SCAPE suits are used in operations involving toxic propellants and are supplied with air either through a hardline or through a self-contained environmental control unit. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson

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Nobel highbrass LE OO Buckshot. 2 3/4 Inch, 1296 FPS, 12 pellets.

The payload, without the nose fairing is in place on the three- stage Thor-Delta launch vehicle. Workmen place a protective plastic covering over the payload to protect it. Image from NASA, originally appeared on this site: science.ksc.nasa.gov/gallery/photos/ Reposted by San Diego Air and Space Museum

Payload is a bit heavy..

Go little bee!!

Had a load of these this year..

Great looking flowers and nice and tall..

Known as Papaver Somniferum - opium poppy or breadseed poppy..

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaver_somniferum

Astronaut Dale A. Gardner, having just completed the major portion of his second extravehicular activity (EVA) period in three days, holds up a "For Sale" sign refering to the two satellites, Palapa B-2 and Westar 6 that they retrieved from orbit after their Payload Assist Modules (PAM) failed to fire. Astronaut Joseph P. Allen IV, who also participated in the two EVAs, is reflected in Gardner's helmet visor. A portion of each of two recovered satellites is in the lower right corner, with Westar 6 nearer Discovery's aft.

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Visit the Review of Human Space Flight Committee Web Site

This is a Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-65) onboard photo of the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) in the cargo bay with Earth in the background. Mission objectives of IML-2 were to conduct science and technology investigations that required the low-gravity environment of space, with emphasis on experiments that studied the effects of microgravity on materials processes and living organisms. Materials science and life sciences are two of the most exciting areas of microgravity research because discoveries in these fields could greatly enhance the quality of life on Earth. If the structure of certain proteins can be determined by examining high-quality protein crystals grown in microgravity, advances can be made to improve the treatment of many human diseases. Electronic materials research in space may help us refine processes and make better products, such as computers, lasers, and other high-tech devices. The 14-nation European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (SCA), the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES), the German Space Agency and the German Aerospace Research Establishment (DARA/DLR), and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) participated in developing hardware and experiments for the IML missions. The missions were managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The Orbiter Columbia was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on July 8, 1994 for the IML-2 mission.

Onboard Columbia were astronauts Robert D. Cabana, James D. Halsell, Jr., Richard J. Hieb, Carl E. Walz, Donald A. Thomas and Leroy Chiao, along with (NASDA) Japanese payload specialist Dr. Chiaki Naito-Mukai.

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Credit: NASA

Image Number: 9513775 or STS065-34-016

Date: July 8–23, 1994

“With NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft sealed inside its payload fairing, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rides smoke and flames as it rises from the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 10:02 a.m. EST Nov. 26. MSL’s components include a car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane, and help determine if the gas is from a biological or geological source. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/msl.

Courtesy: Scott Andrews/Canon/NASA”

PictionID:44808567 - Title:Atlas Payload Component Details: Worker with Satellite - Catalog:14_014194 - Filename:14_014194.TIF - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum

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© jakeblues111185

watch this:

www.youtube.com/user/lifeinaday

History

The concept for the Type 2 is credited to Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon. (It has similarities in concept to the 1920s Rumpler Tropfenwagen and 1930s Dymaxion car by Buckminster Fuller, neither of which reached production.) Pon visited Wolfsburg in 1946, intending to purchase Type 1s for import to the Netherlands, where he saw an improvised parts-mover and realized something better was possible using the stock Type 1 pan. He first sketched the van in a doodle dated April 23, 1947, proposing a payload of 690 kg (1,520 lb) and placing the driver at the very front. Production would have to wait, however, as the factory was at capacity producing the Type 1.

When capacity freed up, a prototype known internally as the Type 29 was produced in a short three months. The stock Type 1 pan proved to be too weak so the prototype used a ladder chassis with unit body construction. Coincidentally the wheelbase was the same as the Type 1's. Engineers reused the reduction gear from the Type 81, enabling the 1.5 ton van to use a 25 hp (19 kW) flat four engine.

Although the aerodynamics of the first prototypes were poor (with an initial drag coefficient of Cd=0.75),engineers used the wind tunnel at the Technical University of Braunschweig to optimize the design. Simple changes such as splitting the windshield and roofline into a "vee" helped the production Type 2 achieve Cd=0.44, exceeding the Type 1's Cd=0.48. Volkswagen's new chief executive officer Heinz Nordhoff (appointed 1 January 1948) approved the van for production on 19 May 1949 and the first production model, now designated Type 2, rolled off the assembly line to debut 12 November. Only two models were offered: the Kombi (with two side windows and middle and rear seats that were easily removable by one person), and the Commercial. The Microbus was added in May 1950, joined by the Deluxe Microbus in June 1951. In all 9,541 Type 2s were produced in their first year of production.

An ambulance model was added in December 1951 which repositioned the fuel tank in front of the transaxle, put the spare tire behind the front seat, and added a "tailgate"-style rear door. These features became standard on the Type 2 from 1955 to 1967. 11,805 Type 2s were built in the 1951 model year. These were joined by a single-cab pickup in August 1952, and it changed the least of the Type 2s until all were heavily modified in 1968.

Unlike other rear engine Volkswagens, which evolved constantly over time but never saw the introduction of all-new models, the Transporter not only evolved, but was completely revised periodically with variations retrospectively referred to as versions "T1" to "T5" (a nomenclature only invented after the introduction of the front-drive T4 which replaced the T25). However, only generations T1 to T3 (or T25 as it is still called in Ireland and Great Britain) can be seen as directly related to the Beetle (see below for details).

The Type 2, along with the 1947 Citroën H Van, are among the first 'forward control' vans in which the driver was placed above the front roadwheels. They started a trend in Europe, where the 1952 GM Bedford CA, 1958 RAF-977, 1959 Renault Estafette, 1960 BMC Morris J4, and 1960 Commer FC also used the concept. In the United States, the Corvair-based Chevrolet Corvan cargo van and Greenbrier passenger van went so far as to copy the Type 2's rear-engine layout, using the Corvair's horizontally opposed, air-cooled engine for power. Except for the Greenbrier and various 1950s–70s Fiat minivans, the Type 2 remained unique in being rear-engined. This was a disadvantage for the early "barndoor" Panel Vans, which could not easily be loaded from the rear because the engine cover intruded on interior space, but generally advantageous in traction and interior noise.

Variants

Volkswagen Samba bus

Rail-going draisine

The Type 2 was available as a:

Panel van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats.

Double-door Panel Van, a delivery van without side windows or rear seats and cargo doors on both sides.

High Roof Panel Van (German: Hochdach), a delivery van with raised roof.

Kombi, from German: Kombinationskraftwagen (combination motor vehicle), with side windows and removable rear seats, both a passenger and a cargo vehicle combined.

Bus, also called a Volkswagen Caravelle, a van with more comfortable interior reminiscent of passenger cars since the third generation.

Samba-Bus, a van with skylight windows and cloth sunroof, first generation only, also known as a Deluxe Microbus. They were marketed for touring the Alps.

Flatbed pickup truck, or Single Cab, also available with wider load bed.

Crew cab pick-up, a flatbed truck with extended cab and two rows of seats, also called a Doka, from German: Doppelkabine.

Westfalia camping van, "Westy", with Westfalia roof and interior. Included optional "pop up" top.

Adventurewagen camping van, with high roof and camping units from Adventurewagen.

Semi-camping van that can also still be used as a passenger car and transporter, sacrificing some camping comforts. "Multivan" or "Weekender", available from the third generation on.

Apart from these factory variants, there were a multitude of third-party conversions available, some of which were offered through Volkswagen dealers. They included, but were not limited to, refrigerated vans, hearses, ambulances, police vans, fire engines and ladder trucks, and camping van conversions by companies other than Westfalia. There were even 30 Klv 20 rail-going draisines built for Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1955.

In South Africa, it is known as a well-loved variation of the ice cream van (first, second and third generations). The mere sight of one (in South Africa) sparks the familiar rhyme: I scream, We scream, We all scream for Ice-Cream!

First generation (T1; 1950–1967)

Volkswagen Type 2 (T1)

VW Type2 T1c Kombi.jpg

Production

1950–1967 (Europe and US)

1950–1975 (Brazil)

Assembly

Wolfsburg, Germany

Hanover, Germany

São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil

Melbourne, Australia

Body and chassis

Platform

Volkswagen Group T1 platform

Powertrain

Engine

1.1 L B4 (petrol)

1.2 L B4 (petrol)

1.5 L B4 (petrol)

1.6 L B4 (petrol)

Dimensions

Wheelbase

2,400 mm (94.5 in)

Length

4,280 mm (168.5 in)

Width

1,720 mm (67.7 in)

Height

1,940 mm (76.4 in)

The first generation of the Volkswagen Type 2 with the split windshield, informally called the Microbus, Splitscreen, or Splittie among modern fans, was produced from 8 March 1950 through the end of the 1967 model year. From 1950 to 1956, the T1 (not called that at the time) was built in Wolfsburg; from 1956, it was built at the completely new Transporter factory in Hanover. Like the Beetle, the first Transporters used the 1100 Volkswagen air-cooled engine, an 1,131 cc (69.0 cu in), DIN-rated 18 kW (24 PS; 24 bhp), air-cooled flat-four-cylinder 'boxer' engine mounted in the rear. This was upgraded to the 1200 – an 1,192 cc (72.7 cu in) 22 kW (30 PS; 30 bhp) in 1953. A higher compression ratio became standard in 1955; while an unusual early version of the 30 kW (41 PS; 40 bhp) engine debuted exclusively on the Type 2 in 1959. This engine proved to be so uncharacteristically troublesome that Volkswagen recalled all 1959 Transporters and replaced the engines with an updated version of the 30 kW engine.Any 1959 models that retain that early engine today are true survivors. Since the engine was totally discontinued at the outset, no parts were ever made available.

The early versions of the T1 until 1955 were often called the "Barndoor" (retrospectively called T1a since the 1990s), owing to the enormous rear engine cover, while the later versions with a slightly modified body (the roofline above the windshield is extended), smaller engine bay, and 15" roadwheels instead of the original 16" ones are nowadays called the T1b (again, only called this since the 1990s, based on VW's restrospective T1,2,3,4 etc. naming system.). From the 1963 model year, when the rear door was made wider (same as on the bay-window or T2), the vehicle could be referred to as the T1c. 1964 also saw the introduction of an optional sliding door for the passenger/cargo area instead of the outwardly hinged doors typical of cargo vans.

In 1962, a heavy-duty Transporter was introduced as a factory option. It featured a cargo capacity of 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) instead of the previous 750 kg (1,653 lb), smaller but wider 14" roadwheels, and a 1.5 Le, 31 kW (42 PS; 42 bhp) DIN engine. This was so successful that only a year later, the 750 kg, 1.2 L Transporter was discontinued. The 1963 model year introduced the 1500 engine – 1,493 cc (91.1 cu in) as standard equipment to the US market at 38 kW (52 PS; 51 bhp) DIN with an 83 mm (3.27 in) bore, 69 mm (2.72 in) stroke, and 7.8:1 compression ratio. When the Beetle received the 1.5 L engine for the 1967 model year, its power was increased to 40 kW (54 PS; 54 bhp) DIN.

1966 Volkswagen Kombi (North America)

German production stopped after the 1967 model year; however, the T1 still was made in Brazil until 1975, when it was modified with a 1968–79 T2-style front end, and big 1972-vintage taillights into the so-called "T1.5" and produced until 1996. The Brazilian T1s were not identical to the last German models (the T1.5 was locally produced in Brazil using the 1950s and 1960s-era stamping dies to cut down on retooling, alongside the Beetle/Fusca, where the pre-1965 body style was retained), though they sported some characteristic features of the T1a, such as the cargo doors and five-stud 205 mm (8.1 in) PCD rims. Wheel tracks varied between German and Brazilian production and with 14",15" and 16" wheel variants but commonly front track varied from 1290 mm to 1310 mm and rear track from 1370 mm to 1390 mm.

VW Bus Type 2 (T1), hippie colors

Among American enthusiasts, it is common to refer to the different models by the number of their windows. The basic Kombi or Bus is the 11-window (a.k.a. three-window bus because of three side windows) with a split windshield, two front cabin door windows, six rear side windows, and one rear window. The DeLuxe model featured eight rear side windows and two rear corner windows, making it the 15-window (not available in Europe). Meanwhile, the sunroof DeLuxe with its additional eight small skylight windows is, accordingly, the 23-window. From the 1964 model year, with its wider rear door, the rear corner windows were discontinued, making the latter two the 13-window and 21-window respectively. The 23- and later 21-window variants each carry the nickname 'Samba', or in Australia, officially 'Alpine'.

US Chicken Tax

Main article: Chicken tax

U.S. sales of Volkswagen vans in pickup and commercial configurations were curtailed by the Chicken tax

Certain models of the Volkswagen Type 2 played a role in a historic episode during the early 1960s, known as the Chicken War. France and West Germany had placed tariffs on imports of U.S. chicken.[20] Diplomacy failed, and in January 1964, two months after taking office, President Johnson imposed a 25% tax (almost ten times the average U.S. tariff) on potato starch, dextrin, brandy, and light trucks. Officially, the tax targeted items imported from Europe as approximating the value of lost American chicken sales to Europe.

In retrospect, audio tapes from the Johnson White House, revealed a quid pro quo unrelated to chicken. In January 1964, President Johnson attempted to convince United Auto Workers' president Walter Reuther not to initiate a strike just before the 1964 election, and to support the president's civil rights platform. Reuther, in turn, wanted Johnson to respond to Volkswagen's increased shipments to the United States.

The Chicken Tax directly curtailed importation of German-built Type 2s in configurations that qualified them as light trucks – that is, commercial vans (panel vans) and pickups. In 1964, U.S. imports of automobile trucks from West Germany declined to a value of $5.7 million – about one-third the value imported in the previous year. After 1971, Volkswagen cargo vans and pickup trucks, the intended targets, "practically disappeared from the U.S. market". While post-1971 Type 2 commercial vans and single-cab and double-cab pickups can be found in the United States today, they are exceedingly rare. Any post-1971 specimen found ostensibly has had its import tariff paid. As of 2013, the "chicken tax" remains in effect.

PictionID:44811812 - Catalog:14_014460 - Title:Atlas Payload Component - Filename:14_014460.TIF - - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum

A Kamag transporter moves the Cygnus spacecraft inside a payload fairing to the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 so the spacecraft can be lifted into place atop the waiting United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Built by Orbital ATK, the Cygnus is a cargo-only spacecraft that will take about 7,300 pounds of experiments, equipment and supplies to the International Space Station. The version launching on OA-4, the fourth operational cargo resupply flight for Orbital ATK, is an enhanced Cygnus that is capable of carrying 25 percent more mass than its predecessor. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance

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Last hatch closing in the payload fairing atop the Ariane 5 flight VA219, which is set to carry ATV Georges Lemaître into orbit, in the BAF (Final Assembly Building), on 26 July 2014.

ATV-5 is set to carry almost 6.6 tonnes of supplies to the Station, including a record amount of dry cargo – around 2682 kg.

Launch of the fifth Automated Transfer Vehicle, ATV-5, from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, is scheduled for 23:44 UTC on 29 July (01:44 CEST; 30 July).

Credit: ESA–S. Corvaja, 2014

Lahr, West Germany, Canadian, military base.

The M548 is a tracked cargo carrier. It is based on the M113 armored personnel carrier, and was built by FMC Corp. at its San Jose, California, and Charleston, WV facilities.

Its light weight allows the use of a relatively small engine to power the vehicle, a 6V53 Detroit 2-stroke six cylinder diesel, with an Allison TX-100-1 3-speed automatic transmission, and allows the vehicle to carry a large payload cross-country and to be transported by fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.

The driveline consists of a front sprocket, 5 roadwheels and a rear tensioner.suspension is by torsion bar.support rollers are not necessary because of the taut and relatively light track. In off-road driving, the driver must be careful to keep the track tension constant. Even with a failed torsion bar the M548 is still roadworthy. The power of the motor drives the transfer gearcase, generator and the cooling of the differential/steering gear. The transfer gearcase can be used as a separating clutch when towing the vehicle and serves to reduce the motor's speed. The power transmission between the drive follows the torque converter with an automatic lock-up clutch.

Functional testing of NASA’s Mars Helicopter and its cruise stage occurred in the airlock inside Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on March 10, 2020. The helicopter was tested on a stand while the cruise stage was tested on the rotation fixture. The helicopter will be attached to the Mars Perseverance rover during its mission, which is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Perseverance will land on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021. Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket is targeted for mid-July from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy is managing the launch. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

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NROL-68 is mounted on top of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket ahead of launch for the National Reconnaissance Office. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance

Encapsulated in its payload fairing, NASA's Parker Solar Probe is lifted by a crane for mating to a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 on Tuesday, July 31, 2018. The Parker Solar Probe is being prepared for a mission to perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

Photo credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

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The OrbitBeyond lunar lander is seen, Friday, May 31, 2019, at Goddard Space Flight Center in Md. Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, and OrbitBeyond have been selected to provide the first lunar landers for the Artemis program's lunar surface exploration. Photo credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Encapsulated in its payload fairing, NASA's Parker Solar Probe is prepared to be lifted for mating to a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 on Tuesday, July 31, 2018. The Parker Solar Probe is being prepared for a mission to perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

Photo credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

NASA image use policy.

At Launch Pad 39B, the Space Shuttle Columbia's payload bay doors close around the Chandra X-ray Observatory inside, while workers monitor the activity. Chandra was the primary payload on mission STS-93, scheduled to launch aboard Columbia July 20 at 12:36 a.m. EDT. The combined Chandra/Inertial Upper Stage, seen here, measured 57 feet long and weighs 50,162 pounds. Fully deployed with solar arrays extended, the observatory measured 45.3 feet long and 64 feet wide. The world's most powerful X-ray telescope, Chandra allowed scientists from around the world to see previously invisible black holes and high-temperature gas clouds, giving the observatory the potential to rewrite the books on the structure and evolution of our universe.

NASA Media Usage Guidelines

Credit: NASA

Image Number: 99PP-0854

Date: July 17, 1999

A spotlight shines on the payload fairing containing the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module as a KAMAG transporter moves along the road toward Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Cygnus will be mated to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch atop the Atlas V rocket from pad 41. Cygnus will deliver 7,600 pounds of supplies, equipment and scientific research materials to the space station. Photo credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

NASA image use policy.

My entry for the Real World Starfighter ContestTromas, you brought this on yourself.The USAF F-217 Codname: SPACEGHOST

Hoisting the Earth-observer Sentinel-1C to its "vampire" payload launch adapter (right) that will connect the satellite to the Vega-C rocket that will launch it into a polar orbit.

Earth-observer Sentinel-1C is set to launch on Vega-C rocket flight VV25. At 35 m tall, Vega-C weighs 210 tonnes on the launch pad and reaches orbit with three solid-propellant-powered stages before the fourth liquid-propellant stage takes over for precise placement of Sentinel-1C into its orbit.

The payload adapter connects the satellite and the rocket launching it. The VAMPIRE backronym stands for Vega Adapter for Multiple Payload Injection and Release.

In the background are the two fairing halves that will protect Sentinel-1C from the elements on the launch pad and during launch through our atmosphere.

Carrying advanced radar technology to provide an all-weather, day-and-night supply of imagery of Earth’s surface, the ambitious Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission has raised the bar for spaceborne radar.

The mission benefits numerous Copernicus services and applications such as those that relate to Arctic sea-ice monitoring, iceberg tracking, routine sea-ice mapping, glacier-velocity monitoring, surveillance of the marine environment including oil-spill monitoring and ship detection for maritime security as well as illegal fisheries monitoring.

Europe’s Vega-C rocket can launch 2300 kg into space, such as small scientific and Earth observation spacecraft. Vega-C is the evolution of the Vega family of rockets and delivers increased performance, greater payload volume and improved competitiveness.

Credits: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique du vidéo du CSG–S. Martin

Seen at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum, Texas.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is ready to roll out to Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, with NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) secured in its payload fairing. TESS will launch on the Falcon 9 no earlier than 6:51 p.m. EDT on April 18. TESS will search for planets outside of our solar system. The mission will find exoplanets that periodically block part of the light from their host stars, events called transits. The satellite will survey the nearest and brightest stars for two years to search for transiting exoplanets. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

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