View allAll Photos Tagged SpaceShuttleAtlantis
"Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, slated for mission STS-35, left, rolls past Atlantis, OV-104, on its way to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch pad 39A. OV-104, being readied for STS-38, is parked in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) following its rollback from the pad for liquid hydrogen (LH₂) line repairs."
While this made for a spectacular & rarely seen photo, it would've been much better for it to have never been the case.
The much more widely published/seen photo of the "conjunction":
images.nasa.gov/details/S90-46555
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/flyout/multimedia/atla...
Finally, this "head-to-head" comparison of orbiter vehicles nicely reveals Columbia's black "chines" on the upper surface of the shuttle's forward wing. These black areas were incorporated because the first shuttle's designers did not know how reentry heating would affect the craft's upper wing surfaces.
It can be seen to terminate in line with where the fly of the United States flag on the fuselage also terminates.
The retired Space Shuttle Atlantis, new exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center. It's great the way they have it displayed on an angle and on the lower deck you are just about 6-8 feet from the left wing.
Day 72 of 365 Project: kevincase.com
Tout autour de la navette Atlantis, on retrouve sur plusieurs étages des expositions interactives pour en apprendre plus sur l’histoire et les technologies du Space Shuttle Program de la NASA. Au fur et à mesure que l’on avance, le couloir devient orange et rouge, comme si l’on ressentait le retour brutal de la navette dans l'atmosphère Terrestre …
All around the Atlantis Shuttle, there are interactive displays on several floors to learn more about the history and technologies of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. As we move forward, the corridor becomes orange and red, as if we felt the sudden return of the shuttle into the Earth's atmosphere …
www.launchphotography.com/STS-132_rollout.html
The orbiter Atlantis, strapped to 19-stories of space shuttle solid rocket booster and external fuel tank, crawls out the door of the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building for the final time April 21 at 11:31pm EDT, the start of its six-hour 3.4 mile trip to Pad 39A.
This is the real thing (not a model), the original, full size in a new facility that they've built at Kennedy Space Center in honor of the Shuttle Program. You first watch a movie of its history, the doors open... and there it is, indoors, all lit up and suspended in air in front of you at a 43.21 degree angle. Amazing closeup experience!
Atlantis was the fourth operational (and the next-to-the-last) Space Shuttle to be constructed by the Rockwell International Co. in Southern California, and it was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis was named after RV Atlantis, a two-masted sailing ship that operated as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966.
The last mission of Atlantis was the last flight of the Shuttle program. This final flight, authorized in October 2010, brought additional supplies to the International Space Station and took advantage of the processing performed for the Launch on Need mission, which would only have been flown in the event that Endeavour's crew required rescue. Atlantis launched successfully for the final time on July 8th, 2011 at 16:29 UTC, landing at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on July 21st, 2011 at 09:57 UTC. By the end of its final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth 4,848 times, traveling nearly 126,000,000 miles in space or more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
At Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Space Shuttle Atlantis is the new $100 million home of the priceless, historic spacecraft that tells the incredible story of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle Program. The 90,000 square-foot Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction is the marquee element of the Visitor Complex’s 10-year master plan. The Visitor Complex displays Atlantis suspended with its payload bay doors opened (above) such that it appears to be back in orbit around the Earth. A multi-story digital projection of Earth rotates behind the orbiter in a 64,000-square-foot indoor facility. Ground breaking of the facility occurred in 2012. The exhibit opened on June 29th, 2013.
[Interesting note: Atlantis is suspended in its new facility with cargo bay doors open at a 43.21 degree angle. Get it? 4-3-2-1 Liftoff!]
(seven more photos in the comments)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Atlantis
www.kennedyspacecenter.com/the-experience/atlantis-shuttl...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_Assembly_Building
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center_Launch_Complex_39
Space Shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member STS-125 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT on May 11, 2009, from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Onboard were astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists.
Atlantis' flight included five spacewalks that refurbished and upgraded the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that expanded Hubble's capabilities and extended its operational lifespan. The payload included the Wide Field Camera 3, a Fine Guidance Sensor, and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.
Credit: NASA
“The Space Shuttle Atlantis glides toward a landing on the Mojave Desert after spending just over four full days in space. Aboard the spacecraft were Astronauts David M. Walker, Ronald J. Crabe, Norman E. Thagard, Mary L. Cleave and Mark C. Lee. Moments later, the spacecraft’s landing gear came to stop at 12:44:33 p.m. (PDT), 8 May 1989. It landed on Runway 22, a concrete facility, like a number of other NASA flights. Still others have landed on unpaved dry lake bed strips.”
Space shuttle Atlantis sits on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after its rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The shuttle sits atop the mobile launcher platform, which is carried by the crawler-transporter beneath. At left is the rotating service structure with the payload changeout room that allows transfer of payloads from a canister into the shuttle's payload bay. Next to the shuttle is the fixed service structure with its 80-foot lightning mast on top.
Atlantis lifted off on May 11, 2009, to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. During Atlantis' mission, its crew of seven astronauts made the final shuttle flight to Hubble. During five spacewalks, they installed two new instruments, repaired two inactive ones, and replaced other components. This resulted in six working, complementary science instruments with capabilities beyond what was previously available, and extended the operational lifespan for the telescope.
Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
“The 100th U.S. human space launch is under way with an on-time liftoff at 3:32:19.044 p.m. EDT, June 27, [1995] from Launch Pad 39A. The flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on Mission STS-71 will be historic for another reason as well: It will feature the first docking between the U.S. Shuttle and the Russian Space Station Mir. Linkup with Mir is set for June 29 at 9:05 a.m. EDT, and will be followed by about 100 hours of docked operations between the crews on board Mir and Atlantis. Atlantis is carrying an American-Russian Crew: STS-71 Mission Commander Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson; STS-71 Pilot Charles J. Precourt; STS-71 Payload Commander Dr. Ellen S. Baker, STS-71 Mission Specialists Gregory J. Harbaugh and Bonnie J. Dunbar, and two Russian cosmonauts, Mir 19 Mission Commander Anatoly Y. Solovyev and Mir 19 Flight Engineer Nilolai M. Budarin. Joint scientific investigations will be conducted while the two spacecraft are docked, and a changeout of the crew on Mir will be completed. Budarin and Solovyev will transfer to the space station and remain there, and the three crew members currently on Mir, U.S. astronaut Dr. Norm Thagard, Mir 18 Mission Commander Vladimir N. Dezhurov and Mir 18 Flight Engineer Gennadiy M. Strekalov, will return to Earth in Atlantis.”
(June 27, 1995) Space Shuttle Atlantis' STS-71 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on June 27, 1995. As part of the Shuttle-Mir program, Atlantis was the first shuttle to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: sts071-s-005
Date: June 27, 1995
Space Shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member STS-125 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT on May 11, 2009, from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Onboard were astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists.
Atlantis' flight included five spacewalks that refurbished and upgraded the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that expanded Hubble's capabilities and extended its operational lifespan. The payload included the Wide Field Camera 3, a Fine Guidance Sensor, and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.
Credit: NASA
www.launchphotography.com/STS-132_lift.html
In a rare special photo opportunity, the Orbiter Atlantis is raised and rotated vertically inside the Vehicle Assembly Building for lifting and attachment to the external fuel tank and pair of solid rocket boosters that will take it into space on STS-132, its final planned mission.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis' Remote Manipulator System robotic arm lifts the Hubble Space Telescope from the cargo bay and is moments away from releasing the orbital observatory.
Credit: NASA
“A 70mm handheld camera was used by the STS-46 crewmembers to capture closeup view of early operations with the Tethered Satellite System (TSS). The sphere can be seen moving away from the ring structure on the boom device in Atlantis’ cargo bay.”
From the STS-46 press kit:
“An exciting new capability for probing the space environment and conducting experiments will be demonstrated for the first time when the NASA/Italian Space Agency Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) is deployed during the STS-46 Space Shuttle flight. The reusable Tethered Satellite System is made up of a
satellite attached to the Shuttle orbiter by a super strong cord which will be reeled into space from the Shuttle's cargo bay. When the satellite on its cord, or tether, is deployed to about 12 miles above the orbiter, TSS-1 will be the longest structure ever flown in space.
Operating the tethered system is a bit like trolling for fish in a lake or the ocean. But the potential "catch" is valuable data that may yield scientific insights from the vast sea of space. For the TSS-1 mission, the tether -- which looks like a 12-mile-long white bootlace -- will have electrically-conducting metal strands in its core. The conducting tether will generate electrical currents at a high voltage by the same basic principle as a standard electrical generator -- by converting mechanical energy (the Shuttle's more than 17,000-mile-an hour orbital motion) into electrical energy by passing a conductor through a magnetic field (the Earth's magnetic field lines).
TSS-1 scientific instruments, mounted in the Shuttle cargo bay, the middeck and on the satellite, will allow scientists to examine the electrodynamics of the conducting tether system, as well as clarify their understanding of physical processes in the ionized plasma of the near-Earth space environment.
Once the investigations are concluded, it is planned to reel the satellite back into the cargo bay and stow it until after the Shuttle lands.
The TSS-1 mission will be the first step toward several potential future uses for tethers in space now being evaluated by scientists and engineers. One possible application is using long conducting tethers to generate electrical power for Space Station Freedom or other orbiting bodies. Conversely, by expending electrical power to reverse the current flow into a tether, the system can be placed in an "electric motor" mode to generate thrust for orbit maintenance. Tethers also may be used to raise or lower spacecraft orbits. This could be achieved by releasing a tethered body from a primary spacecraft, thereby transferring momentum (and imparting motion) to the spacecraft. Another potential application is the creation of artificial gravity by rotating two or more masses on a tether, much like a set of bolas.
Downward deployment (toward Earth) could place a satellite in regions of the atmosphere that have been difficult to study because they lie above the range of high-altitude balloons and below the minimum altitude of free-flying satellites. Deploying a tethered satellite downward from the Shuttle also could make possible aerodynamic and wind tunnel type testing in the region 50 to 75 nautical miles above the Earth.”
At:
spacepresskit.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/sts-46.pdf
Credit: spacepresskit/wordpress website
Reality:
“TSS deployment was also delayed one day because of EURECA. During TSS deployment, the satellite reached a maximum distance of only 840 feet (256 meters) from orbiter instead of planned 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) because of a jammed tether line. After numerous attempts over several days to free the tether, TSS operations were curtailed and satellite was stowed for return to Earth.”
Above from/at:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archiv...
“An exciting new capability for probing the space environment and conducting experiments will be demonstrated for the first time when the NASA/Italian Space Agency Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) is deployed during the STS-46 Space Shuttle flight. The reusable Tethered Satellite System is made up of a
satellite attached to the Shuttle orbiter by a super strong cord which will be reeled into space from the Shuttle's cargo bay. When the satellite on its cord, or tether, is deployed to about 12 miles above the orbiter, TSS-1 will be the longest structure ever flown in space.
Operating the tethered system is a bit like trolling for fish in a lake or the ocean. But the potential "catch" is valuable data that may yield scientific insights from the vast sea of space. For the TSS-1 mission, the tether -- which looks like a 12-mile-long white bootlace -- will have electrically-conducting metal strands in its core. The conducting tether will generate electrical currents at a high voltage by the same basic principle as a standard electrical generator -- by converting mechanical energy (the Shuttle's more than 17,000-mile-an hour orbital motion) into electrical energy by passing a conductor through a magnetic field (the Earth's magnetic field lines).
TSS-1 scientific instruments, mounted in the Shuttle cargo bay, the middeck and on the satellite, will allow scientists to examine the electrodynamics of the conducting tether system, as well as clarify their understanding of physical processes in the ionized plasma of the near-Earth space environment.
Once the investigations are concluded, it is planned to reel the satellite back into the cargo bay and stow it until after the Shuttle lands.
The TSS-1 mission will be the first step toward several potential future uses for tethers in space now being evaluated by scientists and engineers. One possible application is using long conducting tethers to generate electrical power for Space Station Freedom or other orbiting bodies. Conversely, by expending electrical power to reverse the current flow into a tether, the system can be placed in an "electric motor" mode to generate thrust for orbit maintenance. Tethers also may be used to raise or lower spacecraft orbits. This could be achieved by releasing a tethered body from a primary spacecraft, thereby transferring momentum (and imparting motion) to the spacecraft. Another potential application is the creation of artificial gravity by rotating two or more masses on a tether, much like a set of bolas.
Downward deployment (toward Earth) could place a satellite in regions of the atmosphere that have been difficult to study because they lie above the range of high-altitude balloons and below the minimum altitude of free-flying satellites. Deploying a tethered satellite downward from the Shuttle also could make possible aerodynamic and wind tunnel type testing in the region 50 to 75 nautical miles above the Earth.”
The above is an extract from the STS-46 press kit, available at:
spacepresskit.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/sts-46.pdf
Credit: spacepresskit/wordpress website
Unfortunately:
“TSS deployment was also delayed one day because of EURECA. During TSS deployment, the satellite reached a maximum distance of only 840 feet (256 meters) from orbiter instead of planned 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) because of a jammed tether line. After numerous attempts over several days to free the tether, TSS operations were curtailed and satellite was stowed for return to Earth.”
Above from/at:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archiv...
~8” x 9.3”. Date range of the photograph is based on the Aeritalia citation, date of documentation found regarding the TSS attributed to Aeritalia, and what appears to be a leading “8” following the signature? “Arstudio”. I have no idea if that’s an individual’s name or that of an artistic group/company, as Google searches were fruitless. A shame, this is a very nice work.
This is the real thing (not a model), the original, full size in a new facility that they've built at Kennedy Space Center in honor of the Shuttle Program. You first watch a movie of its history, the doors open... and there it is, indoors, all lit up and suspended in air in front of you! An amazing closeup experience.
Atlantis was the fourth operational (and the next-to-the-last) Space Shuttle to be constructed by the Rockwell International Co. in Southern California, and it was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis was named after RV Atlantis, a two-masted sailing ship that operated as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966.
The last mission of Atlantis was the last flight of the Shuttle program. This final flight, authorized in October 2010, brought additional supplies to the International Space Station and took advantage of the processing performed for the Launch on Need mission, which would only have been flown in the event that Endeavour's crew required rescue. Atlantis launched successfully for the final time on July 8th, 2011 at 16:29 UTC, landing at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on July 21st, 2011 at 09:57 UTC. By the end of its final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth 4,848 times, traveling nearly 126,000,000 miles in space or more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
At Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Space Shuttle Atlantis is the new $100 million home of the priceless, historic spacecraft that tells the incredible story of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle Program. The 90,000 square-foot Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction is the marquee element of the Visitor Complex’s 10-year master plan. The Visitor Complex displays Atlantis suspended with its payload bay doors opened (above) such that it appears to be back in orbit around the Earth. A multi-story digital projection of Earth rotates behind the orbiter in a 64,000-square-foot indoor facility. Ground breaking of the facility occurred in 2012. The exhibit opened on June 29th, 2013.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Atlantis
www.kennedyspacecenter.com/the-experience/atlantis-shuttl...
This view shows the Space Shuttle Atlantis atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) during its flight back to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Atlantis was returned to KSC from California atop the SCA after its May 24 landing at Edwards Air Force Base, concluding the STS-125 mission.
Credit: NASA
The Unity module, right, and the U.S. Destiny laboratory, for the International Space Station were manufactured in the high bay clean room of the space station manufacturing facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Unity, serves as a connecting passageway to space station modules. The U.S. built Unity module was launched aboard the orbiter Endeavour (STS-88 mission) on December 4, 1998 and connected to Zarya, the Russian-built module. Destiny was launched aboard the orbiter Atlantis (STS-98 mission) on February 7, 2001.
Image credit: NASA/JSC
Original image:
mix.msfc.nasa.gov/abstracts.php?p=1601
More about space station research:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html
Space Station Research Affects Lives, Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/sets/72157634178107799/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Liftoff shot from Titusville, FL
After a smooth countdown, Space Shuttle Atlantis begins the STS-117 mission with a spectacular climb toward orbit.
Space Shuttle Mission STS-117
Orbiter: Atlantis
Mission: Space Station Assembly Building - 13A
Primary Payload: S3/S4 Truss
Launch Date: June 8
Launch Time: 7:38:04 p.m. EDT
Launch Pad: 39A
Mission Duration: 11 days
Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles
Explore/Interestingness: #5 on Saturday, July 7, 2007
This photograph depicts the International Space Station's Joint Airlock Module undergoing exhaustive structural and systems testing in the space station manufacturing facility at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The Airlock has two sections: the larger equipment lock, on the left, stores spacesuits and associated gear, and the narrower crewlock on the right, allows the astronauts to exit into space for extravehicular activities or spacewalks. The airlock is 18 feet long and has a mass of about 13,500 pounds. It was launched to the station aboard the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-104 mission) on July 12, 2001.
Image credit: NASA
More about space station research:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html
View more photos like this in the "Space Station Research Affects Lives" Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/sets/72157634178107799/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Les Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) (« Moteurs principaux de la navette spatiale »), ou RS-25, sont les moteurs-fusées principaux de la navette spatiale américaine. L'orbiteur de la navette spatiale est propulsé par trois SSME, qui sont démontés après chaque vol puis remis à neuf pour une nouvelle utilisation. Ils sont construits par la division de Rocketdyne de Pratt & Whitney. Les trois moteurs principaux de la navette spatiale brûlent de l'hydrogène liquide et de l'oxygène liquide provenant du réservoir externe. Ils sont utilisés pour la propulsion durant l'ascension de la navette spatiale, en complément des deux boosters, plus puissants. Les moteurs-fusée de la navette spatiale sont capables de fonctionner à des températures extrêmes. L'hydrogène liquide est stocké à −253 °C. Cependant, lorsqu'il brûle avec l'oxygène liquide, la température dans la chambre de combustion atteint 3 300 °C, supérieure au point d'ébullition du fer. Les trois moteurs principaux consomment ensemble 3 917 litres d'ergol par seconde (une piscine de taille moyenne serait vidée en 25 secondes). Les moteurs SSME sont allumés dès le décollage et cessent de fonctionner à la mise en orbite. Les puissances de ces turbopompes valent 27640 Cv pour LOX et 75840 CV pour LH2. L' hydrogène liquide à moins 253°C circule dans une collection de tubes soudés dont est formé le divergent de la tuyère pour le refroidissement. Vue de loin, les moteurs SSME ont l'air petit par rapport au monstrueux F1 du Saturn 5. 4,3 m de long et 2,3 m de diamètre à la tuyère, il pèse 7900 kg à eux trois.En plus des trois moteurs principaux, la navette possède 44 petits moteurs-fusées disposés sur sa surface, qui font partie de l'Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS, système de manœuvres orbitales) et du Reaction Control System (RCS, système de contrôle par réaction), utilisés pour diriger, orienter et effectuer des réglages d'attitude de la navette en orbite.
The Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs), or RS-25, are the main rocket engines of the US Space Shuttle. The Space Shuttle Orbiter is powered by three SSMEs, which are disassembled after each flight and then refurbished for further use. They are built by the Rocketdyne division of Pratt & Whitney. The three main engines of the space shuttle burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen from the outer tank. They are used for propulsion during the ascent of the space shuttle, in addition to the two boosters, more powerful. The space shuttle rocket engines are capable of operating at extreme temperatures. The liquid hydrogen is stored at -253 ° C. However, when it burns with liquid oxygen, the temperature in the combustion chamber reaches 3300 ° C, higher than the boiling point of the iron. The three main engines consume together 3,917 liters of propellant per second (a medium sized pool would be emptied in 25 seconds). SSME engines are on as soon as they take off and stop working when they go into orbit. The power of these turbopumps is 27640 CV for LOX and 75840 CV for LH2. Liquid hydrogen at minus 253 ° C circulates in a collection of welded tubes which form the divergent nozzle for cooling. From a distance, the SSME engines look small compared to the monstrous F1 of the Saturn 5. 4.3 m long and 2.3 m in diameter to the nozzle, it weighs 7900 kg all three.In addition to the three main engines, the shuttle has 44 small rocket engines arranged on its surface, which are part of the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS, orbital maneuvering system) and the Reaction Control System (RCS, reaction control system), used to direct, direct and perform attitude adjustments of the shuttle in orbit.
STS-125 Mission Specialist 1 (MS1) Michael Good, positioned on a foot restraint on the end of Space Shuttle Atlantis' Remote Manipulator System (RMS), and MS4 Mike Massimino (lower right, partially out of the frame) participate in the mission's fourth session of extravehicular activity (EVA4) as work continues to refurbish and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. During the eight-hour, two-minute spacewalk, Good and Massimino continued repairs and improvements to the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) that has helped extend Hubble's life.
Credit: NASA
"Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, slated for mission STS-35, left, rolls past Atlantis, OV-104, on its way to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch pad 39A. OV-104, being readied for STS-38, is parked in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) following its rollback from the pad for liquid hydrogen (LH₂) line repairs." Portions of the Launch Control Center (LCC) are visible in the background.
While this made for a spectacular photo, it would've been much better for it to have never been possible. ;-)
images.nasa.gov/details/S90-46555
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/flyout/multimedia/atla...
One of the engines from Space Shuttle Atlantis on display at Kennedy Space Center
#space #nasa #kennedyspacecenter #astronaut #spaceshuttleatlantis #thefinalfrontier
After visiting NASA last week for the hopeful launch of Artemis I, I got a bit nostalgic and decided to create this collage of my favorite images I've taken at NASA events over the years. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Space shuttle Atlantis sits on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after its rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The shuttle sits atop the mobile launcher platform, which is carried by the crawler-transporter beneath. At left is the rotating service structure with the payload changeout room that allows transfer of payloads from a canister into the shuttle's payload bay. Next to the shuttle is the fixed service structure with its 80-foot lightning mast on top.
Atlantis lifted off on May 11, 2009, to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. During Atlantis' mission, its crew of seven astronauts made the final shuttle flight to Hubble. During five spacewalks, they installed two new instruments, repaired two inactive ones, and replaced other components. This resulted in six working, complementary science instruments with capabilities beyond what was previously available, and extended the operational lifespan for the telescope.
Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
Space Shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member STS-125 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT on May 11, 2009, from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Onboard were astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists.
Atlantis' flight included five spacewalks that refurbished and upgraded the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that expanded Hubble's capabilities and extended its operational lifespan. The payload included the Wide Field Camera 3, a Fine Guidance Sensor, and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.
Credit: NASA
Tout autour de la navette Atlantis, on retrouve sur plusieurs étages des expositions interactives pour en apprendre plus sur l’histoire et les technologies du Space Shuttle Program de la NASA. Au fur et à mesure que l’on avance, le couloir devient orange et rouge, comme si l’on ressentait le retour brutal de la navette dans l'atmosphère Terrestre …
All around the Atlantis Shuttle, there are interactive displays on several floors to learn more about the history and technologies of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. As we move forward, the corridor becomes orange and red, as if we felt the sudden return of the shuttle into the Earth's atmosphere …
“Space Shuttle Atlantis soared through Florida’s blue skies for the maiden launch of NASA’s fourth and newest orbiter. The launch of Mission 51-J occurred at 11:15 a.m. Atlantis carries a five-man crew and a Department of Defense payload. Crew members are, Commander Karol Bobko, Pilot Ronald Grabe, Mission Specialists Robert Stewart, David Hilmers and Payload Specialists USAF Maj. William Pailes.”
The layered clouds (of toxic?, corrosive? exhaust & steam), upon (real) clouds upon (more real) clouds composition of this photograph is really striking, enhanced by the black & white/grayscale spectrum of 'colors'.
The final launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, as seen from Titusville, FL.
I went to see the final launch for the Space Shuttle program, EVER. Glad they were able to get the launch on the first attempt.
There were A LOT of people on hand, and there were some who said that this was their first shuttle launch in person. For me this was my third viewing it from a nearby town, but this was definitely the best view I've ever had in person. And this was the first time I saw Atlantis launch. My other two times were both Discovery.
Space Shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member STS-125 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT on May 11, 2009, from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Onboard were astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists.
Atlantis' flight included five spacewalks that refurbished and upgraded the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that expanded Hubble's capabilities and extended its operational lifespan. The payload included the Wide Field Camera 3, a Fine Guidance Sensor, and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.
Credit: NASA
We were three and a half miles away. It was still silent at this point, the shockwave still about 10 seconds away IIRC. This is somewhere between 2-4 seconds into launch.
In the Shuttle Experience, and our interviews with a couple astronauts, the phrase "kick in the pants" was used several times to describe the sudden leap forward at launch. The kids found it quite funny.
Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle designation: OV‑104) is a Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida on April 1985. Atlantis is also the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from 3 to 7 October 1985.
Atlantis embarked on its 33rd and final mission, also the final mission of a space shuttle, STS-135, on 8 July 2011. STS-134 by Endeavour was expected to be the final flight before STS-135 was authorized in October 2010. STS-135 took advantage of the processing for the STS-335 Launch on Need mission that would have been necessary if STS-134's crew became stranded in orbit. Atlantis landed for the final time at the Kennedy Space Center on 21 July 2011.
By the end of its final mission, Atlantis had orbited the Earth a total of 4,848 times, traveling nearly 126,000,000 mi (203,000,000 km), which is more than 525 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Atlantis is named after RV Atlantis, a two-masted sailing ship that operated as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1930 to 1966.
Weight (with three shuttle main engines): 68,635 kg (151,314 lb)
Length: 37.2 m (122 ft)
Height: 17.2 m (56 ft)
Wingspan: 23.7 m (78 ft)
Atlantis was completed in about half the time it took to build Space Shuttle Columbia.[7]
When it rolled out of the Palmdale assembly plant, weighing 68,635 kg (151,314 lb), Atlantis was nearly 3.5 short tons (3.2 t) lighter than Columbia.
Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off on its maiden voyage STS-51-J on October 3, 1985. This was the second shuttle mission that was a dedicated Department of Defense mission. It flew one other mission, STS-61-B (the second shuttle night launch) before the Challenger disaster temporarily grounded the shuttle fleet in 1986. Among the five Space Shuttles flown into space, Atlantis conducted a subsequent mission in the shortest time after the previous mission (turnaround time) when it launched in November 1985 on STS-61-B, only 50 days after its previous mission, STS-51-J in October 1985. Atlantis was then used for ten flights from 1988 to 1992. Two of these, both flown in 1989, deployed the planetary probes Magellan to Venus (on STS-30) and Galileo to Jupiter (on STS-34). With STS-30 Atlantis became the first Space Shuttle to launch an interplanetary probe.
During the launch of STS-27 in 1988, a piece of insulation shed from the right solid rocket booster struck the underside of the vehicle, severely damaging over 700 tiles and removing one tile altogether. The crew were instructed to use the remote manipulator system to survey the condition of the underside of the right wing, ultimately finding substantial tile damage. Due to the classified nature of the mission, the only images transferred to the mission control center were encrypted and of extremely poor quality. Mission control personnel deemed the damage to be "lights and shadows" and instructed the crew to proceed with the mission as usual, infuriating many of the crew. Upon landing, Atlantis became the single-most-damaged shuttle to successfully land. The survival of the crew is attributed to a steel L band antenna plate which was positioned directly under the missing tile. A similar situation would eventually lead to the loss of the shuttle Columbia in 2003, albeit on the more critical reinforced carbon-carbon.
During STS-37 in 1991, Atlantis deployed the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Beginning in 1995 with STS-71, Atlantis made seven straight flights to the former Russian space station Mir as part of the Shuttle-Mir Program. STS-71 marked a number of firsts in human spaceflight: 100th U.S. crewed space flight; first U.S. Shuttle-Russian Space Station Mir docking and joint on-orbit operations; and first on-orbit change-out of shuttle crew. When linked, Atlantis and Mir together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time.
Atlantis delivered several vital components for the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). During the February 2001 mission STS-98 to the ISS, Atlantis delivered the Destiny Module, the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the ISS. The five-hour 25-minute third spacewalk performed by astronauts Robert Curbeam and Thomas Jones during STS-98 marked NASA's 100th extra vehicular activity in space. The Quest Joint Airlock, was flown and installed to the ISS by Atlantis during the mission STS-104 in July 2001. The successful installation of the airlock gave on-board space station crews the ability to stage repair and maintenance spacewalks outside the ISS using U.S. EMU or Russian Orlan space suits. The first mission flown by Atlantis after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was STS-115, conducted during September 2006. The mission carried the P3/P4 truss segments and solar arrays to the ISS. On ISS assembly flight STS-122 in February 2008, Atlantis delivered the Columbus laboratory to the ISS. Columbus laboratory is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency (ESA).
STS-132 Space Shuttle launch
Space Shuttle Atlantis docked to the ISS for the final time.
In May 2009 Atlantis flew a seven-member crew to the Hubble Space Telescope for its Servicing Mission 4, STS-125. The mission was a success, with the crew completing five spacewalks totalling 37 hours to install new cameras, batteries, a gyroscope and other components to the telescope. This was the final mission not to rendezvous with the ISS.
The longest mission flown using Atlantis was STS-117, which lasted almost 14 days in June 2007. During STS-117, Atlantis' crew added a new starboard truss segment and solar array pair (the S3/S4 truss), folded the P6 array in preparation for its relocation and performed four spacewalks. Atlantis was not equipped to take advantage of the Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System so missions could not be extended by making use of power provided by ISS.
During the STS-129 post-flight interview on November 16, 2009, shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach said that Atlantis officially beat Space Shuttle Discovery for the record low amount of interim problem reports, with a total of just 54 listed since returning from STS-125. Leinbach added, "It is due to the team and the hardware processing. They just did a great job. The record will probably never be broken again in the history of the Space Shuttle Program, so congratulations to them." Leinbach made a similar report during a post-launch interview on May 14, 2010, saying that there were a total of 46 listed from STS-129 to STS-132.
Atlantis went through two overhauls of scheduled orbiter maintenance down periods (OMDPs) during its operational history.
Atlantis arrived at Palmdale, California in October 1992 for OMDP-1. During that visit 165 modifications were made over the next 20 months. These included the installation of a drag chute, new plumbing lines to configure the orbiter for extended duration, improved nose wheel steering, more than 800 new heat tiles and blankets, new insulation for main landing gear, and structural modifications to the airframe.
On November 5, 1997, Atlantis again arrived at Palmdale for OMDP-2 which was completed on September 24, 1998. The 130 modifications carried out during OMDP-2 included glass cockpit displays, replacement of TACAN navigation with GPS and ISS airlock and docking installation. Several weight reduction modifications were performed on the orbiter including replacement of Advanced Flexible Reusable Surface Insulation (AFRSI) insulation blankets on upper surfaces with FRSI. Lightweight crew seats were installed and the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) package installed on OMDP-1 was removed to lighten Atlantis to better serve its prime mission of servicing the ISS.
During the standdown period post Columbia accident, Atlantis went through over 75 modifications to the orbiter ranging from very minor bolt change-outs to window change-outs and different fluid systems.
Atlantis was known among the shuttle workforce as being more prone than the others in the fleet to problems that needed to be addressed while readying the vehicle for launch, leading to some nicknaming it "Britney".
NASA initially planned to withdraw Atlantis from service in 2008, as the orbiter would have been due to undergo its third scheduled OMDP; the timescale of the final retirement of the shuttle fleet was such that having the orbiter undergo this work was deemed uneconomical. It was planned that Atlantis would be kept in near-flight condition to be used as a spares source for Discovery and Endeavour. However, with the significant planned flight schedule up to 2010, the decision was taken to extend the time between OMDPs, allowing Atlantis to be retained for operations. Atlantis was subsequently swapped for one flight of each Discovery and Endeavour in the flight manifest. Atlantis had completed what was meant to be its last flight, STS-132, prior to the end of the shuttle program, but the extension of the Shuttle program into 2011 led to Atlantis being selected for STS-135, the final Space Shuttle mission in July 2011.
Atlantis is currently displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced the decision at an employee event held on April 12, 2011, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle flight: "First, here at the Kennedy Space Center where every shuttle mission and so many other historic human space flights have originated, we'll showcase my old friend, Atlantis".
The Visitor Complex displays Atlantis with payload bay doors opened mounted at a 43.21° angle to give the appearance of being in orbit around the Earth. The mount angle pays tribute to the countdown that preceded every shuttle launch at KSC. A multi-story digital projection of Earth rotates behind the orbiter in a 5,900 m2 (64,000 sq ft) indoor facility. Ground breaking of the facility occurred in 2012.
The exhibit opened on June 29, 2013.
A total of 156 individuals flew with Space Shuttle Atlantis over the course of its 33 missions. Because the shuttle sometimes flew crew members arriving and departing Mir and the ISS, not all of them launched and landed on Atlantis.
Astronaut Clayton Anderson, ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts and Russian cosmonauts Nikolai Budarin and Anatoly Solovyev only launched on Atlantis. Similarly, astronauts Daniel Tani and Sunita Williams, as well as cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov only landed with Atlantis. Only 146 men and women both launched and landed aboard Atlantis.
Some of those people flew with Atlantis more than once. Taking them into account, 203 total seats were filled over Atlantis' 33 missions. Astronaut Jerry Ross holds the record for the most flights aboard Atlantis at five.
Astronaut Rodolfo Neri Vela who flew aboard Atlantis on STS-61-B mission in 1985 became the first and so far only Mexican to have traveled to space. ESA astronaut Dirk Frimout who flew on STS-45 as a payload specialist was the first Belgian in space. STS-46 mission specialist Claude Nicollier was the first astronaut from Switzerland. On the same flight, astronaut Franco Malerba became the first citizen of Italy to travel to space.
Astronaut Mike Massimino who flew on STS-125 mission became the first person to use Twitter in space in May 2009.
Having flown aboard Atlantis as part of the STS-132 crew in May 2010 and Discovery as part of the STS-133 crew in February/March 2011, Stephen Bowen became the first NASA astronaut to be launched on consecutive missions.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources and operate facilities on each other's property.
Though the first Apollo flights and all Project Mercury and Project Gemini flights took off from the then-Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the launches were managed by KSC and its previous organization, the Launch Operations Directorate. Starting with the fourth Gemini mission, the NASA launch control center in Florida (Mercury Control Center, later the Launch Control Center) began handing off control of the vehicle to the Mission Control Center in Houston, shortly after liftoff; in prior missions it held control throughout the entire mission.
Additionally, the center manages launch of robotic and commercial crew missions and researches food production and in-situ resource utilization for off-Earth exploration. Since 2010, the center has worked to become a multi-user spaceport through industry partnerships, even adding a new launch pad (LC-39C) in 2015.
There are about 700 facilities and buildings grouped throughout the center's 144,000 acres (580 km2). Among the unique facilities at KSC are the 525-foot (160 m) tall Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking NASA's largest rockets, the Launch Control Center, which conducts space launches at KSC, the Operations and Checkout Building, which houses the astronauts dormitories and suit-up area, a Space Station factory, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) long Shuttle Landing Facility. There is also a Visitor Complex on site that is open to the public.
Since 1949, the military had been performing launch operations at what would become Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. In December 1959, the Department of Defense transferred 5,000 personnel and the Missile Firing Laboratory to NASA to become the Launch Operations Directorate under NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
President John F. Kennedy's 1961 goal of a crewed lunar landing by 1970 required an expansion of launch operations. On July 1, 1962, the Launch Operations Directorate was separated from MSFC to become the Launch Operations Center (LOC). Also, Cape Canaveral was inadequate to host the new launch facility design required for the mammoth 363-foot (111 m) tall, 7,500,000-pound-force (33,000 kN) thrust Saturn V rocket, which would be assembled vertically in a large hangar and transported on a mobile platform to one of several launch pads. Therefore, the decision was made to build a new LOC site located adjacent to Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island.
NASA began land acquisition in 1962, buying title to 131 square miles (340 km2) and negotiating with the state of Florida for an additional 87 square miles (230 km2). The major buildings in KSC's Industrial Area were designed by architect Charles Luckman. Construction began in November 1962, and Kennedy visited the site twice in 1962, and again just a week before his assassination on November 22, 1963.
On November 29, 1963, the facility was named by President Lyndon B. Johnson under Executive Order 11129. Johnson's order joined both the civilian LOC and the military Cape Canaveral station ("the facilities of Station No. 1 of the Atlantic Missile Range") under the designation "John F. Kennedy Space Center", spawning some confusion joining the two in the public mind. NASA Administrator James E. Webb clarified this by issuing a directive stating the Kennedy Space Center name applied only to the LOC, while the Air Force issued a general order renaming the military launch site Cape Kennedy Air Force Station.
Located on Merritt Island, Florida, the center is north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Miami and Jacksonville on Florida's Space Coast, due east of Orlando. It is 34 miles (55 km) long and roughly six miles (9.7 km) wide, covering 219 square miles (570 km2). KSC is a major central Florida tourist destination and is approximately one hour's drive from the Orlando area. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex offers public tours of the center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
From 1967 through 1973, there were 13 Saturn V launches, including the ten remaining Apollo missions after Apollo 7. The first of two uncrewed flights, Apollo 4 (Apollo-Saturn 501) on November 9, 1967, was also the first rocket launch from KSC. The Saturn V's first crewed launch on December 21, 1968, was Apollo 8's lunar orbiting mission. The next two missions tested the Lunar Module: Apollo 9 (Earth orbit) and Apollo 10 (lunar orbit). Apollo 11, launched from Pad A on July 16, 1969, made the first Moon landing on July 20. The Apollo 11 launch included crewmembers Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, and attracted a record-breaking 650 million television viewers. Apollo 12 followed four months later. From 1970 to 1972, the Apollo program concluded at KSC with the launches of missions 13 through 17.
On May 14, 1973, the last Saturn V launch put the Skylab space station in orbit from Pad 39A. By this time, the Cape Kennedy pads 34 and 37 used for the Saturn IB were decommissioned, so Pad 39B was modified to accommodate the Saturn IB, and used to launch three crewed missions to Skylab that year, as well as the final Apollo spacecraft for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project in 1975.
As the Space Shuttle was being designed, NASA received proposals for building alternative launch-and-landing sites at locations other than KSC, which demanded study. KSC had important advantages, including its existing facilities; location on the Intracoastal Waterway; and its southern latitude, which gives a velocity advantage to missions launched in easterly near-equatorial orbits. Disadvantages included: its inability to safely launch military missions into polar orbit, since spent boosters would be likely to fall on the Carolinas or Cuba; corrosion from the salt air; and frequent cloudy or stormy weather. Although building a new site at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico was seriously considered, NASA announced its decision in April 1972 to use KSC for the shuttle. Since the Shuttle could not be landed automatically or by remote control, the launch of Columbia on April 12, 1981 for its first orbital mission STS-1, was NASA's first crewed launch of a vehicle that had not been tested in prior uncrewed launches.
In 1976, the VAB's south parking area was the site of Third Century America, a science and technology display commemorating the U.S. Bicentennial. Concurrent with this event, the U.S. flag was painted on the south side of the VAB. During the late 1970s, LC-39 was reconfigured to support the Space Shuttle. Two Orbiter Processing Facilities were built near the VAB as hangars with a third added in the 1980s.
KSC's 2.9-mile (4.7 km) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) was the orbiters' primary end-of-mission landing site, although the first KSC landing did not take place until the tenth flight, when Challenger completed STS-41-B on February 11, 1984; the primary landing site until then was Edwards Air Force Base in California, subsequently used as a backup landing site. The SLF also provided a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) abort option, which was not utilized. The SLF is among the longest runways in the world.
On October 28, 2009, the Ares I-X launch from Pad 39B was the first uncrewed launch from KSC since the Skylab workshop in 1973.
Beginning in 1958, NASA and military worked side by side on robotic mission launches (previously referred to as unmanned), cooperating as they broke ground in the field. In the early 1960s, NASA had as many as two robotic mission launches a month. The frequent number of flights allowed for quick evolution of the vehicles, as engineers gathered data, learned from anomalies and implemented upgrades. In 1963, with the intent of KSC ELV work focusing on the ground support equipment and facilities, a separate Atlas/Centaur organization was formed under NASA's Lewis Center (now Glenn Research Center (GRC)), taking that responsibility from the Launch Operations Center (aka KSC).
Though almost all robotics missions launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), KSC "oversaw the final assembly and testing of rockets as they arrived at the Cape." In 1965, KSC's Unmanned Launch Operations directorate became responsible for all NASA uncrewed launch operations, including those at Vandenberg Space Force Base. From the 1950s to 1978, KSC chose the rocket and payload processing facilities for all robotic missions launching in the U.S., overseeing their near launch processing and checkout. In addition to government missions, KSC performed this service for commercial and foreign missions also, though non-U.S. government entities provided reimbursement. NASA also funded Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launch pad maintenance and launch vehicle improvements.
All this changed with the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984, after which NASA only coordinated its own and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ELV launches. Companies were able to "operate their own launch vehicles" and utilize NASA's launch facilities. Payload processing handled by private firms also started to occur outside of KSC. Reagan's 1988 space policy furthered the movement of this work from KSC to commercial companies. That same year, launch complexes on Cape Canaveral Air Force Force Station started transferring from NASA to Air Force Space Command management.
In the 1990s, though KSC was not performing the hands-on ELV work, engineers still maintained an understanding of ELVs and had contracts allowing them insight into the vehicles so they could provide knowledgeable oversight. KSC also worked on ELV research and analysis and the contractors were able to utilize KSC personnel as a resource for technical issues. KSC, with the payload and launch vehicle industries, developed advances in automation of the ELV launch and ground operations to enable competitiveness of U.S. rockets against the global market.
In 1998, the Launch Services Program (LSP) formed at KSC, pulling together programs (and personnel) that already existed at KSC, GRC, Goddard Space Flight Center, and more to manage the launch of NASA and NOAA robotic missions. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and VAFB are the primary launch sites for LSP missions, though other sites are occasionally used. LSP payloads such as the Mars Science Laboratory have been processed at KSC before being transferred to a launch pad on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
On 16 November 2022, at 06:47:44 UTC the Space Launch System (SLS) was launched from Complex 39B as part of the Artemis 1 mission.
As the International Space Station modules design began in the early 1990s, KSC began to work with other NASA centers and international partners to prepare for processing before launch onboard the Space Shuttles. KSC utilized its hands-on experience processing the 22 Spacelab missions in the Operations and Checkout Building to gather expectations of ISS processing. These experiences were incorporated into the design of the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), which began construction in 1991. The Space Station Directorate formed in 1996. KSC personnel were embedded at station module factories for insight into their processes.
From 1997 to 2007, KSC planned and performed on the ground integration tests and checkouts of station modules: three Multi-Element Integration Testing (MEIT) sessions and the Integration Systems Test (IST). Numerous issues were found and corrected that would have been difficult to nearly impossible to do on-orbit.
Today KSC continues to process ISS payloads from across the world before launch along with developing its experiments for on orbit. The proposed Lunar Gateway would be manufactured and processed at the Space Station Processing Facility.
The following are current programs and initiatives at Kennedy Space Center:
Commercial Crew Program
Exploration Ground Systems Program
NASA is currently designing the next heavy launch vehicle known as the Space Launch System (SLS) for continuation of human spaceflight.
On December 5, 2014, NASA launched the first uncrewed flight test of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), currently under development to facilitate human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Launch Services Program
Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa)
Research and Technology
Artemis program
Lunar Gateway
International Space Station Payloads
Camp KSC: educational camps for schoolchildren in spring and summer, with a focus on space, aviation and robotics.
The KSC Industrial Area, where many of the center's support facilities are located, is 5 miles (8 km) south of LC-39. It includes the Headquarters Building, the Operations and Checkout Building and the Central Instrumentation Facility. The astronaut crew quarters are in the O&C; before it was completed, the astronaut crew quarters were located in Hangar S at the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex (now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station). Located at KSC was the Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network station (MILA), a key radio communications and spacecraft tracking complex.
Facilities at the Kennedy Space Center are directly related to its mission to launch and recover missions. Facilities are available to prepare and maintain spacecraft and payloads for flight. The Headquarters (HQ) Building houses offices for the Center Director, library, film and photo archives, a print shop and security. When the KSC Library first opened, it was part of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. However, in 1965, the library moved into three separate sections in the newly opened NASA headquarters before eventually becoming a single unit in 1970. The library contains over four million items related to the history and the work at Kennedy. As one of ten NASA center libraries in the country, their collection focuses on engineering, science, and technology. The archives contain planning documents, film reels, and original photographs covering the history of KSC. The library is not open to the public but is available for KSC, Space Force, and Navy employees who work on site. Many of the media items from the collection are digitized and available through NASA's KSC Media Gallery Archived December 6, 2020, at the Wayback Machine or through their more up-to-date Flickr gallery.
A new Headquarters Building was completed in 2019 as part of the Central Campus consolidation. Groundbreaking began in 2014.
The center operated its own 17-mile (27 km) short-line railroad. This operation was discontinued in 2015, with the sale of its final two locomotives. A third had already been donated to a museum. The line was costing $1.3 million annually to maintain.
The Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) (previously known as the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building) is a historic site on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places dating back to the 1960s and was used to receive, process, and integrate payloads for the Gemini and Apollo programs, the Skylab program in the 1970s, and for initial segments of the International Space Station through the 1990s. The Apollo and Space Shuttle astronauts would board the astronaut transfer van to launch complex 39 from the O&C building.
The three-story, 457,000-square-foot (42,500 m2) Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) consists of two enormous processing bays, an airlock, operational control rooms, laboratories, logistics areas and office space for support of non-hazardous Space Station and Shuttle payloads to ISO 14644-1 class 5 standards. Opened in 1994, it is the largest factory building in the KSC industrial area.
The Vertical Processing Facility (VPF) features a 71-by-38-foot (22 by 12 m) door where payloads that are processed in the vertical position are brought in and manipulated with two overhead cranes and a hoist capable of lifting up to 35 short tons (32 t).
The Hypergolic Maintenance and Checkout Area (HMCA) comprises three buildings that are isolated from the rest of the industrial area because of the hazardous materials handled there. Hypergolic-fueled modules that made up the Space Shuttle Orbiter's reaction control system, orbital maneuvering system and auxiliary power units were stored and serviced in the HMCF.
The Multi-Payload Processing Facility is a 19,647 square feet (1,825.3 m2) building used for Orion spacecraft and payload processing.
The Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) contains a 70-by-110-foot (21 by 34 m) service bay, with a 100,000-pound (45,000 kg), 85-foot (26 m) hook height. It also contains a 58-by-80-foot (18 by 24 m) payload airlock. Its temperature is maintained at 70 °F (21 °C).[55]
The Blue Origin rocket manufacturing facility is located immediately south of the KSC visitor complex. Completed in 2019, it serves as the company's factory for the manufacture of New Glenn orbital rockets.
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) was originally built for the Saturn V, the largest and most powerful operational launch vehicle until the Space Launch System, for the Apollo crewed Moon landing program. Since the end of the Apollo program in 1972, LC-39 has been used to launch every NASA human space flight, including Skylab (1973), the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (1975), and the Space Shuttle program (1981–2011).
Since December 1968, all launch operations have been conducted from launch pads A and B at LC-39. Both pads are on the ocean, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the VAB. From 1969 to 1972, LC-39 was the "Moonport" for all six Apollo crewed Moon landing missions using the Saturn V, and was used from 1981 to 2011 for all Space Shuttle launches.
Human missions to the Moon required the large three-stage Saturn V rocket, which was 363 feet (111 meters) tall and 33 feet (10 meters) in diameter. At KSC, Launch Complex 39 was built on Merritt Island to accommodate the new rocket. Construction of the $800 million project began in November 1962. LC-39 pads A and B were completed by October 1965 (planned Pads C, D and E were canceled), the VAB was completed in June 1965, and the infrastructure by late 1966.
The complex includes: the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), a 130,000,000 cubic feet (3,700,000 m3) hangar capable of holding four Saturn Vs. The VAB was the largest structure in the world by volume when completed in 1965.
a transporter capable of carrying 5,440 tons along a crawlerway to either of two launch pads;
a 446-foot (136 m) mobile service structure, with three Mobile Launcher Platforms, each containing a fixed launch umbilical tower;
the Launch Control Center; and
a news media facility.
Launch Complex 48 (LC-48) is a multi-user launch site under construction for small launchers and spacecraft. It will be located between Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 41, with LC-39A to the north and SLC-41 to the south. LC-48 will be constructed as a "clean pad" to support multiple launch systems with differing propellant needs. While initially only planned to have a single pad, the complex is capable of being expanded to two at a later date.
As a part of promoting commercial space industry growth in the area and the overall center as a multi-user spaceport, KSC leases some of its properties. Here are some major examples:
Exploration Park to multiple users (partnership with Space Florida)
Shuttle Landing Facility to Space Florida (who contracts use to private companies)
Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF)-3 to Boeing (for CST-100 Starliner)
Launch Complex 39A, Launch Control Center Firing Room 4 and land for SpaceX's Roberts Road facility (Hanger X) to SpaceX
O&C High Bay to Lockheed Martin (for Orion processing)
Land for FPL's Space Coast Next Generation Solar Energy Center to Florida Power and Light (FPL)
Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF) to United Paradyne Corporation (UPC)
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, operated by Delaware North since 1995, has a variety of exhibits, artifacts, displays and attractions on the history and future of human and robotic spaceflight. Bus tours of KSC originate from here. The complex also includes the separate Apollo/Saturn V Center, north of the VAB and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, six miles west near Titusville. There were 1.5 million visitors in 2009. It had some 700 employees.
It was announced on May 29, 2015, that the Astronaut Hall of Fame exhibit would be moved from its current location to another location within the Visitor Complex to make room for an upcoming high-tech attraction entitled "Heroes and Legends". The attraction, designed by Orlando-based design firm Falcon's Treehouse, opened November 11, 2016.
In March 2016, the visitor center unveiled the new location of the iconic countdown clock at the complex's entrance; previously, the clock was located with a flagpole at the press site. The clock was originally built and installed in 1969 and listed with the flagpole in the National Register of Historic Places in January 2000. In 2019, NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program, and the launch of Apollo 10 on May 18. In summer of 2019, Lunar Module 9 (LM-9) was relocated to the Apollo/Saturn V Center as part of an initiative to rededicate the center and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program.
Historic locations
NASA lists the following Historic Districts at KSC; each district has multiple associated facilities:
Launch Complex 39: Pad A Historic District
Launch Complex 39: Pad B Historic District
Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) Area Historic District
Orbiter Processing Historic District
Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Disassembly and Refurbishment Complex Historic District
NASA KSC Railroad System Historic District
NASA-owned Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Industrial Area Historic District
There are 24 historic properties outside of these historic districts, including the Space Shuttle Atlantis, Vehicle Assembly Building, Crawlerway, and Operations and Checkout Building.[71] KSC has one National Historic Landmark, 78 National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) listed or eligible sites, and 100 Archaeological Sites.
Further information: John F. Kennedy Space Center MPS
Other facilities
The Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) is responsible for the preparation of solid rocket booster segments for transportation to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The RPSF was built in 1984 to perform SRB operations that had previously been conducted in high bays 2 and 4 of the VAB at the beginning of the Space Shuttle program. It was used until the Space Shuttle's retirement, and will be used in the future by the Space Launch System[75] (SLS) and OmegA rockets.
laughingsquid.com/nasa-launch-of-space-shuttle-sts-129/
photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid
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Space Shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member STS-125 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Liftoff was on time at 2:01 p.m. EDT on May 11, 2009, from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Onboard were astronauts Scott Altman, commander; Gregory C. Johnson, pilot; Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, and Andrew Feustel, all mission specialists.
Atlantis' flight included five spacewalks that refurbished and upgraded the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments that expanded Hubble's capabilities and extended its operational lifespan. The payload included the Wide Field Camera 3, a Fine Guidance Sensor, and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph.
Credit: NASA
A l’extérieur du bâtiment il faut passer sous une réplique de l’immense réservoir et des réacteurs amovibles de la navette pour rentrer et gravir ensuite une rampe qui nous mène à une première salle, où on relate en vidéo les origines du programme des navettes spatiales dans les années 60. On passe ensuite dans une autre salle où sont projetées d’impressionnantes images de la navette. La vidéo conclut: «33 missions, 26 ans, plus de 126 millions de kilomètres… Atlantis, bienvenue chez vous». Soudain, l'écran vidéo se lève, laissant apparaitre la véritable navette Atlantis. Tout autour, on retrouve sur plusieurs étages des expositions interactives pour en apprendre plus sur l’histoire et les technologies du Space Shuttle Program de la NASA. Au fur et à mesure que l’on avance, le couloir devient orange et rouge, comme si l’on ressentait le retour brutal de la navette dans l'atmosphère Terrestre …
La navette spatiale Atlantis (Orbital Vehicle-104) fut la quatrième navette opérationnelle construite, et la dernière à voler, après les destructions de Challenger (1986) et de Columbia (2003) et la mise en arrêt des navettes Discovery et Endeavour. Son assemblage fut terminé le 10 avril 1984. Atlantis effectua sa mission inaugurale le 3 octobre 1985, un des cinq vols au cours desquels elle a mené des activités militaires secrètes. En 1989, Atlantis déploya deux sondes spatiales, Magellan et Galileo, et en 1991, elle lança le Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. À partir de 1995, Atlantis a réalisé sept vols directs vers la station spatiale soviétique Mir. Lors du second vol vers Mir, elle a apporté un module d’arrimage qui a permis des échanges d'astronautes lors des vols suivants. De novembre 1997 à juillet 1999, Atlantis a été l’objet d’une opération de remise à niveau, avec quelque 165 modifications apportées à la navette, dont l’installation d’une planche de bord tout écran (Multifunction Electronic Display System). Elle a ensuite effectué six vols, qui concernaient tous des activités d’assemblage de la Station spatiale internationale. La navette Atlantis s'est posée sans encombre sur la piste du Centre spatial Kennedy le 21 juillet 2011, à 9 h 56 GMT, après une mission spatiale réussie. Celle-ci met fin à trois décennies de vols des navettes spatiales américaines.
Outside the building, you have to go under a replica of the huge tank and the shuttle's reactors to get in and then climb a ramp that leads us to a first room, where we tell in video the origins of the shuttle program. in the 60s. Then we go to another room where are projected impressive images of the shuttle. The video concludes: "33 missions, 26 years, more than 126 million kilometers ... Atlantis, welcome home." Suddenly, the video screen rises, revealing the real shuttle Atlantis. All around, there are interactive displays on several floors to learn more about the history and technologies of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. As we move forward, the corridor becomes orange and red, as if we felt the sudden return of the shuttle into the Earth's atmosphere ...
The Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbital Vehicle-104) was the fourth operational shuttle built, and the last to fly after the destruction of Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003) and the shutdown of the Discovery and Endeavor shuttles. Its assembly was completed on April 10, 1984. Atlantis performed its inaugural mission on October 3, 1985, one of five flights during which it conducted secret military activities. In 1989, Atlantis deployed two space probes, Magellan and Galileo, and in 1991, launched the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. Starting in 1995, Atlantis made seven direct flights to the Soviet Mir Space Station. During the second flight to Mir, she brought a stowage module that allowed exchanges of astronauts on subsequent flights. From November 1997 to July 1999, Atlantis underwent a refit, with some 165 modifications to the shuttle, including the installation of an all-electronic dashboard (Multifunction Electronic Display System). She then flew six flights, all of which involved assembly activities of the International Space Station. Shuttle Atlantis landed safely on the Kennedy Space Center runway on July 21, 2011 at 9:56 GMT after a successful space mission. This puts an end to three decades of theft of American space shuttles.
Theodore Bartholomew Brown, 1931 – 2017
It is with the utmost satisfaction & gratitude that I post this wonderful obituary in honor, recognition & preservation of not only a lifetime of contribution, but of a - sadly, heretofore - unknown legacy.
Not anymore, at least not in my little corner of the internet.
Speaking of a legacy in the making – it is through the gracious consent of Mr. Brown’s daughter, Angela Carole Brown, that I’m able to share this.
Beautiful. Timeless. Poignant:
Credit: Angela Carole Brown/YouTube
Thank You Angela. THANK YOU.
Mr. Brown, THANK YOU.
In addition to the aforementioned, I highly encourage you to click on the “Ted Brown” tag, in order to more fully appreciate this man’s contributions.
A resounding WIN!
Unfortunately, with my inferior skills & tools, this is the best that I could muster to ‘convert’ a pdf into a merged jpeg.
Fittingly, possibly still undervalued & underappreciated, an article on the women of NASA, at KSC, along with an excellent photograph of the "Space Products" mural:
www.vogue.com/projects/13528185/american-women-nasa-kenne...
media.vogue.com/r/w_2000/2017/02/22/nasa-final-layout-13.jpg
Both above credit: Vogue Magazine online website
Space shuttle Atlantis sits on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after its rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The shuttle sits atop the mobile launcher platform, which is carried by the crawler-transporter beneath. Beyond the shuttle on the horizon is the Atlantic Ocean. At left, behind the shuttle, is the 300,000-gallon water tower that releases water over the pad for sound suppression during liftoff.
Atlantis lifted off on May 11, 2009, to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. During Atlantis' mission, its crew of seven astronauts made the final shuttle flight to Hubble. During five spacewalks, they installed two new instruments, repaired two inactive ones, and replaced other components. This resulted in six working, complementary science instruments with capabilities beyond what was previously available, and extended the operational lifespan for the telescope.
Credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller
A l’extérieur du bâtiment il faut passer sous une réplique de l’immense réservoir et des réacteurs amovibles de la navette pour rentrer et gravir ensuite une rampe qui nous mène à une première salle, où on relate en vidéo les origines du programme des navettes spatiales dans les années 60. On passe ensuite dans une autre salle où sont projetées d’impressionnantes images de la navette. La vidéo conclut: «33 missions, 26 ans, plus de 126 millions de kilomètres… Atlantis, bienvenue chez vous». Soudain, l'écran vidéo se lève, laissant apparaitre la véritable navette Atlantis. Tout autour, on retrouve sur plusieurs étages des expositions interactives pour en apprendre plus sur l’histoire et les technologies du Space Shuttle Program de la NASA. Au fur et à mesure que l’on avance, le couloir devient orange et rouge, comme si l’on ressentait le retour brutal de la navette dans l'atmosphère Terrestre …
La navette spatiale Atlantis (Orbital Vehicle-104) fut la quatrième navette opérationnelle construite, et la dernière à voler, après les destructions de Challenger (1986) et de Columbia (2003) et la mise en arrêt des navettes Discovery et Endeavour. Son assemblage fut terminé le 10 avril 1984. Atlantis effectua sa mission inaugurale le 3 octobre 1985, un des cinq vols au cours desquels elle a mené des activités militaires secrètes. En 1989, Atlantis déploya deux sondes spatiales, Magellan et Galileo, et en 1991, elle lança le Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. À partir de 1995, Atlantis a réalisé sept vols directs vers la station spatiale soviétique Mir. Lors du second vol vers Mir, elle a apporté un module d’arrimage qui a permis des échanges d'astronautes lors des vols suivants. De novembre 1997 à juillet 1999, Atlantis a été l’objet d’une opération de remise à niveau, avec quelque 165 modifications apportées à la navette, dont l’installation d’une planche de bord tout écran (Multifunction Electronic Display System). Elle a ensuite effectué six vols, qui concernaient tous des activités d’assemblage de la Station spatiale internationale. La navette Atlantis s'est posée sans encombre sur la piste du Centre spatial Kennedy le 21 juillet 2011, à 9 h 56 GMT, après une mission spatiale réussie. Celle-ci met fin à trois décennies de vols des navettes spatiales américaines.
Outside the building, you have to go under a replica of the huge tank and the shuttle's reactors to get in and then climb a ramp that leads us to a first room, where we tell in video the origins of the shuttle program. in the 60s. Then we go to another room where are projected impressive images of the shuttle. The video concludes: "33 missions, 26 years, more than 126 million kilometers ... Atlantis, welcome home." Suddenly, the video screen rises, revealing the real shuttle Atlantis. All around, there are interactive displays on several floors to learn more about the history and technologies of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. As we move forward, the corridor becomes orange and red, as if we felt the sudden return of the shuttle into the Earth's atmosphere ...
The Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbital Vehicle-104) was the fourth operational shuttle built, and the last to fly after the destruction of Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003) and the shutdown of the Discovery and Endeavor shuttles. Its assembly was completed on April 10, 1984. Atlantis performed its inaugural mission on October 3, 1985, one of five flights during which it conducted secret military activities. In 1989, Atlantis deployed two space probes, Magellan and Galileo, and in 1991, launched the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. Starting in 1995, Atlantis made seven direct flights to the Soviet Mir Space Station. During the second flight to Mir, she brought a stowage module that allowed exchanges of astronauts on subsequent flights. From November 1997 to July 1999, Atlantis underwent a refit, with some 165 modifications to the shuttle, including the installation of an all-electronic dashboard (Multifunction Electronic Display System). She then flew six flights, all of which involved assembly activities of the International Space Station. Shuttle Atlantis landed safely on the Kennedy Space Center runway on July 21, 2011 at 9:56 GMT after a successful space mission. This puts an end to three decades of theft of American space shuttles.