How We Get Pictures from Space. NASA Facts (Revised Edition).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haynes, Robert

This booklet discusses image processing from spacecraft in deep space. The camera system on board the spacecraft, the Deep Space Network (DSN), and the image processing system are described. A table listing photographs taken by unmanned spacecraft from 1959-1977 is provided. (YP)

KSC-2011-4960

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Workers deliver NASA's Juno spacecraft to Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., for fueling. The spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4959

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Workers deliver NASA's Juno spacecraft to Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., for fueling. The spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2012-1388

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-16

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Technicians move the tilt-rotation fixture holding NASA's NuSTAR spacecraft inside Orbital Sciences' processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The spacecraft will be rotated to horizontal for joining with the Pegasus XL rocket. The Orbital Sciences Pegasus will launch NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR into space. After the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit science.nasa.gov/missions/nustar/. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1381

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-16

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians inside Orbital Sciences' processing facility watch as NASA's NuSTAR spacecraft is lifted by the tilt-rotation fixture. The spacecraft will be rotated to horizontal for joining with the Pegasus XL rocket. The Orbital Sciences Pegasus will launch NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR into space. After the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit science.nasa.gov/missions/nustar/. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1371

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-16

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside Orbital Sciences' processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a lifting device is lowered toward NASA's NuSTAR spacecraft. The spacecraft will be rotated to horizontal for joining with the Pegasus XL rocket. The Orbital Sciences Pegasus will launch NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR into space. After the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit science.nasa.gov/missions/nustar/. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1529

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-17

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Inside an environmental enclosure at Vandenberg Air Force Base's processing facility in California, a C-plate juts from the interface of NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, spacecraft and its Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. The C-plate protected the spacecraft during mating operations. The uniting of the spacecraft with the rocket is a major milestone in prelaunch preparations. After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1239

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers unload the two halves that make up the Pegasus XL rocket's fairing that will protect the NuSTAR spacecraft during launch. Inside Orbital Science's processing facility, the fairing halves will be unwrapped and processed in a clean room environmental enclosure. The Pegasus is set to launch NASA's NuSTAR spacecraft. Once the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on the Orbital Sciences’ L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit science.nasa.gov/missions/nustar/. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-3227

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In Space Systems International's Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a technician measures the clearance between the solar panel and a dual-thruster module after the array was installed to the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to fundamental climate processes on its three-year mission. Photo credit: NASA/VAFB

KSC-2011-4983

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians guide NASA's Juno spacecraft onto a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4974

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians prepare an overhead crane to move NASA's Juno spacecraft to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4972

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians will prepare NASA's Juno spacecraft for its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4985

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians secure NASA's Juno spacecraft to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4986

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., NASA's Juno spacecraft is secured to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4973

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians prepare an overhead crane to move NASA's Juno spacecraft to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4961

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians prepare NASA's Juno spacecraft for its move to a fueling stand. The spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4984

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians secure NASA's Juno spacecraft to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4962

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians prepare the fueling stand for NASA's Juno spacecraft where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4981

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians using an overhead crane lower NASA's Juno spacecraft to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4982

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians using an overhead crane lower NASA's Juno spacecraft to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4979

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians using an overhead crane move NASA's Juno spacecraft to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4980

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians using an overhead crane lower NASA's Juno spacecraft to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2009-3662

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the shipping container with the STSS Demonstrator SV-2spacecraft moves out of the U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft. The spacecraft will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

KSC-2009-3658

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft arrives at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility with its cargo of the STSS Demonstrator SV-2 spacecraft. The spacecraft will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

KSC-2009-3660

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, more equipment for the STSS Demonstrator SV-2 spacecraft is offloaded from the U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft. The spacecraft will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla.The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

KSC-2012-1149

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket that will carry NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) into space awaits integration with the spacecraft in the clean room of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip which began Jan. 24 from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va. The spacecraft will be removed from the shipping container in the airlock and transferred into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

NASA Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer TES Instrument Onboard Aura

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-04-01

Technicians install NASA's Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument on NASA's Aura spacecraft prior to launch. Launched in July 2004 and designed to fly for two years, the TES mission is currently in an extended operations phase. Mission managers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, are evaluating an alternate way to collect and process science data from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument on NASA's Aura spacecraft following the age-related failure of a critical instrument component. TES is an infrared sensor designed to study Earth's troposphere, the lowermost layer of Earth's atmosphere, which is where we live. The remainder of the TES instrument, and the Aura spacecraft itself, are operating as expected, and TES continues to collect science data. TES is one of four instruments on Aura, three of which are still operating. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA15608

KSC-2011-2737

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-31

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this 3-D image shows space shuttle Discovery's main engines before removeal for cleaning and inspection. The work is part of the spacecraft's transition and retirement processing and is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display. To view this image, use green and magenta 3-D glasses. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

KSC-2011-2738

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-31

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This 3-D image was taken in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after crews installed the final tire on space shuttle Discovery. This is part of the spacecraft's transition and retirement processing and work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display. To view this image, use green and magenta 3-D glasses. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

KSC-2011-6097

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The protective canister housing NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar spacecraft is lifted from around the mylar-covered spacecraft in the Hazardous Processing Facility (HPF) at Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. In the HPF, the spacecraft will undergo two days of fueling activities. GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

KSC-2011-2759

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- An overhead crane moves the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft to cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2014-4489

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft will undergo final processing for launch now that all four are in the Building 1 high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the upper deck arrived Nov. 12; the two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack arrived Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Applying Formal Methods to NASA Projects: Transition from Research to Practice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Othon, Bill

2009-01-01

NASA project managers attempt to manage risk by relying on mature, well-understood process and technology when designing spacecraft. In the case of crewed systems, the margin for error is even tighter and leads to risk aversion. But as we look to future missions to the Moon and Mars, the complexity of the systems will increase as the spacecraft and crew work together with less reliance on Earth-based support. NASA will be forced to look for new ways to do business. Formal methods technologies can help NASA develop complex but cost effective spacecraft in many domains, including requirements and design, software development and inspection, and verification and validation of vehicle subsystems. To realize these gains, the technologies must be matured and field-tested so that they are proven when needed. During this discussion, current activities used to evaluate FM technologies for Orion spacecraft design will be reviewed. Also, suggestions will be made to demonstrate value to current designers, and mature the technology for eventual use in safety-critical NASA missions.

TDRS-L Spacecraft is Lifted Onto Transporter

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-10

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Encapsulated in its payload fairing, NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft is being mounted on a transporter for its trip from the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/home/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

TDRS-L Spacecraft Transported from Astrotech to SLC

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-13

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Encapsulated in its payload fairing, NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft begins it trip from the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/home/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

TDRS-L Spacecraft is Lifted Onto Transporter

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-10

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft has been encapsulated in its payload fairing in preparation for begin transported to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/home/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2012-1140

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers position the environmentally controlled shipping container enclosing NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) in the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., which began Jan. 24. The spacecraft will be offloaded into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After NuSTAR is removed from its shipping container, checkout and other processing activity will begin. The spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. After processing is completed, the rocket and spacecraft will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1139

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers roll the environmentally controlled shipping container enclosing NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) through the door of the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., which began Jan. 24. The spacecraft will be offloaded into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After NuSTAR is removed from its shipping container, checkout and other processing activity will begin. The spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. After processing is completed, the rocket and spacecraft will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1132

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), enclosed in an environmentally controlled shipping container, is delivered by tractor-trailer to processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., which began Jan. 24. The spacecraft will be offloaded into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After NuSTAR is removed from its shipping container, checkout and other processing activity will begin. The spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. After processing is completed, the rocket and spacecraft will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1134

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), enclosed in an environmentally controlled shipping container, approaches processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., which began Jan. 24. The spacecraft will be offloaded into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After NuSTAR is removed from its shipping container, checkout and other processing activity will begin. The spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. After processing is completed, the rocket and spacecraft will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1135

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), enclosed in an environmentally controlled shipping container, arrives at processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., which began Jan. 24. The spacecraft will be offloaded into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After NuSTAR is removed from its shipping container, checkout and other processing activity will begin. The spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. After processing is completed, the rocket and spacecraft will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-07pd0864

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-11

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Dawn spacecraft is seen here in clean room C of Astrotech's Payload Processing Facility. In the clean room, the spacecraft will undergo further processing. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-2011-2339

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., begin processing a solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2334

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-16

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., process a solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2333

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-16

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., process a solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-4964

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians prepare an overhead crane to lift the cover from NASA's Juno spacecraft before its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4978

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians disconnect NASA's Juno spacecraft from its transport prior to its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4976

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians attach an overhead crane to NASA's Juno spacecraft for its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4963

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians prepare cable for an overhead crane to lift the cover from NASA's Juno spacecraft before its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4977

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians disconnect NASA's Juno spacecraft from its transport prior to its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4975

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians attach an overhead crane to NASA's Juno spacecraft for its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4966

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians use an overhead crane to lift the cover from NASA's Juno spacecraft before its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4971

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians use an overhead crane to lift the cover from NASA's Juno spacecraft before its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4969

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians use an overhead crane to lift the cover from NASA's Juno spacecraft before its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4965

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians use an overhead crane to lift the cover from NASA's Juno spacecraft before its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4970

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians use an overhead crane to lift the cover from NASA's Juno spacecraft before its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4968

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians use an overhead crane to lift the cover from NASA's Juno spacecraft before its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2011-4967

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech's Hazardous Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians use an overhead crane to lift the cover from NASA's Juno spacecraft before its move to a fueling stand where the spacecraft will be loaded with the propellant necessary for orbit maneuvers and the attitude control system. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information visit: www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KSC-2009-3663

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the shipping container with the STSS Demonstrator SV-2spacecraft has been moved out of the U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft. The spacecraft will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

KSC-2009-3661

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the shipping container with the STSS Demonstrator SV-2spacecraft waits to be offloaded from the U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft. The spacecraft will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

KSC-2009-3659

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, workers move STSS Demonstrator SV-2 spacecraft equipment out of the cargo hold of the U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft. The spacecraft will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

Dawn Spacecraft Processing

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-10

The Dawn spacecraft is seen here in clean room C of Astrotech's Payload Processing Facility. In the clean room, the spacecraft will undergo further processing. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.

KSC-2011-3921

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians lift one of two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to a test stand in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-3927

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians lift one of two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to a test stand in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-3930

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, are atop test stands in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-3926

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians lift one of two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to a test stand in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-3923

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians lower one of two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to a test stand in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-3929

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, are atop test stands in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-3925

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians lift one of two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to a test stand in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-3922

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians lift one of two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to a test stand in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-3928

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians lower one of two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to a test stand in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2012-1599

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-29

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In an environmental enclosure in processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Orbital Sciences technicians are performing fairing closeouts for NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR spacecraft. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during ascent to orbit aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1367

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-16

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base's processing facility in California, technicians prepare NASA’s NuSTAR spacecraft to be lifted into a tilt-rotation fixture. The spacecraft will be rotated to horizontal for joining with the Pegasus XL rocket. The Orbital Sciences Pegasus will launch NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR into space. After the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit science.nasa.gov/missions/nustar/. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2751

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft is being prepared for its move to cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2753

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Technicians prepare the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft for its move to cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2760

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A technician guides the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft toward the Rotation and Test Fixture in cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2762

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft is secured to the Rotation and Test Fixture in cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2752

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Technicians await the arrival of the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft to cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2756

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- An overhead crane lifts the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft from its stand by an overhead to cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2754

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- With the aid of an overhead crane, technicians guide the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft from its stand to cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2761

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A technician secures the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft to the Rotation and Test Fixture in cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2755

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Technicians monitor the lifting of the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft from its stand by an overhead crane to cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2014-4488

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – All four of the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft have arrived in the Building 1 high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the upper deck arrived Nov. 12; the two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack arrived Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Nonlinear Dynamic Behavior in the Cassini Spacecraft Modal Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carney, Kelly S.

1997-01-01

In October 1997, the 6-ton robotic spacecraft, Cassini, will lift off from Cape Canaveral atop a Titan IV B rocket, beginning a 7-year journey to Saturn. Upon completion of that voyage, Cassini will send the Huygens probe into the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Cassini will then spend years studying Saturn's vast realm of rings, icy moons, and magnetic fields. The size and complexity of this endeavor mandates the involvement of many organizations. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the project for NASA and is responsible for the spacecraft design, development, and assembly. The NASA Lewis Research Center is the launch system integrator. As is typical for such a spacecraft, a test-verified finite element model is required for loads analysis. JPL had responsibility for the Cassini modal survey and the development of the spacecraft test-verified finite element model. Test verification is a complex and sometimes subjective process. Because of this, NASA Lewis independently verified and validated the Cassini spacecraft modal survey.

NASA-STD-(I)-6016, Standard Materials and Processes Requirements for Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pedley, Michael; Griffin, Dennis

2006-01-01

This document is directed toward Materials and Processes (M&P) used in the design, fabrication, and testing of flight components for all NASA manned, unmanned, robotic, launch vehicle, lander, in-space and surface systems, and spacecraft program/project hardware elements. All flight hardware is covered by the M&P requirements of this document, including vendor designed, off-the-shelf, and vendor furnished items. Materials and processes used in interfacing ground support equipment (GSE); test equipment; hardware processing equipment; hardware packaging; and hardware shipment shall be controlled to prevent damage to or contamination of flight hardware.

KSC-2011-2736

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-31

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- This is a 3-D image of crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida using a Hyster forklift to lower one of space shuttle Discovery's main engines after removal for cleaning and inspection. This is part of the spacecraft's transition and retirement processing and work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display. To view this image, use green and magenta 3-D glasses. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

The NASA Robotic Conjunction Assessment Process: Overview and Operational Experiences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newman, Lauri Kraft

2008-01-01

Orbital debris poses a significant threat to spacecraft health and safety. Recent events such as China's anti-satellite test and the Breeze-M rocket explosion have led to an even greater awareness and concern in the satellite community. Therefore, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has established requirements that routine conjunction assessment screening shall be performed for all maneuverable spacecraft having perigees less than 2000 km or within 200 km of geosynchronous altitude. NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has developed an operational collision risk assessment process to protect NASA s high-value unmanned (robotic) assets that has been in use since January 2005. This paper provides an overview of the NASA robotic conjunction assessment process, including descriptions of the new tools developed to analyze close approach data and of the risk mitigation strategies employed. In addition, statistical data describing the number of conjunctions experienced are presented. A debris avoidance maneuver performed by Aura in June of 2008 is described in detail to illustrate the process.

Inside NuSTAR Nose Cone

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-03-02

A spacecraft technician is performing closeout work inside the fairing that will be installed around NASA Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR spacecraft in a processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

2015-1021

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, standing near Orion, looked over the agency's spacecraft this morning for the first time since it returned to Kennedy Space Center following the successful Orion flight test on Dec. 5. Bearing the marks of a spacecraft that has returned to Earth through a searing plunge into the atmosphere, Orion is perched on a pedestal inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy where it is going through post-mission processing. Although the spacecraft Bolden looked over did not fly with a crew aboard during the flight test, Orion is designed to carry astronauts into deep space in the future setting NASA and the nation firmly on the journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KSC-2011-3924

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians begin to lift one of two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to a test stand in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-3919

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians prepare to lift one of two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to a test stand in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-3920

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-05-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians begin to lift one of two spacecraft for NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, to a test stand in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The twin spacecraft were built at the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2012-1147

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers maneuver the payload transporter carrying the environmentally controlled shipping container enclosing NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) into position in the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip which began Jan. 24 from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va. The spacecraft will be removed from the shipping container in the airlock and transferred into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1145

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A tractor-trailer delivers NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), enclosed in an environmentally controlled shipping container, to processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip which began Jan. 24 from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va. The spacecraft will be removed from the shipping container in the airlock and transferred into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1148

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The payload transporter carrying the environmentally controlled shipping container enclosing NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is parked in the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip which began Jan. 24 from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va. The spacecraft will be removed from the shipping container in the airlock and transferred into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-1095

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the protective payload fairing that will surround NASA's Glory spacecraft arrives at the Astrotech payload processing facility. Once encapsulated, the spacecraft will be transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

KSC-2011-1096

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the protective payload fairing that will surround NASA's Glory spacecraft arrives at the Astrotech payload processing facility. Once encapsulated, the spacecraft will be transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

KSC-2011-1094

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the protective payload fairing that will surround NASA's Glory spacecraft arrives at the Astrotech payload processing facility. Once encapsulated, the spacecraft will be transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

KSC-2012-1600

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-29

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- An Orbital Sciences technician is performing closeout work inside the fairing that will be installed around NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR spacecraft in processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during ascent to orbit aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1268

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-06

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In an environmental enclosure in processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, twin segments of a Pegasus payload fairing for NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission are cleaned and inspected before the spacecraft is encapsulated. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during ascent to orbit aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket in March. Once processing of the rocket and spacecraft are completed at Vandenberg, they will be flown aboard an L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. NuSTAR, a high-energy x-ray telescope, will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1523

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-17

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Inside an environmental enclosure at Vandenberg Air Force Base's processing facility in California, technicians check the interface of NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, with its Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. The spacecraft is secured inside the turnover rotation fixture used to rotate it into a horizontal position. The uniting of the spacecraft with the rocket is a major milestone in prelaunch preparations. After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1528

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-17

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Inside an environmental enclosure at Vandenberg Air Force Base's processing facility in California, solar panels line the sides of NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, spacecraft. NuSTAR is newly mated with its Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. The uniting of the spacecraft with the rocket is a major milestone in prelaunch preparations. After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

SOHO Mission Interruption Joint NASA/ESA Investigation Board

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Contact with the SOlar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft was lost in the early morning hours of June 25, 1998, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), during a planned period of calibrations, maneuvers, and spacecraft reconfigurations. Prior to this the SOHO operations team had concluded two years of extremely successful science operations. A joint European Space Agency (ESA)/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineering team has been planning and executing recovery efforts since loss of contact with some success to date. ESA and NASA management established the SOHO Mission Interruption Joint Investigation Board to determine the actual or probable cause(s) of the SOHO spacecraft mishap. The Board has concluded that there were no anomalies on-board the SOHO spacecraft but that a number of ground errors led to the major loss of attitude experienced by the spacecraft. The Board finds that the loss of the SOHO spacecraft was a direct result of operational errors, a failure to adequately monitor spacecraft status, and an erroneous decision which disabled part of the on-board autonomous failure detection. Further, following the occurrence of the emergency situation, the Board finds that insufficient time was taken by the operations team to fully assess the spacecraft status prior to initiating recovery operations. The Board discovered that a number of factors contributed to the circumstances that allowed the direct causes to occur. The Board strongly recommends that the two Agencies proceed immediately with a comprehensive review of SOHO operations addressing issues in the ground procedures, procedure implementation, management structure and process, and ground systems. This review process should be completed and process improvements initiated prior to the resumption of SOHO normal operations.

Space X-3 Social Media Tour of KSC Facilities

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-03-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A group of news media and social media tweeters toured the Launch Abort System Facility and viewed the launch abort system for the Orion spacecraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Speaking to the group is Scott Wilson, manager of Production Operations for the Orion Program. The group also toured the Launch Control Center and Vehicle Assembly Building, legacy facilities that are being upgraded by the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy to prepare for processing and launch of NASA's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. NASA is developing the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, with the flexibility to launch spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, including to an asteroid and Mars. Orion’s first unpiloted test flight is scheduled to launch later this year atop a Delta IV rocket. A second uncrewed flight test is scheduled for fiscal year 2018 on the Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

Jovian Cloud Tops

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-05-18

This enhanced color view of Jupiter's cloud tops was processed by citizen scientist Bjorn Jonsson using data from the JunoCam instrument on NASA's Juno spacecraft. The image highlights a massive counterclockwise rotating storm that appears as a white oval in the gas giant's southern hemisphere. Juno acquired this image on Feb. 2, 2017, at 6:13 a.m. PDT (9:13 a.m. EDT), as the spacecraft performed a close flyby of Jupiter. When the image was taken, the spacecraft was about 9,000 miles (14,500 kilometers) from the planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21391

KSC-2011-2758

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Technicians monitor the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft as it is being moved by an overhead crane from its stand to cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2757

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Technicians monitor the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft as it is being moved by an overhead crane from its stand to cell 3 at the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. There, the spacecraft will undergo inspection of its solar arrays and tests will be conducted on its propulsion subsystem. Further testing of the satellites various other systems will follow. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1138

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers position NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), enclosed in an environmentally controlled shipping container, onto a payload transporter for transfer of the telescope into the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., which began Jan. 24. The spacecraft will be offloaded into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After NuSTAR is removed from its shipping container, checkout and other processing activity will begin. The spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. After processing is completed, the rocket and spacecraft will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1137

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-27

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A forklift is enlisted to transfer NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), enclosed in an environmentally controlled shipping container, from the tractor-trailer on which it arrived into the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California. The spacecraft arrived at 7:52 a.m. PST after a cross-country trip from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., which began Jan. 24. The spacecraft will be offloaded into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After NuSTAR is removed from its shipping container, checkout and other processing activity will begin. The spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. After processing is completed, the rocket and spacecraft will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1601

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-29

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR spacecraft is wrapped in its protective cover and half of its payload fairing is behind it in processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Technicians are performing fairing closeout work in preparation for fairing installation around the spacecraft, which is scheduled to begin March 2. The cover protecting NuSTAR's delicate instruments will be removed prior to the fairing installation. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during ascent to orbit aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-1179

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-20

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The solar arrays of NASA's Glory spacecraft are illuminated in the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The spacecraft will be processed for flight, encapsulated in its protective payload fairing, and then transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E where is will be joined with the third stage of the Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-1177

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-20

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The solar arrays of NASA's Glory spacecraft are illuminated in the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The spacecraft will be processed for flight, encapsulated in its protective payload fairing, and then transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E where is will be joined with the third stage of the Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-07pd0862

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-11

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In clean room C of Astrotech's Payload Processing Facility, a worker wearing a "bunny suit," or clean-room attire, begins removing the protective cover surrounding the Dawn spacecraft. In the clean room, the spacecraft will undergo further processing. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-07pd0863

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-11

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In clean room C of Astrotech's Payload Processing Facility, a worker wearing a "bunny suit," or clean-room attire, looks over the Dawn spacecraft after removing the protective cover, at bottom right. In the clean room, the spacecraft will undergo further processing. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

KSC-2014-2932

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-06-09

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The pressure vessel of The Boeing Company's CST-100 was displayed by the company during a ceremony inside Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pressure vessel is the shell of the finished spacecraft and encases the crew compartment and supplies on the inside. A heat shield and many other components are attached to the exterior to complete the spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The X2000 Program: An Institutional Approach to Enabling Smaller Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deutsch, Les; Salvo, Chris; Woerner, Dave

2000-01-01

NASA's X2000 Program is important for many reasons - It develops the technology that will enable new types of deep space space exploration - It is a new, faster and cheaper process for technology infusion into NASA missions - It transfers these capabilities to US industry so they are available for future spacecraft. Many of these new capabilities are relevant to Earth missions as well X2000 will work with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (and others) to help make these capabilities available to a larger community.

KSC-2009-3665

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the shipping container with the STSS Demonstrator SV-2spacecraft is secured on a trailer for transfer to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

KSC-2009-3664

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the shipping container with the STSS Demonstrator SV-2spacecraft is secured on a trailer for transfer to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

KSC-2009-4614

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-06-25

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the SV-1 cargo of the STSS Demonstrator spacecraft is moved onto a flatbed truck for transfer to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4804 [4 Aug 09] )

KSC-2009-4615

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-06-25

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the flatbed truck with the SV-1 cargo of the STSS Demonstrator spacecraft begins moving to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4804 [4 Aug 09] )

Human Integration Design Processes (HIDP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boyer, Jennifer

2014-01-01

The purpose of the Human Integration Design Processes (HIDP) document is to provide human-systems integration design processes, including methodologies and best practices that NASA has used to meet human systems and human rating requirements for developing crewed spacecraft. HIDP content is framed around human-centered design methodologies and processes in support of human-system integration requirements and human rating. NASA-STD-3001, Space Flight Human-System Standard, is a two-volume set of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Agency-level standards established by the Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer, directed at minimizing health and performance risks for flight crews in human space flight programs. Volume 1 of NASA-STD-3001, Crew Health, sets standards for fitness for duty, space flight permissible exposure limits, permissible outcome limits, levels of medical care, medical diagnosis, intervention, treatment and care, and countermeasures. Volume 2 of NASASTD- 3001, Human Factors, Habitability, and Environmental Health, focuses on human physical and cognitive capabilities and limitations and defines standards for spacecraft (including orbiters, habitats, and suits), internal environments, facilities, payloads, and related equipment, hardware, and software with which the crew interfaces during space operations. The NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) 8705.2B, Human-Rating Requirements for Space Systems, specifies the Agency's human-rating processes, procedures, and requirements. The HIDP was written to share NASA's knowledge of processes directed toward achieving human certification of a spacecraft through implementation of human-systems integration requirements. Although the HIDP speaks directly to implementation of NASA-STD-3001 and NPR 8705.2B requirements, the human-centered design, evaluation, and design processes described in this document can be applied to any set of human-systems requirements and are independent of reference missions. The HIDP is a reference document that is intended to be used during the development of crewed space systems and operations to guide human-systems development process activities.

Cruise Stage of NASA's InSight Spacecraft

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-08-28

Lockheed Martin spacecraft specialists check the cruise stage of NASA's InSight spacecraft in this photo taken June 22, 2017, in a Lockheed Martin clean room facility in Littleton, Colorado. The cruise stage will provide vital functions during the flight from Earth to Mars, and then will be jettisoned before the InSight lander, enclosed in its aeroshell, enters Mars' atmosphere. The InSight mission (for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is scheduled to launch in May 2018 and land on Mars Nov. 26, 2018. It will investigate processes that formed and shaped Mars and will help scientists better understand the evolution of our inner solar system's rocky planets, including Earth. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21845

KSC-2015-1023

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden spoke to members of the media before looking over the agency's Orion spacecraft this morning for the first time since it returned to Kennedy Space Center following the successful Orion flight test on Dec. 5. Bearing the marks of a spacecraft that has returned to Earth through a searing plunge into the atmosphere, Orion is perched on a pedestal inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy where it is going through post-mission processing. Although the spacecraft Bolden looked over did not fly with a crew aboard during the flight test, Orion is designed to carry astronauts into deep space in the future setting NASA and the nation firmly on the journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KSC-2015-1025

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden spoke to members of the media before looking over the agency's Orion spacecraft this morning for the first time since it returned to Kennedy Space Center following the successful Orion flight test on Dec. 5. Bearing the marks of a spacecraft that has returned to Earth through a searing plunge into the atmosphere, Orion is perched on a pedestal inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy where it is going through post-mission processing. Although the spacecraft Bolden looked over did not fly with a crew aboard during the flight test, Orion is designed to carry astronauts into deep space in the future setting NASA and the nation firmly on the journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KSC-2015-1024

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden spoke to members of the media before looking over the agency's Orion spacecraft this morning for the first time since it returned to Kennedy Space Center following the successful Orion flight test on Dec. 5. Bearing the marks of a spacecraft that has returned to Earth through a searing plunge into the atmosphere, Orion is perched on a pedestal inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy where it is going through post-mission processing. Although the spacecraft Bolden looked over did not fly with a crew aboard during the flight test, Orion is designed to carry astronauts into deep space in the future setting NASA and the nation firmly on the journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KSC-2015-1018

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden spoke to members of the news media before looking over the agency's Orion spacecraft this morning for the first time since it returned to Kennedy Space Center following the successful Orion flight test on Dec. 5. Bearing the marks of a spacecraft that has returned to Earth through a searing plunge into the atmosphere, Orion is perched on a pedestal inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy where it is going through post-mission processing. Although the spacecraft Bolden looked over did not fly with a crew aboard during the flight test, Orion is designed to carry astronauts into deep space in the future setting NASA and the nation firmly on the journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KSC-2011-1349

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-02-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians removed most of the protective covering surrounding NASA's Glory spacecraft. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket will carry Glory into low Earth orbit. Once the spacecraft reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Don Kososka, VAFB

KSC-2011-1353

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-02-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Glory spacecraft is revealed after technicians removed the protective covering surrounding it. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket will carry Glory into low Earth orbit. Once the spacecraft reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Don Kososka, VAFB

KSC-2011-1352

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-02-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Glory spacecraft is revealed after technicians removed the protective covering surrounding it. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket will carry Glory into low Earth orbit. Once the spacecraft reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Don Kososka, VAFB

KSC-2011-1350

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-02-02

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians removed most of the protective covering surrounding NASA's Glory spacecraft. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket will carry Glory into low Earth orbit. Once the spacecraft reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Don Kososka, VAFB

KSC-2014-4483

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Two Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft comprising the mission’s upper stack are towed between Buildings 1 and 2 of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack arrived at Astrotech on Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Dawn Spacecraft Processing

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-10

In clean room C of Astrotech's Payload Processing Facility, a worker wearing a "bunny suit," or clean-room attire, begins removing the protective cover surrounding the Dawn spacecraft. In the clean room, the spacecraft will undergo further processing. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.

Dawn Spacecraft Processing

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-10

In clean room C of Astrotech's Payload Processing Facility, a worker wearing a "bunny suit," or clean-room attire, looks over the Dawn spacecraft after removing the protective cover, at bottom right. In the clean room, the spacecraft will undergo further processing. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.

TDRS-L Spacecraft Fairing Encapsulation

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-08

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft is being encapsulated in its payload fairing prior to being transported to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/home/index.html

TDRS-L Spacecraft Fairing Encapsulation

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-08

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft has been encapsulated in its payload fairing. TDRS-L will then be transported to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/home/index.html

TDRS-L Spacecraft Fairing Encapsulation

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-08

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft is being encapsulated in its payload fairing in preparation for begin transported to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/home/index.html

USA Space Debris Environment, Operations, and Research Updates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liou, J.-C.

2018-01-01

Space Missions in 2017 Earth Satellite Population Collision Avoidance Maneuvers Post mission Disposal of U.S.A. Spacecraft Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and the Space Debris Sensor (SDS) A total of 86 space launches placed more than 400 spacecraft into Earth orbits during 2017, following the trend of increase over the past decade NASA has established conjunction assessment processes for its human spaceflight and uncrewed spacecraft to avoid accidental collisions with objects tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network - NASA also assists other U.S. government spacecraft owners with conjunction assessments and subsequent maneuvers The ISS has conducted 25 debris collision avoidance maneuvers since 1999 - None in 2016-2017, but an ISS visiting vehicle had one collision avoidance maneuver in 2017 During 2017 NASA executed or assisted in the execution of 21 collision avoidance maneuvers by uncrewed spacecraft - Four maneuvers were conducted to avoid debris from Fengyun-1C - Two maneuvers were conducted to avoid debris from the collision of Cosmos 2251 and Iridium 33 - One maneuver was conducted to avoid the ISS NASA has established conjunction assessment processes for its human spaceflight and uncrewed spacecraft to avoid accidental collisions with objects tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network - NASA also assists other U.S. government spacecraft owners with conjunction assessments and subsequent maneuvers The ISS has conducted 25 debris collision avoidance maneuvers since 1999 - None in 2016-2017, but an ISS visiting vehicle had one collision avoidance maneuver in 2017 During 2017 NASA executed or assisted in the execution of 21 collision avoidance maneuvers by uncrewed spacecraft - Four maneuvers were conducted to avoid debris from Fengyun-1C - Two maneuvers were conducted to avoid debris from the collision of Cosmos 2251 and Iridium 33 The 2014-15 NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) study on the micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) assessment for the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) provided the following findings - Millimeter-sized orbital debris pose the highest penetration risk to most operational spacecraft in LEO - The most effective means to collect direct measurement data on millimetersized debris above 600 km altitude is to conduct in situ measurements - There is currently no in situ data on such small debris above 600 km altitude Since the orbital debris population follows a power-law size distribution, there are many more millimeter-sized debris than the large tracked objects - Current conjunction assessments and collision avoidance maneuvers against the tracked objects (which are typically 10 cm and larger) only address a small fraction (<1%) of the mission-ending risk from orbital debris To address the millimeter-sized debris data gap above 600 km, NASA has recently developed an innovative in situ measurement instrument - the Space Debris Sensor (SDS) - One maneuver was conducted to avoid the ISS

Extratropical Cyclone

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2013-04-16

... using data from multiple MISR cameras within automated computer processing algorithms. The stereoscopic algorithms used to generate ... NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Terra spacecraft is managed ...

KSC-2011-2725

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-01

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Technicians begin to unpack and unveil the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft in the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The container protected the spacecraft on its journey from Campos, Brazil, aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch to low Earth orbit. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. Salinity is a key measurement for understanding how changes in rainfall, evaporation and the melting of freezing of ice influence ocean circulation and are linked to variations in Earth's climate. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2726

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-01

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Technicians unpack and unveil the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft in the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The container protected the spacecraft on its journey from Campos, Brazil, aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch to low Earth orbit. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. Salinity is a key measurement for understanding how changes in rainfall, evaporation and the melting of freezing of ice influence ocean circulation and are linked to variations in Earth's climate. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2724

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-01

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Technicians prepare to unpack and unveil the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft in the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The container protected the spacecraft on its journey from Campos, Brazil, aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch to low Earth orbit. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. Salinity is a key measurement for understanding how changes in rainfall, evaporation and the melting of freezing of ice influence ocean circulation and are linked to variations in Earth's climate. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2727

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-01

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft is unpacked and unveiled in the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The container protected the spacecraft on its journey from Campos, Brazil, aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch to low Earth orbit. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. Salinity is a key measurement for understanding how changes in rainfall, evaporation and the melting of freezing of ice influence ocean circulation and are linked to variations in Earth's climate. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-2728

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-01

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft is unpacked and unveiled in the Spaceport Systems International payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The container protected the spacecraft on its journey from Campos, Brazil, aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch to low Earth orbit. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will map global changes in salinity at the ocean's surface. Salinity is a key measurement for understanding how changes in rainfall, evaporation and the melting of freezing of ice influence ocean circulation and are linked to variations in Earth's climate. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-1093

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians removed most of the protective covering surrounding NASA's Glory spacecraft. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

KSC-2011-1091

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians removed most of the protective covering surrounding NASA's Glory spacecraft. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

KSC-2011-1085

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Glory spacecraft will be removed from its protective covering. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

KSC-2011-1087

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians begin to remove the protective covering surrounding NASA's Glory spacecraft. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

KSC-2011-1088

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians removed most of the protective covering surrounding NASA's Glory spacecraft. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

KSC-2011-1084

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Glory spacecraft will be removed from its protective covering. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

KSC-2011-1089

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians removed most of the protective covering surrounding NASA's Glory spacecraft. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

KSC-2011-1086

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-13

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a technician begins to remove the protective covering surrounding NASA's Glory spacecraft. Next, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in its protective payload fairing before it is transported to Space Launch Complex 576-E and joined with the Taurus XL rocket's third stage. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Ed Henry, VAFB

Critical safety assurance factors for manned spacecraft - A fire safety perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodney, George A.

1990-01-01

Safety assurance factors for manned spacecraft are discussed with a focus on the Space Station Freedom. A hazard scenario is provided to demonstrate a process commonly used by safety engineers and other analysts to identify onboard safety risks. Fire strategies are described, including a review of fire extinguishing agents being considered for the Space Station. Lessons learned about fire safety technology in other areas are also noted. NASA and industry research on fire safety applications is discussed. NASA's approach to ensuring safety for manned spacecraft is addressed in the context of its multidiscipline program.

Best Practices for Reliable and Robust Spacecraft Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raju, Ivatury S.; Murthy, P. L. N.; Patel, Naresh R.; Bonacuse, Peter J.; Elliott, Kenny B.; Gordon, S. A.; Gyekenyesi, J. P.; Daso, E. O.; Aggarwal, P.; Tillman, R. F.

2007-01-01

A study was undertaken to capture the best practices for the development of reliable and robust spacecraft structures for NASA s next generation cargo and crewed launch vehicles. In this study, the NASA heritage programs such as Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle program were examined. A series of lessons learned during the NASA and DoD heritage programs are captured. The processes that "make the right structural system" are examined along with the processes to "make the structural system right". The impact of technology advancements in materials and analysis and testing methods on reliability and robustness of spacecraft structures is studied. The best practices and lessons learned are extracted from these studies. Since the first human space flight, the best practices for reliable and robust spacecraft structures appear to be well established, understood, and articulated by each generation of designers and engineers. However, these best practices apparently have not always been followed. When the best practices are ignored or short cuts are taken, risks accumulate, and reliability suffers. Thus program managers need to be vigilant of circumstances and situations that tend to violate best practices. Adherence to the best practices may help develop spacecraft systems with high reliability and robustness against certain anomalies and unforeseen events.

Integrated Design System (IDS) Tools for the Spacecraft Aeroassist/Entry Vehicle Design Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Olynick, David; Braun, Robert; Langhoff, Steven R. (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

The definition of the Integrated Design System technology focus area as presented in the NASA Information Technology center of excellence strategic plan is described. The need for IDS tools in the aeroassist/entry vehicle design process is illustrated. Initial and future plans for spacecraft IDS tool development are discussed.

KSC-2012-4243

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-08-03

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Charles Bolden, NASA administrator, center, is shown the high bay at the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida by NASA's Scott Wilson, left, and Lockheed Martin's Jules Schneider, right. Lockheed Martin is processing an Orion spacecraft that will make an uncrewed flight test in 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shifflett

KSC-2012-4244

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-08-03

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Charles Bolden, NASA administrator, center, is shown the high bay at the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida by NASA's Scott Wilson, left, and Lockheed Martin's Jules Schneider, foreground. Lockheed Martin is processing an Orion spacecraft that will make an uncrewed flight test in 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shifflett

KSC-2012-3027

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-05-22

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – Technicians install the second half of the payload fairing over the NuSTAR spacecraft as they continue to process the spacecraft and its Pegasus rocket for launch. NuSTAR stands for Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2012-3028

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-05-22

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – Technicians install the second half of the payload fairing over the NuSTAR spacecraft as they continue to process the spacecraft and its Pegasus rocket for launch. NuSTAR stands for Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2012-3023

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-05-22

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – Technicians install one half of the payload fairing over the NuSTAR spacecraft as they continue to process the spacecraft and its Pegasus rocket for launch. NuSTAR stands for Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2012-3026

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-05-22

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – Technicians install the second half of the payload fairing over the NuSTAR spacecraft as they continue to process the spacecraft and its Pegasus rocket for launch. NuSTAR stands for Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2012-3022

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-05-22

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – Technicians install one half of the payload fairing over the NuSTAR spacecraft as they continue to process the spacecraft and its Pegasus rocket for launch. NuSTAR stands for Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2012-3029

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-05-22

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – Technicians install the second half of the payload fairing over the NuSTAR spacecraft as they continue to process the spacecraft and its Pegasus rocket for launch. NuSTAR stands for Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2012-3021

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-05-22

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – Technicians install one half of the payload fairing over the NuSTAR spacecraft as they continue to process the spacecraft and its Pegasus rocket for launch. NuSTAR stands for Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2012-3024

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-05-22

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – Technicians install one half of the payload fairing over the NuSTAR spacecraft as they continue to process the spacecraft and its Pegasus rocket for launch. NuSTAR stands for Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2012-3030

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-05-22

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – A technicians checks the installation of the payload fairing over the NuSTAR spacecraft as processing continues for the spacecraft and its Pegasus rocket for launch. NuSTAR stands for Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2009-1025

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., NASA's Kepler spacecraft is rolled into a clean room. The spacecraft will be rotated to vertical, uncovered and prepared for initial testing. A NASA Discovery mission, Kepler is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine how many of the billions of stars in our galaxy have such planets. Results from this mission will allow us to place our solar system within the continuum of planetary systems in the Galaxy. After processing at Astrotech, Kepler will be carried to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral. NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than March 5 atop a Delta II rocket. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Rhodes

KSC-2009-1024

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., NASA's Kepler spacecraft is rolled out of its shipping container. The spacecraft will be rotated to vertical, uncovered and prepared for initial testing. A NASA Discovery mission, Kepler is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine how many of the billions of stars in our galaxy have such planets. Results from this mission will allow us to place our solar system within the continuum of planetary systems in the Galaxy. After processing at Astrotech, Kepler will be carried to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral. NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than March 5 atop a Delta II rocket. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Rhodes

KSC-2009-1022

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., the open doors of the shipping container reveal NASA's Kepler spacecraft. After removal from the container, the spacecraft will be rotated to vertical, uncovered and prepared for initial testing. A NASA Discovery mission, Kepler is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine how many of the billions of stars in our galaxy have such planets. Results from this mission will allow us to place our solar system within the continuum of planetary systems in the Galaxy. After processing at Astrotech, Kepler will be carried to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral. NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than March 5 atop a Delta II rocket. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Rhodes

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in NASA Spacecraft Hangar AE position the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), which has been returned to the hangar from the launch pad, for further processing. SIRTF will remain in the clean room until it returns to the pad in early August. One of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched, SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-05-02

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in NASA Spacecraft Hangar AE position the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), which has been returned to the hangar from the launch pad, for further processing. SIRTF will remain in the clean room until it returns to the pad in early August. One of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched, SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space.

KSC-2012-1174

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers rewrap NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) in a protective shroud. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1164

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers lift NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) from its shipping container. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2015-1017

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden looked over the agency's Orion spacecraft this morning for the first time since it returned to Kennedy Space Center following the successful Orion flight test on Dec. 5. At right is Kennedy Space Center Associate Director Kelvin Manning. At left is Paul Cooper, a Lockheed Martin manager. Bearing the marks of a spacecraft that has returned to Earth through a searing plunge into the atmosphere, Orion is perched on a pedestal inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy where it is going through post-mission processing. Although the spacecraft Bolden looked over did not fly with a crew aboard during the flight test, Orion is designed to carry astronauts into deep space in the future setting NASA and the nation firmly on the journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KSC-2015-1019

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden looked over the agency's Orion spacecraft this morning for the first time since it returned to Kennedy Space Center following the successful Orion flight test on Dec. 5. At right is Jules Schneider, Lockheed Martin manager. At left is Kennedy Space Center Associate Director Kelvin Manning. Bearing the marks of a spacecraft that has returned to Earth through a searing plunge into the atmosphere, Orion is perched on a pedestal inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy where it is going through post-mission processing. Although the spacecraft Bolden looked over did not fly with a crew aboard during the flight test, Orion is designed to carry astronauts into deep space in the future setting NASA and the nation firmly on the journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KSC-2011-6465

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., a protective canister encases NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft. Preparations are under way to transport the lunar probes, attached to a spacecraft adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration, to the launch pad. The spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2010-4679

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-28

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A DragonEye proximity sensor developed by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is installed while space shuttle Discovery is in Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. DragonEye is a Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor that will be tested on Discovery's docking operation with the International Space Station. Discovery's STS-133 mission, targeted to launch Nov. 1, will be the second demonstration of the sensor, following shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission in 2009. The DragonEye sensor will guide SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft as it approaches and berths to the station on future cargo re-supply missions. The Dragon spacecraft is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX, which is contracted by NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2010-4678

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-28

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A DragonEye proximity sensor developed by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is installed while space shuttle Discovery is in Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. DragonEye is a Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor that will be tested on Discovery's docking operation with the International Space Station. Discovery's STS-133 mission, targeted to launch Nov. 1, will be the second demonstration of the sensor, following shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission in 2009. The DragonEye sensor will guide SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft as it approaches and berths to the station on future cargo re-supply missions. The Dragon spacecraft is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX, which is contracted by NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2010-4680

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-28

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A DragonEye proximity sensor developed by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is installed while space shuttle Discovery is in Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. DragonEye is a Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor that will be tested on Discovery's docking operation with the International Space Station. Discovery's STS-133 mission, targeted to launch Nov. 1, will be the second demonstration of the sensor, following shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission in 2009. The DragonEye sensor will guide SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft as it approaches and berths to the station on future cargo re-supply missions. The Dragon spacecraft is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX, which is contracted by NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2010-4681

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-28

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A DragonEye proximity sensor developed by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is installed while space shuttle Discovery is in Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. DragonEye is a Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor that will be tested on Discovery's docking operation with the International Space Station. Discovery's STS-133 mission, targeted to launch Nov. 1, will be the second demonstration of the sensor, following shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission in 2009. The DragonEye sensor will guide SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft as it approaches and berths to the station on future cargo re-supply missions. The Dragon spacecraft is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX, which is contracted by NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2010-4683

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-28

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A DragonEye proximity sensor developed by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is installed while space shuttle Discovery is in Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. DragonEye is a Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor that will be tested on Discovery's docking operation with the International Space Station. Discovery's STS-133 mission, targeted to launch Nov. 1, will be the second demonstration of the sensor, following shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission in 2009. The DragonEye sensor will guide SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft as it approaches and berths to the station on future cargo re-supply missions. The Dragon spacecraft is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX, which is contracted by NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2010-4677

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-28

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A DragonEye proximity sensor developed by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is prepared for installation while space shuttle Discovery is in Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. DragonEye is a Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor that will be tested on Discovery's docking operation with the International Space Station. Discovery's STS-133 mission, targeted to launch Nov. 1, will be the second demonstration of the sensor, following shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission in 2009. The DragonEye sensor will guide SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft as it approaches and berths to the station on future cargo re-supply missions. The Dragon spacecraft is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX, which is contracted by NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2010-4682

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-28

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A DragonEye proximity sensor developed by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is installed while space shuttle Discovery is in Orbiter Processing Facility-3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. DragonEye is a Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor that will be tested on Discovery's docking operation with the International Space Station. Discovery's STS-133 mission, targeted to launch Nov. 1, will be the second demonstration of the sensor, following shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission in 2009. The DragonEye sensor will guide SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft as it approaches and berths to the station on future cargo re-supply missions. The Dragon spacecraft is a free-flying, reusable spacecraft being developed by SpaceX, which is contracted by NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Orion Stage Adapter Arrival

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-03

NASA's Super Guppy aircraft touches down at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Super Guppy is carrying the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA), the second flight-hardware section of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that has arrived at Kennedy. The OSA will connect the Orion spacecraft to the upper part of the SLS rocket, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). Both the OSA and ICPS are being stored for processing in the center's Space Station Processing Facility in preparation for Exploration Mission-1, the first uncrewed, integrated launch of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.

Orion Stage Adapter Arrival

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-03

NASA's Super Guppy aircraft taxies onto the tarmac after touching down at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Super Guppy is carrying the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA), the second flight-hardware section of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that has arrived at Kennedy. The OSA will connect the Orion spacecraft to the upper part of the SLS rocket, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). Both the OSA and ICPS are being stored for processing in the center's Space Station Processing Facility in preparation for Exploration Mission-1, the first uncrewed, integrated launch of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.

Orion Stage Adapter Arrival

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-03

NASA's Super Guppy aircraft glides to a stop at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Super Guppy is carrying the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA), the second flight-hardware section of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that has arrived at Kennedy. The OSA will connect the Orion spacecraft to the upper part of the SLS rocket, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). Both the OSA and ICPS are being stored for processing in the center's Space Station Processing Facility in preparation for Exploration Mission-1, the first uncrewed, integrated launch of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.

Orion Stage Adapter Arrival

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-03

NASA's Super Guppy aircraft prepares to touch down at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Super Guppy is carrying the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA), the second flight-hardware section of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that has arrived at Kennedy. The OSA will connect the Orion spacecraft to the upper part of the SLS rocket, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). Both the OSA and ICPS are being stored for processing in the center's Space Station Processing Facility in preparation for Exploration Mission-1, the first uncrewed, integrated launch of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.

KSC-2014-4478

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Two Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft, comprising the mission's upper stack, come into view as the shipping container is removed in Building 2 of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack arrived at Astrotech on Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4486

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Two Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft comprising the mission’s upper stack, at left, arrive in the Building 1 high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack, at right, arrived at Astrotech on Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4485

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Two Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft comprising the mission’s upper stack arrive in the Building 1 airlock of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack, in the high bay uat right, arrived at Astrotech on Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4484

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Two Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft comprising the mission’s upper stack are transported to the airlock of Building 1 of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack arrived at Astrotech on Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4479

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The protective shipping container is removed from around the upper stack of the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft in Building 2 of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack arrived at Astrotech on Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4481

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Two Magnetospheric Multiscale , or MMS, spacecraft comprising the mission’s upper stack are lowered onto a payload dolly in Building 2 of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack arrived at Astrotech on Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4480

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Two Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft comprising the mission’s upper stack are lifted from the transporter in Building 2 of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack arrived at Astrotech on Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4482

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Two Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft comprising the mission’s upper stack are towed from Building 2 to the Building 1 high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack arrived at Astrotech on Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4487

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-13

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The protective covering is removed from the two Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft comprising the mission’s upper stack in the Building 1 high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the lower stack arrived at Astrotech on Oct. 29. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Hurricane Juliette

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2013-04-19

... right is the cloud-top height field derived using automated computer processing of the data from multiple MISR cameras. Relative height ... NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Terra spacecraft is managed ...

KSC-2011-6055

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 41, the Atlas rocket stacked inside the Vertical Integration Facility stands ready to receive the Juno spacecraft, enclosed in an Atlas payload fairing. The spacecraft was prepared for launch in the Astrotech Space Operations' payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the impact of aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent and will be jettisoned once the spacecraft is outside the Earth's atmosphere. Juno is scheduled to launch Aug. 5 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KSC-2011-3887

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers attach cables from an overhead crane to the United Launch Alliance Delta II second stage motor for mating to the first stage at NASA's Space Launch Complex-2 (SLC-2) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Following final tests, the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft will be integrated to the Delta II launch vehicle in preparation for the targeted June liftoff. Aquarius, the NASA-built instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to fundamental climate processes on its three-year mission. Photo credit: NASA/VAFB

KSC-2009-4611

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-06-25

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft arrives at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility with its SV-1 cargo of the STSS Demonstrator spacecraft. The cargo will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4804 [4 Aug 09] )

KSC-2009-4612

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-06-25

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the SV-1 cargo of the STSS Demonstrator spacecraft moves out of the U.S. Air Force C-17. The cargo will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4804 [4 Aug 09] )

KSC-2009-4613

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-06-25

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the SV-1 cargo of the STSS Demonstrator spacecraft moves out of the U.S. Air Force C-17. The cargo will be transferred to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4804 [4 Aug 09] )

Orbit determination and orbit control for the Earth Observing System (EOS) AM spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herberg, Joseph R.; Folta, David C.

1993-01-01

Future NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Spacecraft will make measurements of the earth's clouds, oceans, atmosphere, land and radiation balance. These EOS Spacecraft will be part of the NASA Mission to Planet Earth. This paper specifically addresses the EOS AM Spacecraft, referred to as 'AM' because it has a sun-synchronous orbit with a 10:30 AM descending node. This paper describes the EOS AM Spacecraft mission orbit requirements, orbit determination, orbit control, and navigation system impact on earth based pointing. The EOS AM Spacecraft will be the first spacecraft to use the TDRSS Onboard Navigation System (TONS) as the primary means of navigation. TONS flight software will process one-way forward Doppler measurements taken during scheduled TDRSS contacts. An extended Kalman filter will estimate spacecraft position, velocity, drag coefficient correction, and ultrastable master oscillator frequency bias and drift. The TONS baseline algorithms, software, and hardware implementation are described in this paper. TONS integration into the EOS AM Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) System; TONS assisted onboard time maintenance; and the TONS Ground Support System (TGSS) are also addressed.

Multi-User Spaceport Update News Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Larry Price, Lockheed Martin Space Systems deputy program manager for NASA's Orion spacecraft, joins Sierra Nevada Corporation, or SNC, Space Systems, as the company announces the steps it will take to prepare for a November 2016 orbital flight of its Dream Chaser spacecraft from Florida’s Space Coast. The steps are considered substantial for SNC and important to plans by NASA and Space Florida for Kennedy Space Center’s transformation into a multi-user spaceport for both commercial and government customers. SNC said it plans to work with United Launch Alliance, or ULA, to launch the Dream Chaser spacecraft into orbit atop an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station intends to land the winged spacecraft at Kennedy’s 3.5-mile long runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility lease office space at Exploration Park, right outside Kennedy’s gates and process the spacecraft in the high bay of the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy, with Lockheed Martin performing the work. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

An Orion/Ares I Launch and Ascent Simulation: One Segment of the Distributed Space Exploration Simulation (DSES)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, Victoria I.; Crues, Edwin Z.; Blum, Mike G.; Alofs, Cathy; Busto, Juan

2007-01-01

This paper describes the architecture and implementation of a distributed launch and ascent simulation of NASA's Orion spacecraft and Ares I launch vehicle. This simulation is one segment of the Distributed Space Exploration Simulation (DSES) Project. The DSES project is a research and development collaboration between NASA centers which investigates technologies and processes for distributed simulation of complex space systems in support of NASA's Exploration Initiative. DSES is developing an integrated end-to-end simulation capability to support NASA development and deployment of new exploration spacecraft and missions. This paper describes the first in a collection of simulation capabilities that DSES will support.

KSC-2009-3667

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The STSS Demonstrator SV-2spacecraft arrives at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

Juno Captures Jupiter Cloudscape in High Resolution

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-03-01

This close-up view of Jupiter captures the turbulent region just west of the Great Red Spot in the South Equatorial Belt, with resolution better than any previous pictures from Earth or other spacecraft. NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this image with its JunoCam citizen science instrument when the spacecraft was a mere 5,400 miles (8,700 kilometers) above Jupiter's cloudtops on Dec. 11, 2016 at 9:14 a.m. PT (12:14 p.m. ET). Citizen scientist Sergey Dushkin produced the sublime color processing and cropped the image to draw viewers' eyes to the dynamic clouds. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21384

KSC-06pd0773

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-05-03

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers at Astrotech, a payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida, check the second of NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft after its move into the facility. The two spacecraft will undergo preparations and final testing for launch. Liftoff will occur aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the summer. STEREO consists of two spacecraft whose mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-D. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2014-2938

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-06-09

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – John Elbon, The Boeing Company's vice president general manager of Boeing Space Systems, discusses the CST-100 spacecraft during a ceremony inside Orbiter Processing Facility 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA SMAP is Readied for Launch

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-20

NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft is lowered onto the Delta II payload attach structure in the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in preparation for launch, to take place no sooner than Jan. 29.

Small business innovation research. Abstracts of completed 1987 phase 1 projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Non-proprietary summaries of Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects supported by NASA in the 1987 program year are given. Work in the areas of aeronautical propulsion, aerodynamics, acoustics, aircraft systems, materials and structures, teleoperators and robotics, computer sciences, information systems, spacecraft systems, spacecraft power supplies, spacecraft propulsion, bioastronautics, satellite communication, and space processing are covered.

KSC-2009-1019

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., the shipping container holding NASA's Kepler spacecraft is moved into a clean room. After removal from the container, the spacecraft will be rotated to vertical, uncovered and prepared for initial testing. A NASA Discovery mission, Kepler is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine how many of the billions of stars in our galaxy have such planets. Results from this mission will allow us to place our solar system within the continuum of planetary systems in the Galaxy. After processing at Astrotech, Kepler will be carried to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral. NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than March 5 atop a Delta II rocket. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Rhodes

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in NASA Spacecraft Hangar AE check the placement of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), which has been returned to the hangar from the launch pad for further processing. SIRTF will remain in the clean room until it returns to the pad in early August. One of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched, SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-05-02

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in NASA Spacecraft Hangar AE check the placement of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), which has been returned to the hangar from the launch pad for further processing. SIRTF will remain in the clean room until it returns to the pad in early August. One of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched, SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in NASA Spacecraft Hangar AE begin the next phase of processing of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), which has been returned to the hangar from the launch pad. SIRTF will remain in the clean room until it returns to the pad in early August. One of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched, SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-05-02

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in NASA Spacecraft Hangar AE begin the next phase of processing of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), which has been returned to the hangar from the launch pad. SIRTF will remain in the clean room until it returns to the pad in early August. One of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched, SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space.

KSC-2014-4457

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-07

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, spacecraft is lifted from its workstand in the clean room of the Astrotech payload processing facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California during operations to determine its weight. The weighing of a spacecraft is standard procedure during prelaunch processing. SMAP will launch on a Delta II 7320 configuration vehicle featuring a United Launch Alliance first stage booster powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, strap-on solid rocket motors. Once on station in Earth orbit, SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that built the observatory and its radar instrument also is responsible for SMAP project management and mission operations. Launch from Space Launch Complex 2 is targeted for Jan. 29, 2015. To learn more about SMAP, visit http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2014-4455

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-07

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Operations are underway to weigh NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, spacecraft in the clean room of the Astrotech payload processing facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The weighing of a spacecraft is standard procedure during prelaunch processing. SMAP will launch on a Delta II 7320 configuration vehicle featuring a United Launch Alliance first stage booster powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, strap-on solid rocket motors. Once on station in Earth orbit, SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that built the observatory and its radar instrument also is responsible for SMAP project management and mission operations. Launch from Space Launch Complex 2 is targeted for Jan. 29, 2015. To learn more about SMAP, visit http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2014-4453

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-07

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Operations are underway to weigh NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, spacecraft in the clean room of the Astrotech payload processing facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The weighing of a spacecraft is standard procedure during prelaunch processing. SMAP will launch on a Delta II 7320 configuration vehicle featuring a United Launch Alliance first stage booster powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, strap-on solid rocket motors. Once on station in Earth orbit, SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that built the observatory and its radar instrument also is responsible for SMAP project management and mission operations. Launch from Space Launch Complex 2 is targeted for Jan. 29, 2015. To learn more about SMAP, visit http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2014-4454

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-07

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Operations are underway to weigh NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, spacecraft in the clean room of the Astrotech payload processing facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The weighing of a spacecraft is standard procedure during prelaunch processing. SMAP will launch on a Delta II 7320 configuration vehicle featuring a United Launch Alliance first stage booster powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, strap-on solid rocket motors. Once on station in Earth orbit, SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that built the observatory and its radar instrument also is responsible for SMAP project management and mission operations. Launch from Space Launch Complex 2 is targeted for Jan. 29, 2015. To learn more about SMAP, visit http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2014-4451

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-07

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Preparations are underway to weigh NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, spacecraft in the clean room of the Astrotech payload processing facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The weighing of a spacecraft is standard procedure during prelaunch processing. SMAP will launch on a Delta II 7320 configuration vehicle featuring a United Launch Alliance first stage booster powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, strap-on solid rocket motors. Once on station in Earth orbit, SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that built the observatory and its radar instrument also is responsible for SMAP project management and mission operations. Launch from Space Launch Complex 2 is targeted for Jan. 29, 2015. To learn more about SMAP, visit http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2014-4452

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-07

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Preparations are underway to weigh NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, spacecraft in the clean room of the Astrotech payload processing facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The weighing of a spacecraft is standard procedure during prelaunch processing. SMAP will launch on a Delta II 7320 configuration vehicle featuring a United Launch Alliance first stage booster powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, strap-on solid rocket motors. Once on station in Earth orbit, SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that built the observatory and its radar instrument also is responsible for SMAP project management and mission operations. Launch from Space Launch Complex 2 is targeted for Jan. 29, 2015. To learn more about SMAP, visit http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

KSC-2014-4456

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-07

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Operations are underway to weigh NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, spacecraft in the clean room of the Astrotech payload processing facility on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The weighing of a spacecraft is standard procedure during prelaunch processing. SMAP will launch on a Delta II 7320 configuration vehicle featuring a United Launch Alliance first stage booster powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and three Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, strap-on solid rocket motors. Once on station in Earth orbit, SMAP will provide global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that built the observatory and its radar instrument also is responsible for SMAP project management and mission operations. Launch from Space Launch Complex 2 is targeted for Jan. 29, 2015. To learn more about SMAP, visit http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

Electrical Grounding Architecture for Unmanned Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This handbook is approved for use by NASA Headquarters and all NASA Centers and is intended to provide a common framework for consistent practices across NASA programs. This handbook was developed to describe electrical grounding design architecture options for unmanned spacecraft. This handbook is written for spacecraft system engineers, power engineers, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) engineers. Spacecraft grounding architecture is a system-level decision which must be established at the earliest point in spacecraft design. All other grounding design must be coordinated with and be consistent with the system-level architecture. This handbook assumes that there is no one single 'correct' design for spacecraft grounding architecture. There have been many successful satellite and spacecraft programs from NASA, using a variety of grounding architectures with different levels of complexity. However, some design principles learned over the years apply to all types of spacecraft development. This handbook summarizes those principles to help guide spacecraft grounding architecture design for NASA and others.

KSC-2011-2440

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., test the electrical continuity of a solar array that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2443

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., test the electrical continuity of a solar array that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2488

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., unfurl solar array No. 1 with a magnetometer boom that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2325

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-16

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- A solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter is unpacked in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2487

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., begin to unfurl solar array No. 1 with a magnetometer boom that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2326

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-16

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., unpack a solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2486

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., prepare to unfurl solar array No. 1 with a magnetometer boom that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2491

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., unfurl solar array No. 1 with a magnetometer boom that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2484

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., prepare to unfurl solar array No. 1 with a magnetometer boom that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2438

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., prepare to test the electrical continuity of a solar array that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2447

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., test the electrical continuity of a solar array that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2485

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., prepare to unfurl solar array No. 1 with a magnetometer boom that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2346

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., check out an unfurled solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2442

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The electrical continuity of a solar array that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter is tested in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2337

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter is unpacked in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2338

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., unpack a solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2344

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., unfurl a solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2342

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., begin to unfurl a solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2327

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-16

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., unpack a solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2492

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., check out solar array No. 1 with a magnetometer boom that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2489

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., unfurl solar array No. 1 with a magnetometer boom that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2446

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., test the electrical continuity of a solar array that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2343

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-17

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., unfurl a solar panel that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2490

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., unfurl solar array No. 1 with a magnetometer boom that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2479

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-26

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., prepare to unfurl solar array No. 1 with a magnetometer boom that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2441

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., test the electrical continuity of a solar array that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2439

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The electrical continuity of a solar array that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter is tested in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Spacecraft Hybrid (Mixed-Actuator) Attitude Control Experiences on NASA Science Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dennehy, Cornelius J.

2014-01-01

There is a heightened interest within NASA for the design, development, and flight implementation of mixed-actuator hybrid attitude control systems for science spacecraft that have less than three functional reaction wheel actuators. This interest is driven by a number of recent reaction wheel failures on aging, but what could be still scientifically productive, NASA spacecraft if a successful hybrid attitude control mode can be implemented. Over the years, hybrid (mixed-actuator) control has been employed for contingency attitude control purposes on several NASA science mission spacecraft. This paper provides a historical perspective of NASA's previous engineering work on spacecraft mixed-actuator hybrid control approaches. An update of the current situation will also be provided emphasizing why NASA is now so interested in hybrid control. The results of the NASA Spacecraft Hybrid Attitude Control Workshop, held in April of 2013, will be highlighted. In particular, the lessons learned captured from that workshop will be shared in this paper. An update on the most recent experiences with hybrid control on the Kepler spacecraft will also be provided. This paper will close with some future considerations for hybrid spacecraft control.

KSC-2011-4450

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-15

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians prepare a solar panel for attachment to NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry the twin GRAIL spacecraft into lunar orbit is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

KSC-2014-2293

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-24

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Modifications continue on the Multi-Payload Processing Facility, or MPPF, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside the high bay, Skip Williams, Ground Systems Development and Operations, or GSDO, deputy project manager for the spacecraft offline element integration team, points out artist illustrations of how the MPPF's interior and exterior will look after modifications and upgrades have been completed. Kennedy's Center Operations Directorate is overseeing upgrades to the MPPF for GSDO Program. The extensive upgrades and modernizations will support processing of Orion spacecraft for NASA's exploration missions. The 19,647-square-foot building, originally constructed in 1995, primarily will be used for Orion hypergolic fueling, ammonia servicing and high-pressure gas servicing and checkout before being transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building for integration with the Space Launch System. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

KSC-2011-6092

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Preparations are under way to transport the protective canister housing NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar spacecraft to the Hazardous Processing Facility (HPF) at Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. In the HPF, the spacecraft will undergo two days of fueling activities. GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

KSC-2011-6104

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin technicians examine NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar spacecraft before they are moved onto workstands in the Hazardous Processing Facility (HPF) at Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. In the HPF, the spacecraft will undergo two days of fueling activities. GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

KSC-2011-6110

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Preparations are under way to lift the second of NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar spacecraft to a workstand in the Hazardous Processing Facility (HPF) at Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. In the HPF, the spacecraft will undergo two days of fueling activities. GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

KSC-2011-6095

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin technicians oversee the lift of the protective canister housing NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar spacecraft from the transporter in the Hazardous Processing Facility (HPF) at Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. In the HPF, the spacecraft will undergo two days of fueling activities. GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

KSC-2011-6099

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin technicians push NASA's mylar-covered twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar spacecraft toward the work area of the Hazardous Processing Facility (HPF) at Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. In the HPF, the spacecraft will undergo two days of fueling activities. GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

KSC-2011-6105

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Preparations are under way to lift one of NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar spacecraft onto a workstand in the Hazardous Processing Facility (HPF) at Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. In the HPF, the spacecraft will undergo two days of fueling activities. GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

KSC-2011-6096

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin technicians oversee the placement of the protective canister housing NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar spacecraft on the workroom floor in the Hazardous Processing Facility (HPF) at Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. In the HPF, the spacecraft will undergo two days of fueling activities. GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

Benefit from NASA

NASA Image and Video Library

1985-01-01

The NASA imaging processing technology, an advanced computer technique to enhance images sent to Earth in digital form by distant spacecraft, helped develop a new vision screening process. The Ocular Vision Screening system, an important step in preventing vision impairment, is a portable device designed especially to detect eye problems in children through the analysis of retinal reflexes.

KSC-2011-2741

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-05

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., begin installing insulating blankets around the magnetometer boom. The boom structure is attached to Juno's solar array #1 that will help power the NASA spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2743

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-05

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., install insulating blankets around the magnetometer boom. The boom structure is attached to Juno's solar array #1 that will help power the NASA spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2746

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-05

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., prepare an insulating a blanket for installation onto the magnetometer boom. The boom structure is attached to Juno's solar array #1 that will help power the NASA spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2744

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-05

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., install insulating blankets around the magnetometer boom. The boom structure is attached to Juno's solar array #1 that will help power the NASA spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2742

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-05

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., begin installing insulating blankets around the magnetometer boom. The boom structure is attached to Juno's solar array #1 that will help power the NASA spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2747

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-05

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., install insulating blankets around a magnetometer boom. The boom structure is attached to Juno's solar array #1 that will help power the NASA spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2749

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-05

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., install insulating blankets around a magnetometer boom. The boom structure is attached to Juno's solar array #1 that will help power the NASA spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-6502

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft will be lifted to the top of their launch pad at Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The lunar probes are attached to a spacecraft adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration and wrapped in plastic to prevent contamination outside the clean room in the Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6500

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft arrives at their launch pad at Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The lunar probes are attached to a spacecraft adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration and wrapped in plastic to prevent contamination outside the clean room in the Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6504

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft are lifted to the top of their launch pad at Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The lunar probes are attached to a spacecraft adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration and wrapped in plastic to prevent contamination outside the clean room in the Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6503

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft are lifted to the top of their launch pad at Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The lunar probes are attached to a spacecraft adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration and wrapped in plastic to prevent contamination outside the clean room in the Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-6505

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft are lifted to the top of their launch pad at Space Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The lunar probes are attached to a spacecraft adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration and wrapped in plastic to prevent contamination outside the clean room in the Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Dawn Spacecraft Processing

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-10

In Astrotech's Payload Processing Facility, technicians help secure the Dawn spacecraft onto a moveable stand. Dawn will be moved into clean room C for unbagging and further processing. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.

Dawn Spacecraft Processing

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-10

In Astrotech's Payload Processing Facility, an overhead crane lifts the Dawn spacecraft from its transporter. Dawn will be moved into clean room C for unbagging and further processing. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C

Computer simulation of the NASA water vapor electrolysis reactor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bloom, A. M.

1974-01-01

The water vapor electrolysis (WVE) reactor is a spacecraft waste reclamation system for extended-mission manned spacecraft. The WVE reactor's raw material is water, its product oxygen. A computer simulation of the WVE operational processes provided the data required for an optimal design of the WVE unit. The simulation process was implemented with the aid of a FORTRAN IV routine.

KSC-2012-6402

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-11-16

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Firing Room 1, also known as the Young-Crippen Firing Room, has been outfitted with computer, communications and networking systems to host rockets and spacecraft that are currently under development. The firing room is where the launch of rockets and spacecraft are controlled at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Flight controllers also monitor processing and preparations of launch vehicles from the firing room. There are four firing rooms inside the Launch Control Center at Kennedy. Photo credit: NASA/Dmitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-6401

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-11-16

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Firing Room 1, also known as the Young-Crippen Firing Room, has been outfitted with computer, communications and networking systems to host rockets and spacecraft that are currently under development. The firing room is where the launch of rockets and spacecraft are controlled at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Flight controllers also monitor processing and preparations of launch vehicles from the firing room. There are four firing rooms inside the Launch Control Center at Kennedy. Photo credit: NASA/Dmitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2013-1122

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-15

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, Dragon spacecraft with solar array fairings attached, stands inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-1123

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-15

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, Dragon spacecraft with solar array fairings attached, stands inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-1120

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-15

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, Dragon spacecraft with solar array fairings attached, stands inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-1121

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-15

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, Dragon spacecraft with solar array fairings attached, stands inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-07pd0852

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-10

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech, the shipping container holding the Dawn spacecraft is removed from the truck. The container will then be moved into the high bay of the Payload Processing Facility and the spacecraft removed. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-07pd0854

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-10

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech, the shipping container holding the Dawn spacecraft is moved into the high bay of the Payload Processing Facility. The spacecraft will next be removed from the container. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2009-4627

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , technicians monitor the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft as it is lowered to the orbital insertion system. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-3666

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A flatbed truck carrying the STSS Demonstrator SV-2spacecraft arrives at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

KSC-2009-4625

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft is lowered toward the orbital insertion system. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-4617

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-06-25

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The flatbed truck with the SV-1 cargo of the STSS Demonstrator spacecraft arrives at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4804 [4 Aug 09] )

KSC-2009-4626

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , technicians monitor the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft as it is lowered to the orbital insertion system. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-4622

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft is being moved to a stand. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-3668

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-05-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The STSS Demonstrator SV-2spacecraft is moved inside a building at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4616 [27 May 09])

KSC-2009-4618

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-06-25

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The SV-1 cargo of the STSS Demonstrator spacecraft is moved into the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4804 [4 Aug 09] )

KSC-2009-4628

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft is lowered to the orbital insertion system. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-4624

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft is moved toward the orbital insertion system. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-4619

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The shipping crate is being removed from the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-4623

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft is lowered onto a stand. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-4616

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-06-25

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The flatbed truck with the SV-1 cargo of the STSS Demonstrator spacecraft arrives at the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4804 [4 Aug 09] )

KSC-2009-4620

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft is lifted from its shipping crate. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-4621

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft is lifted clear from its shipping crate. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2009-4630

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , technicians get ready to remove the overhead crane from the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2011-6054

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Space Launch Complex 41, the Juno spacecraft, enclosed in an Atlas payload fairing, nears the top of the Vertical Integration Facility where it will be positioned on top of the Atlas rocket already stacked inside. The spacecraft was prepared for launch in the Astrotech Space Operations' payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the impact of aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent and will be jettisoned once the spacecraft is outside the Earth's atmosphere. Juno is scheduled to launch Aug. 5 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

Spacecraft Coming out of Protective Storage

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-08-28

Members of the InSight mission's assembly, test and launch operations (ATLO) team remove the "birdcage" from NASA's InSight spacecraft, in this photo taken June 19, 2017, in a Lockheed Martin clean room facility in Littleton, Colorado. The birdcage is the inner layer of protective housing that shielded the spacecraft while in storage following a postponement of launch. It is made of a film that dissipates electrostatic conditions to protect the spacecraft from contamination. The InSight mission (for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is scheduled to launch in May 2018 and land on Mars Nov. 26, 2018. It will investigate processes that formed and shaped Mars and will help scientists better understand the evolution of our inner solar system's rocky planets, including Earth. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21843

KSC-2012-1540

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-20

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The fairing for NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, awaits processing in an environmental enclosure inside the Orbital Sciences processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fairing will enclose and protect the spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during ascent to orbit aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-3185

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-05

Technicians install lockers on the middeck of space shuttle Atlantis as the spacecraft is prepared for public display. The work is taking place as Atlantis sits inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Dmitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3184

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-05

Technicians install lockers on the middeck of space shuttle Atlantis as the spacecraft is prepared for public display. The work is taking place as Atlantis sits inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Dmitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3186

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-05

A locker installed on the middeck of space shuttle Atlantis as the spacecraft is prepared for public display. The work is taking place as Atlantis sits inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Dmitri Gerondidakis

KSC-02pd1657

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-10-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A container with the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft inside is offloaded at the Multi-Purpose Processing Facility at KSC. The spacecraft will undergo final processing for launch. SORCE is equipped with four instruments that will measure variations in solar radiation much more accurately than anything now in use and observe some of the spectral properties of solar radiation for the first time. With data from NASA's SORCE mission, researchers should be able to follow how the Sun affects our climate now and in the future. The SORCE project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The instruments on the SORCE spacecraft are built by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). Launch of SORCE aboard a Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled for mid-December 2002. Launch site is Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

KSC-03PD-3277

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, a worker checks the installation of a solar array panel onto the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3280

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Gravity Probe B spacecraft is seen with two solar array panels installed. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3270

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base attach a solar array panel on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3281

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Gravity Probe B spacecraft is seen with all four solar array panels installed. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3267

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base work on a solar array panel to be installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3271

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base attach a solar array panel on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3266

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base prepare for the installation of solar array panel 3 on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

Rose-Colored Jupiter

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-03-15

This image captures a close-up view of a storm with bright cloud tops in the northern hemisphere of Jupiter. NASA's Juno spacecraft took this color-enhanced image on Feb. 7 at 5:38 a.m. PST (8:38 a.m. EST) during its 11th close flyby of the gas giant planet. At the time, the spacecraft was 7,578 miles (12,195 kilometers) from the tops of Jupiter's clouds at 49.2 degrees north latitude. Citizen scientist Matt Brealey processed the image using data from the JunoCam imager. Citizen scientist Gustavo B C then adjusted colors and embossed Matt Brealey's processing of this storm. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21981

Orion Stage Adapter (OSA) Offload

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-04

NASA Kennedy Space Center security officers prepare to escort the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA), secured on a flatbed transporter, along State Road 3 to the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The OSA is the second flight-hardware section of the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to arrive at Kennedy. The OSA will connect the Orion spacecraft to the upper part of the SLS, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). Both the OSA and ICPS are being stored for processing in the SSPF in preparation for Exploration Mission-1, the first uncrewed, integrated launch of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.

KSC-2012-1150

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, preparations are under way to remove the environmentally controlled shipping container from around NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1162

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers position a lifting fixture toward NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) during preparations to hoist it from its shipping container. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1151

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, a crane is connected to the environmentally controlled shipping container during preparations to lift it away from NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1156

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, the top half of the shipping container is lifted away from NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), wrapped in a protective shroud. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1158

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers prepare to remove the protective shroud from around NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) as it rests in the bottom half of a shipping container. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1165

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, a lifting fixture is employed to hoist NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) from its shipping container. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1163

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers attach a lifting fixture to NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) during preparations to hoist it from its shipping container. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1152

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, a crane lifts half of the environmentally controlled shipping container, providing a glimpse of NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1159

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers start to remove the protective shroud from around NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) as it rests in the bottom half of a shipping container. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1161

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers remove the protective shroud from around NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) as it rests in the bottom half of a shipping container. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1153

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, the environmentally controlled shipping container is lifted from around NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), wrapped in a protective shroud. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1167

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-28

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers prepare a handling dolly to receive NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) as it glides away from its shipping container. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-1218

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-23

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians configure the equipment for the fueling of the Glory spacecraft, seen in the background wrapped in a protective covering, with its attitude control propellant. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket will carry NASA's Glory spacecraft into low Earth orbit. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Liberotti, VAFB

KSC-2011-1219

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-01-23

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians configure the equipment for the fueling of the Glory spacecraft, seen in the background wrapped in a protective covering, with its attitude control propellant. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket will carry NASA's Glory spacecraft into low Earth orbit. Once Glory reaches orbit, it will collect data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon. It also will help scientists understand how the sun's irradiance affects Earth's climate. Launch is scheduled for 5:09 a.m. EST Feb. 23. For information, visit www.nasa.gov/glory. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Liberotti, VAFB

NASA's small spacecraft technology initiative _Clark_ spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayduk, Robert J.; Scott, Walter S.; Walberg, Gerald D.; Butts, James J.; Starr, Richard D.

1996-11-01

The Small Satellite Technology Initiative (SSTI) is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) program to demonstrate smaller, high technology satellites constructed rapidly and less expensively. Under SSTI, NASA funded the development of "Clark," a high technology demonstration satellite to provide 3-m resolution panchromatic and 15-m resolution multispectral images, as well as collect atmospheric constituent and cosmic x-ray data. The 690-Ib. satellite, to be launched in early 1997, will be in a 476 km, circular, sun-synchronous polar orbit. This paper describes the program objectives, the technical characteristics of the sensors and satellite, image processing, archiving and distribution. Data archiving and distribution will be performed by NASA Stennis Space Center and by the EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA.

NASA Thermal Control Technologies for Robotic Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swanson, Theodore D.; Birur, Gajanana C.

2003-01-01

Technology development is inevitably a dynamic process in search of an elusive goal. It is never truly clear whether the need for a particular technology drives its development, or the existence of a new capability initiates new applications. Technology development for the thermal control of spacecraft presents an excellent example of this situation. Nevertheless, it is imperative to have a basic plan to help guide and focus such an effort. Although this plan will be a living document that changes with time to reflect technological developments, perceived needs, perceived opportunities, and the ever-changing funding environment, it is still a very useful tool. This presentation summarizes the current efforts at NASA/Goddard and NASA/JPL to develop new thermal control technology for future robotic NASA missions.

Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) [video

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-05-09

MMS Spacecraft Animation The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth's magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence. These processes occur in all astrophysical plasma systems but can be studied in situ only in our solar system and most efficiently only in Earth's magnetosphere, where they control the dynamics of the geospace environment and play an important role in the processes known as "space weather." Learn more about MMS at www.nasa.gov/mms Learn more about MMS at www.nasa.gov/mms Credit NASA/Goddard The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

MMS Spacecraft Animation The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth's magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence. These processes occur in all astrophysical plasma systems but can be studied in situ only in our solar system and most efficiently only in Earth's magnetosphere, where they control the dynamics of the geospace environment and play an important role in the processes known as "space weather." Learn more about MMS at www.nasa.gov/mms Learn more about MMS at www.nasa.gov/mms Credit NASA/Chris Gunn The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Multi-kilowatt modularized spacecraft power processing system development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andrews, R. E.; Hayden, J. H.; Hedges, R. T.; Rehmann, D. W.

1975-01-01

A review of existing information pertaining to spacecraft power processing systems and equipment was accomplished with a view towards applicability to the modularization of multi-kilowatt power processors. Power requirements for future spacecraft were determined from the NASA mission model-shuttle systems payload data study which provided the limits for modular power equipment capabilities. Three power processing systems were compared to evaluation criteria to select the system best suited for modularity. The shunt regulated direct energy transfer system was selected by this analysis for a conceptual design effort which produced equipment specifications, schematics, envelope drawings, and power module configurations.

Multispectral Mosaic of the Aristarchus Crater and Plateau

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-06-03

The Aristarchus region is one of the most diverse and interesting areas on the Moon. About 500 images from NASA's Clementine spacecraft were processed and combined into a multispectral mosaic of this region. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00090

Amazonis Planitia yardangs

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-11-26

This wind-swept region of Amazonis Planitia, imaged here by NASA Mars Odyssey spacecraft, has been so uniformly dissected into yardangs that only two craters provide any indication that other processes have ever been active on the surface. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04010

Development of hydrogen peroxide technique for bioburden reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohatgi, N.; Schwartz, L.; Stabekis, P.; Barengoltz, J.

In order to meet the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Planetary Protection microbial reduction requirements for Mars in-situ life detection and sample return missions, entire planetary spacecraft (including planetary entry probes and planetary landing capsules) may have to be exposed to a qualified sterilization process. Presently, dry heat is the only NASA approved sterilization technique available for spacecraft application. However, with the increasing use of various man-made materials, highly sophisticated electronic circuit boards, and sensors in a modern spacecraft, compatibility issues may render this process unacceptable to design engineers and thus impractical to achieve terminal sterilization of the entire spacecraft. An alternative vapor phase hydrogen peroxide sterilization process, which is currently used in various industries, has been selected for further development. Strategic Technology Enterprises, Incorporated (STE), a subsidiary of STERIS Corporation, under a contract from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is developing systems and methodologies to decontaminate spacecraft using vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) technology. The VHP technology provides an effective, rapid and low temperature means for inactivation of spores, mycobacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms. The VHP application is a dry process affording excellent material compatibility with many of the components found in spacecraft such as polymers, paints and electronic systems. Furthermore, the VHP process has innocuous residuals as it decomposes to water vapor and oxygen. This paper will discuss the approach that is being used to develop this technique and will present lethality data that have been collected to establish deep vacuum VHP sterilization cycles. In addition, the application of this technique to meet planetary protection requirements will be addressed.

KSC-2009-5012

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-08-03

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., the SV1 and SV2 spacecraft are ready for mating for launch. The two spacecraft are part of the Space Tracking and Surveillance System – Demonstrators, or STSS Demo, Program. STSS-Demo is a space-based sensor component of a layered Ballistic Missile Defense System designed for the overall mission of detecting, tracking and discriminating ballistic missiles. The spacecraft is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency between 8 and 8:58 a.m. EDT Sept. 18. Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-04886 (10 SEPT 09) Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Relating MBSE to Spacecraft Development: A NASA Pathfinder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Othon, Bill

2016-01-01

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has sponsored a Pathfinder Study to investigate how Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and Model Based Engineering (MBE) techniques can be applied by NASA spacecraft development projects. The objectives of this Pathfinder Study included analyzing both the products of the modeling activity, as well as the process and tool chain through which the spacecraft design activities are executed. Several aspects of MBSE methodology and process were explored. Adoption and consistent use of the MBSE methodology within an existing development environment can be difficult. The Pathfinder Team evaluated the possibility that an "MBSE Template" could be developed as both a teaching tool as well as a baseline from which future NASA projects could leverage. Elements of this template include spacecraft system component libraries, data dictionaries and ontology specifications, as well as software services that do work on the models themselves. The Pathfinder Study also evaluated the tool chain aspects of development. Two chains were considered: 1. The Development tool chain, through which SysML model development was performed and controlled, and 2. The Analysis tool chain, through which both static and dynamic system analysis is performed. Of particular interest was the ability to exchange data between SysML and other engineering tools such as CAD and Dynamic Simulation tools. For this study, the team selected a Mars Lander vehicle as the element to be designed. The paper will discuss what system models were developed, how data was captured and exchanged, and what analyses were conducted.

Dawn Spacecraft Processing

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-10

In clean room C of Astrotech's Payload Processing Facility, a worker wears a "bunny suit," or clean-room attire, next to the Dawn spacecraft, which will be unbagged and undergo further processing. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.

KSC-2011-2614

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-31

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A panoramic photo shows space shuttle Discovery during the main engine removal phase in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display. NASA/Frankie Martin

Dawn Spacecraft Processing

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-10

In clean room C of Astrotech's Payload Processing Facility, technicians dressed in "bunny suits," or clean-room attire, begin working on the Dawn spacecraft. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C.

KSC-2012-3025

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-05-22

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – Technicians install one half of the payload fairing over the NuSTAR spacecraft as they continue to process the spacecraft and its Pegasus rocket for launch. The second half of the fairing stands ready for installation. NuSTAR stands for Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

NASA Centers and Universities Collaborate Through Smallsat Technology Partnerships

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cockrell, James

2018-01-01

The Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) Program within the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate is chartered develop and demonstrate the capabilities that enable small spacecraft to achieve science and exploration missions in "unique" and "more affordable" ways. Specifically, the SST program seeks to enable new mission architectures through the use of small spacecraft, to expand the reach of small spacecraft to new destinations, and to make possible the augmentation existing assets and future missions with supporting small spacecraft. The SST program sponsors smallsat technology development partnerships between universities and NASA Centers in order to engage the unique talents and fresh perspectives of the university community and to share NASA experience and expertise in relevant university projects to develop new technologies and capabilities for small spacecraft. These partnerships also engage NASA personnel in the rapid, agile and cost-conscious small spacecraft approaches that have evolved in the university community, as well as increase support to university efforts and foster a new generation of innovators for NASA and the nation.

NASA-STD-4005 and NASA-HDBK-4006, LEO Spacecraft Solar Array Charging Design Standard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferguson, Dale C.

2007-01-01

Two new NASA Standards are now official. They are the NASA LEO Spacecraft Charging Design Standard (NASA-STD-4005) and the NASA LEO Spacecraft Charging Design Handbook (NASA-HDBK-4006). They give the background and techniques for controlling solar array-induced charging and arcing in LEO. In this paper, a brief overview of the new standards is given, along with where they can be obtained and who should be using them.

Enhancing the NASA Expendable Launch Vehicle Payload Safety Review Process Through Program Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palo, Thomas E.

2007-01-01

The safety review process for NASA spacecraft flown on Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELVs) has been guided by NASA-STD 8719.8, Expendable Launch Vehicle Payload Safety Review Process Standard. The standard focused primarily on the safety approval required to begin pre-launch processing at the launch site. Subsequent changes in the contractual, technical, and operational aspects of payload processing, combined with lessons-learned supported a need for the reassessment of the standard. This has resulted in the formation of a NASA ELV Payload Safety Program. This program has been working to address the programmatic issues that will enhance and supplement the existing process, while continuing to ensure the safety of ELV payload activities.

KSC-2011-2745

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-05

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A technician in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., inspects one of the insulating blanket sections that will be installed on the magnetometer boom. The boom structure is attached to Juno's solar array #1 that will help power the NASA spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2015-1020

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, third from right, looked over the agency's Orion spacecraft this morning for the first time since it returned to Kennedy Space Center following the successful Orion flight test on Dec. 5. At far right is Jules Schneider, Lockheed Martin manager. Standing near Bolden is Paul Cooper, a Lockheed Martin manager. At far left is Kennedy Space Center Associate Director Kelvin Manning. Bearing the marks of a spacecraft that has returned to Earth through a searing plunge into the atmosphere, Orion is perched on a pedestal inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy where it is going through post-mission processing. Although the spacecraft Bolden looked over did not fly with a crew aboard during the flight test, Orion is designed to carry astronauts into deep space in the future setting NASA and the nation firmly on the journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KSC-2011-6345

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory-A (GRAIL-A) lunar probe is lifted from its workstand. The spacecraft will be transferred to the spacecraft adapter ring, at left, where GRAIL-B is already secured. After the twin GRAIL spacecraft are attached to the adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration, they will be transported to the launch pad. GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2011-6463

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., a crane lowers a protective canister toward NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft during preparations to transport them to the launch pad. The lunar probes are attached to a spacecraft adapter ring in their side-by-side launch configuration and wrapped in plastic to prevent contamination outside the clean room. The spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Multi-User Spaceport Update News Conference

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Sierra Nevada Corporation, or SNC, Space Systems, announces the steps the company will take to prepare for a November 2016 orbital flight of its Dream Chaser spacecraft from Florida’s Space Coast during a news conference at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Participants are, from left, Michael Curie, NASA spokesman, Bob Cabana, director of Kennedy, Michael Gass, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance, or ULA, Frank DiBello, president and CEO of Space Florida, Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president and head of SNC Space Systems, Larry Price, Lockheed Martin Space Systems deputy program manager for NASA's Orion spacecraft, and Steve Lindsey, Dream Chaser program manager for SNC Space Systems. The steps are considered substantial for SNC and important to plans by NASA and Space Florida for Kennedy’s transformation into a multi-user spaceport for both commercial and government customers. SNC said it plans to work with ULA to launch the Dream Chaser spacecraft into orbit atop an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station intends to land the winged spacecraft at Kennedy’s 3.5-mile long runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility lease office space at Exploration Park, right outside Kennedy’s gates and process the spacecraft in the high bay of the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy, with Lockheed Martin performing the work. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2012-1522

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-17

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Inside an environmental enclosure at Vandenberg Air Force Base's processing facility in California, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, secured inside a turnover rotation fixture, moves toward interface with its Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. The uniting of the spacecraft with the rocket is a major milestone in prelaunch preparations. After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1259

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-03

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, spacecraft technicians move a Pegasus fairing separation ring toward the workstand for NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). A Pegasus XL rocket is being prepared to launch NuSTAR into space in March. Once processing of the rocket and spacecraft are completed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on the Orbital Sciences’ L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. NuSTAR, a high-energy x-ray telescope, will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2011-6111

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin technicians inspect the second of NASA's twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory lunar spacecraft as they prepare to move it to a workstand in the Hazardous Processing Facility (HPF) at Astrotech Space Operation's payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. In the HPF, the spacecraft will undergo two days of fueling activities. GRAIL will fly in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. GRAIL's primary science objectives are to determine the structure of the lunar interior, from crust to core, and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 17B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled for Sept. 8. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

KSC-2014-4500

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers inspect the solar arrays on the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, observatories in the Building 1 D high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the upper deck arrived Nov. 12; the two comprising the lower stack arrived Oct. 29. MMS, led by a team from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission consisting of four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4492

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers inspect the solar arrays on the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, observatories in the Building 1 D high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the upper deck arrived Nov. 12; the two comprising the lower stack arrived Oct. 29. MMS, led by a team from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission consisting of four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4499

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers inspect the solar arrays on the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, observatories in the Building 1 D high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the upper deck arrived Nov. 12; the two comprising the lower stack arrived Oct. 29. MMS, led by a team from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission consisting of four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4497

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers inspect the solar arrays on the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, observatories in the Building 1 D high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the upper deck arrived Nov. 12; the two comprising the lower stack arrived Oct. 29. MMS, led by a team from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission consisting of four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4490

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers inspect the solar arrays on the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, observatories in the Building 1 D high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the upper deck arrived Nov. 12; the two comprising the lower stack arrived Oct. 29. MMS, led by a team from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission consisting of four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4498

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers inspect the solar arrays on the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, observatories in the Building 1 D high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the upper deck arrived Nov. 12; the two comprising the lower stack arrived Oct. 29. MMS, led by a team from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission consisting of four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2014-4491

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers inspect the solar arrays on the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, observatories in the Building 1 D high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the upper deck arrived Nov. 12; the two comprising the lower stack arrived Oct. 29. MMS, led by a team from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission consisting of four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2012-3187

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-05

A technician installs a set of lockers on the middeck of space shuttle Atlantis as the spacecraft is prepared for public display. The work is taking place as Atlantis sits inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Dmitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-3188

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-05

A technician installs a set of lockers on the middeck of space shuttle Atlantis as the spacecraft is prepared for public display. The work is taking place as Atlantis sits inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Dmitri Gerondidakis

STS-30 Magellan spacecraft processing at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) SAEF-2

NASA Image and Video Library

1988-10-08

S89-25281 (8 Oct 1988) --- The Magellan spacecraft is hoisted from the transport trailer of the Payload Environmental Transportation System (PETS) to the floor of the cleanroom in the SAEF-2 planetary checkout facility at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The spacecraft, destined for unprecedented studies of Venusian topographic features, is to be deployed by the crew of NASA's STS-30 mission in April 1989.

KSC-03PD-3279

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, workers stand by as the balloon at right is released to lift the solar array panel into position for installation on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3275

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, workers prepare to attach the top of a solar array panel onto the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3268

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base attach supports to a solar array panel to be lifted and installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3276

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, workers prepare to attach the top of a solar array panel onto the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3265

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base prepare to rotate the framework containing one of four solar panels to be installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3269

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. A worker in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base adjust the supports on a solar array panel to be lifted and installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

KSC-03PD-3278

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, a balloon gently lifts the solar array panel to be installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einsteins general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earths rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

Vision Systems Illuminate Industrial Processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2013-01-01

When NASA designs a spacecraft to undertake a new mission, innovation does not stop after the design phase. In many cases, these spacecraft are firsts of their kind, requiring not only remarkable imagination and expertise in their conception but new technologies and methods for their manufacture. In the realm of manufacturing, NASA has from necessity worked on the cutting-edge, seeking new techniques and materials for creating unprecedented structures, as well as capabilities for reducing the cost and increasing the efficiency of existing manufacturing technologies. From friction stir welding enhancements (Spinoff 2009) to thermoset composites (Spinoff 2011), NASA s innovations in manufacturing have often transferred to the public in ways that enable the expansion of the Nation s industrial productivity. NASA has long pursued ways of improving upon and ensuring quality results from manufacturing processes ranging from arc welding to thermal coating applications. But many of these processes generate blinding light (hence the need for special eyewear during welding) that obscures the process while it is happening, making it difficult to monitor and evaluate. In the 1980s, NASA partnered with a company to develop technology to address this issue. Today, that collaboration has spawned multiple commercial products that not only support effective manufacturing for private industry but also may support NASA in the use of an exciting, rapidly growing field of manufacturing ideal for long-duration space missions.

KSC-2009-1791

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-02-21

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- On Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, workers remove the scaffolding surrounding Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket. Atop the rocket is NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch Feb. 24 from Vandenberg. The spacecraft will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists will analyze OCO data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important greenhouse gas. Photo credit: NASA/Richard Nielsen, VAFB

KSC-07pd0853

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-04-10

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech, an external cover is removed from around the shipping container holding the Dawn spacecraft. The container will then be moved into the high bay of the Payload Processing Facility and the spacecraft removed. Dawn's mission is to explore two of the asteroid belt's most intriguing and dissimilar occupants: asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2013-1091

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-16

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, stands inside one half of the payload fairing as the spacecraft is encapsulated inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Launch of the TDRS-K on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is planned for January 29, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

KSC-2013-1093

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-16

TITUSVILLE, Fla. –NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, stands inside one half of the payload fairing as the spacecraft is encapsulated inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Launch of the TDRS-K on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is planned for January 29, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

KSC-2013-1090

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-16

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-K, stands inside one half of the payload fairing as the spacecraft is encapsulated inside a United Launch Alliance Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Launch of the TDRS-K on the Atlas V rocket is planned for January 29, 2013. The TDRS-K spacecraft is part of the next-generation series in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, a constellation of space-based communication satellites providing tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

KSC-2009-4629

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. , technicians check equipment on the STSS Demonstrator SV-1 spacecraft after it was lowered onto the orbital insertion system. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4800 [30 July 09] )

KSC-2015-1065

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-12

The protective covers are removed from around the solar panels on the upper stack of the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft, or MMS, in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. Preparations are underway for illumination testing of the spacecraft's upper stack. Illumination testing of the lower instrumentation payload stack was completed in December. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12. To learn more about MMS, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mms. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2015-1066

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-01-12

The protective covers are removed from around the solar panels on the upper stack of the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft, or MMS, in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. Preparations are underway for illumination testing of the spacecraft's upper stack. Illumination testing of the lower instrumentation payload stack was completed in December. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12. To learn more about MMS, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mms. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-2448

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-23

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Technicians in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., test the electrical continuity of a solar array, left, that will help power NASA's Juno spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter. Two other arrays are in work stands on the right. Power-generating panels on three sets of solar arrays will extend outward from Juno’s hexagonal body, giving the overall spacecraft a span of more than 66 feet in order to operate at such a great distance from the sun. Juno is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 5, 2011, reaching Jupiter in July 2016. The spacecraft will orbit the giant planet more than 30 times, skimming to within 3,000 miles above its cloud tops, for about one year. With its suite of science instruments, the spacecraft will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Cost Optimization and Technology Enablement COTSAT-1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spremo, Stevan; Lindsay, Michael C.; Klupar, Peter Damian; Swank, Aaron J.

2010-01-01

Cost Optimized Test of Spacecraft Avionics and Technologies (COTSAT-1) is an ongoing spacecraft research and development project at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC). The space industry was a hot bed of innovation and development at its birth. Many new technologies were developed for and first demonstrated in space. In the recent past this trend has reversed with most of the new technology funding and research being driven by the private industry. Most of the recent advances in spaceflight hardware have come from the cell phone industry with a lag of about 10 to 15 years from lab demonstration to in space usage. NASA has started a project designed to address this problem. The prototype spacecraft known as Cost Optimized Test of Spacecraft Avionics and Technologies (COTSAT-1) and CheapSat work to reduce these issues. This paper highlights the approach taken by NASA Ames Research center to achieve significant subsystem cost reductions. The COSTAT-1 research system design incorporates use of COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf), MOTS (Modified Off The Shelf), and GOTS (Government Off The Shelf) hardware for a remote sensing spacecraft. The COTSAT-1 team demonstrated building a fully functional spacecraft for $500K parts and $2.0M labor. The COTSAT-1 system, including a selected science payload, is described within this paper. Many of the advancements identified in the process of cost reduction can be attributed to the use of a one-atmosphere pressurized structure to house the spacecraft components. By using COTS hardware, the spacecraft program can utilize investments already made by commercial vendors. This ambitious project development philosophy/cycle has yielded the COTSAT-1 flight hardware. This paper highlights the advancements of the COTSAT-1 spacecraft leading to the delivery of the current flight hardware that is now located at NASA Ames Research Center. This paper also addresses the plans for COTSAT-2.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in NASA Spacecraft Hangar AE prepare to begin further processing of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), which has been returned to the hangar from the launch pad. Sections of the transportation canister used in the move are in the foreground. SIRTF will remain in the clean room until it returns to the pad in early August. One of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched, SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-05-02

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in NASA Spacecraft Hangar AE prepare to begin further processing of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), which has been returned to the hangar from the launch pad. Sections of the transportation canister used in the move are in the foreground. SIRTF will remain in the clean room until it returns to the pad in early August. One of NASA's largest infrared telescopes to be launched, SIRTF will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space.

NASA's Terra Spacecraft Eyes Smoke Plumes from Massive Rim Fire Near Yosemite

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2014-05-15

article title:  NASA's Terra Spacecraft Eyes Smoke Plumes from Massive Rim Fire Near Yosemite   ... on NASA's Terra spacecraft, showing extensive, brownish smoke. The imaged area measures 236 by 215 miles (380 by 346 kilometers). ...

Crew interface specifications preparation for in-flight maintenance and stowage functions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, F. W.; Carlton, B. E.

1972-01-01

The findings and data products developed during the Phase 2 crew interface specification study are presented. Five new NASA general specifications were prepared: operations location coding system for crew interfaces; loose equipment and stowage management requirements; loose equipment and stowage data base information requirements; spacecraft loose equipment stowage drawing requirements; and inflight stowage management data requirements. Additional data was developed defining inflight maintenance processes and related data concepts for inflight troubleshooting, remove/repair/replace and scheduled maintenance activities. The process of maintenance task and equipment definition during spacecraft design and development was also defined and related data concepts were identified for futher development into formal NASA specifications during future follow-on study phases of the contract.

Deep Space 1 arrives at KSC and processing begins in the PHSF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft waits in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility for prelaunch processing. Targeted for launch on a Boeing Delta 7326 rocket on Oct. 15, 1998, the first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. Onboard experiments include an ion propulsion engine and software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but will also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999.

KSC-2012-5575

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-20

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Johnson Space Center Aerospace Engineer Jeff Hagen attaches a rotor to the top of a model capsule ahead of tests inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The design would give a capsule the stability and control of a helicopter, but would not be powered. Instead, the wind passing over the rotors as the capsule descends would make the blades turn, a process called auto-rotation. The intent is to give real spacecraft a soft landing with enough control that they could touch down anywhere in the world, whether it be a runway or parking lot. In other words, wherever a helicopter could land, a spacecraft could land, too. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2012-5579

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-20

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA Aerospace Engineer Jeff Hagen prepares a model capsule ahead of tests inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to test a rotor system landing design. The design would give a capsule the stability and control of a helicopter, but would not be powered. Instead, the wind passing over the rotors as the capsule descends would make the blades turn, a process called auto-rotation. The intent is to give real spacecraft a soft landing with enough control that they could touch down anywhere in the world, whether it be a runway or parking lot. In other words, wherever a helicopter could land, a spacecraft could land, too. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2009-6547

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-10-19

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - At the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, spacecraft technicians secure the transportation canister, in which NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, is enclosed, to the direct mate adapter, a transport fixture, for the spacecraft's move to Space Launch Complex 2. WISE will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects which will be catalogued and provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Dec. 9. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/wise. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Liberotti, VAFB

The Validation of Vapor Phase Hydrogen Peroxide Microbial Reduction for Planetary Protection and a Proposed Vacuum Process Specification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, Shirley; Barengoltz, Jack; Kern, Roger; Koukol, Robert; Cash, Howard

2006-01-01

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in conjunction with the NASA Planetary Protection Officer, has selected the vapor phase hydrogen peroxide sterilization process for continued development as a NASA approved sterilization technique for spacecraft subsystems and systems. The goal is to include this technique, with an appropriate specification, in NPR 8020.12C as a low temperature complementary technique to the dry heat sterilization process.To meet microbial reduction requirements for all Mars in-situ life detection and sample return missions, various planetary spacecraft subsystems will have to be exposed to a qualified sterilization process. This process could be the elevated temperature dry heat sterilization process (115 C for 40 hours) which was used to sterilize the Viking lander spacecraft. However, with utilization of such elements as highly sophisticated electronics and sensors in modern spacecraft, this process presents significant materials challenges and is thus an undesirable bioburden reduction method to design engineers. The objective of this work is to introduce vapor hydrogen peroxide (VHP) as an alternative to dry heat microbial reduction to meet planetary protection requirements.The VHP process is widely used by the medical industry to sterilize surgical instruments and biomedical devices, but high doses of VHP may degrade the performance of flight hardware, or compromise material properties. Our goal for this study was to determine the minimum VHP process conditions to achieve microbial reduction levels acceptable for planetary protection.

KSC-2011-2396

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2421

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-2397

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2420

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-2394

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2401

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2398

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2415

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-2418

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-2417

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-2416

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-2399

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2413

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-2393

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2414

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-2395

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2400

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2419

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2011-2392

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-21

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Crews in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove space shuttle Discovery's right-hand inner heat shield from engine No. 1. The removal is part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display.Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2678

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Main engine No. 1, which was removed from space shuttle Discovery, is transported from Orbiter Processing Facility-2 to the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The removal was part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2677

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Main engine No. 1, which was removed from space shuttle Discovery, is transported from Orbiter Processing Facility-2 to the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The removal was part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-2011-2679

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-01

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Main engine No. 1, which was removed from space shuttle Discovery, is transported from Orbiter Processing Facility-2 to the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The removal was part of Discovery's transition and retirement processing. Work performed on Discovery is expected to help rocket designers build next-generation spacecraft and prepare the shuttle for future public display. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Technology for small spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

This report gives the results of a study by the National Research Council's Panel on Small Spacecraft Technology that reviewed NASA's technology development program for small spacecraft and assessed technology within the U.S. government and industry that is applicable to small spacecraft. The panel found that there is a considerable body of advanced technology currently available for application by NASA and the small spacecraft industry that could provide substantial improvement in capability and cost over those technologies used for current NASA small spacecraft. These technologies are the result of developments by commercial companies, Department of Defense agencies, and to a lesser degree NASA. The panel also found that additional technologies are being developed by these same entities that could provide additional substantial improvement if development is successfully completed. Recommendations for future technology development efforts by NASA across a broad technological spectrum are made.

GOES-R Arrival and Offload

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-08-22

An Air Force C-5 Galaxy transport plane approaches the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deliver the GOES-R spacecraft for launch processing. The GOES series are weather satellites operated by NOAA to enhance forecasts. The spacecraft is to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in November.

KSC-2013-4110

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-11-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the spacecraft adapter cone for the Orion spacecraft is positioned on special protective blocks for processing work. It will be mated to the service module for testing. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket and in 2017 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

KSC-2013-4109

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-11-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the spacecraft adapter cone for the Orion spacecraft is positioned on special protective blocks for processing work. It will be mated to the service module for testing. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket and in 2017 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

KSC-2009-5015

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-08-03

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., a crane moves the SV1 spacecraft, which will be mated with the SV2 at right. The two spacecraft are part of the Space Tracking and Surveillance System – Demonstrators, or STSS Demo, Program. STSS-Demo is a space-based sensor component of a layered Ballistic Missile Defense System designed for the overall mission of detecting, tracking and discriminating ballistic missiles. The spacecraft is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency between 8 and 8:58 a.m. EDT Sept. 18. Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-04886 (10 SEPT 09) Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

On-Orbit ACDS Performance of the Landsat 7 Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sabelhaus, Phillip; Bolek, Joseph; Scott, Steve; Holmes, Eric; O'Donnell, James R., Jr.; Storey, James

2001-01-01

Landsat 7 is part of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE). The ESE is committed to developing an understanding of the total Earth system, the effects of natural and human-induced changes on the global environment, and how natural processes affect humans and how humans affect them. The Landsat 7 satellite consists of the spacecraft bus which was provided under a NASA contract with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space in Philadelphia, PA, and the Enhanced Thematic Mapper-Plus (ETM+) instrument, procured under a NASA contract with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing, in Santa Barbara, CA. The Landsat 7 Attitude Control and Determination System (ACDS) provides many essential functions for the operation of the spacecraft bus and for ETM+. The ACDS maintains the required attitude and orbit at the degree of accuracy necessary for power generation, command and telemetry, thermal balance, image acquisition, Gimbaled X-Band Antenna (GXA) pointing and data for image post-processing. Descriptions of the Landsat 7 mission and the ACDS modes and requirements are presented. A brief summary of significant events of the on-orbit initialization and validation period are provided. Finally, the Landsat 7 product generation system is described and the impact that the ACDS performance has on the ground based image processing system is explored.

DOD Recovery personnel and NASA technicians inspect Friendship 7 spacecraft

NASA Image and Video Library

1962-02-20

S64-14861 (1962) --- Department of Defense (DOD) recovery personnel and spacecraft technicians from NASA and McDonnell Aircraft Corp., inspect astronaut John Glenn's Mercury spacecraft, Friendship 7, following its return to Cape Canaveral after recovery in the Atlantic Ocean. Photo credit: NASA

Spacecraft Hybrid Control At NASA: A Look Back, Current Initiatives, and Some Future Considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dennehy, Neil

2014-01-01

There is a heightened interest within NASA for the design, development, and flight implementation of mixed actuator hybrid attitude control systems for science spacecraft that have less than three functional reaction wheel actuators. This interest is driven by a number of recent reaction wheels failures on aging, but still scientifically productive, NASA spacecraft. This paper describes the highlights of the first NASA Cross-Center Hybrid Control Workshop that was held in Greenbelt, Maryland in April of 2013 under the sponsorship of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). A brief historical summary of NASA's past experiences with spacecraft mixed actuator hybrid attitude control approaches, some of which were implemented on-orbit, will be provided. This paper will also convey some of the lessons learned and best practices captured at that workshop. Some relevant recent and current hybrid control activities will be described with an emphasis on work in support of a repurposed Kepler spacecraft. Specific technical areas for future considerations regarding spacecraft hybrid control will also be identified.

KSC-08pd0981

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-04-18

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the podium, Russell Romanella, director of International Space Station and Spacecraft Processing at Kennedy Space Center, moderates a panel presenting “Pushing the Limits of Knowledge To Inspire New Generations” during NASA’s Future Forum in Miami. Others on the panel include James Tien, dean of engineering at the University of Miami; Dennis Mills, with UTC/Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne; Jim Halsell, former astronaut; Robert Atlas, director of NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory; and Jack Horkheimer, executive director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium. The forum focused on how space exploration benefits Florida's economy. The event, which included presentations and panels, was held at the University of Miami's BankUnited Center. Among those participating were NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, astronaut Carl Walz, director of the Advanced Capabilities Division in NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, and Russell Romanella, director, International Space Station and Spacecraft Processing. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-06pd0783

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-04-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Dwayne Light (left), director of Florida Operations, Astrotech, assists Jim Adams, deputy project manager for NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), Goddard Space Flight Center, as he cuts the ribbon to officially open the new class 10,000 clean-room enclosure at Astrotech, a payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center. This clean-room enclosure, within the high bay at Astrotech, meets the additional stringent cleanliness requirements necessary for processing STEREO for launch. The enclosure was designed and constructed by Astrotech to meet the spacecraft requirements provided by STEREO project management at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. STEREO consists of two spacecraft whose mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-D. Launch aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled to occur over the summer. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-06pd0782

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-04-28

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Jim Adams (right), deputy project manager for NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), Goddard Space Flight Center, presents a certificate of appreciation to Dwayne Light, director of Florida Operations, Astrotech, a payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center. The occasion was the ribbon-cutting for a clean-room enclosure, within the high bay at Astrotech. The enclosure meets the additional stringent cleanliness requirements necessary for processing STEREO for launch. It was designed and constructed by Astrotech to meet the spacecraft requirements provided by STEREO project management at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. STEREO consists of two spacecraft whose mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-D. Launch aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is scheduled to occur over the summer. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KSC-2012-1267

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-06

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In an environmental enclosure in processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, cleaning and inspection of half of a Pegasus payload fairing for NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission is under way. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during ascent to orbit aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket in March. Once processing of the rocket and spacecraft are completed at Vandenberg, they will be flown aboard an L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. NuSTAR, a high-energy x-ray telescope, will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1521

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-17

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Inside an environmental enclosure at Vandenberg Air Force Base's processing facility in California, technicians monitor NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, secured inside a turnover rotation fixture, as it moves toward interface with its Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket. The technicians are dressed in clean room attire, known as bunny suits. The conjoining of the spacecraft with the rocket is a major milestone in prelaunch preparations. After processing of the rocket and spacecraft are complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. The high-energy x-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2012-1269

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-02-06

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, segments of a Pegasus payload fairing for NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission have been cleaned and inspected, a milestone in launch preparations. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during ascent to orbit aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket in March. Once processing of the rocket and spacecraft are completed at Vandenberg, they will be flown aboard an L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the Pacific Ocean’s Kwajalein Atoll for launch. NuSTAR, a high-energy x-ray telescope, will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2014-4493

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The solar arrays on the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, observatories are uncovered for an inspection in the Building 1 D high bay of the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida, near Kennedy Space Center. The two MMS spacecraft comprising the upper deck arrived Nov. 12; the two comprising the lower stack arrived Oct. 29. MMS, led by a team from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission consisting of four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration and turbulence. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is targeted for March 12, 2015. To learn more about MMS, visit http://mms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

TDRS-L Spacecraft Fairing Encapsulation

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-08

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, United Launch Alliance engineers and technicians encapsulate the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft in its payload fairing. TDRS-L will then be transported to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/home/index.html

TDRS-L Spacecraft Fairing Encapsulation

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-08

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft is being encapsulated in its payload fairing in preparation for begin transported to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/home/index.html

TDRS-L Spacecraft Fairing Encapsulation

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-08

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, United Launch Alliance engineers and technicians ensure precision as the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft is being encapsulated in its payload fairing in preparation for begin transported to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/home/index.html

TDRS-L Spacecraft Fairing Encapsulation

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-01-08

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, spacecraft is being encapsulated in its payload fairing in preparation for being transported to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The TDRS-L satellite will be a part of the second of three next-generation spacecraft designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. It is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on January 23, 2014. The current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system consists of eight in-orbit satellites distributed to provide near continuous information relay contact with orbiting spacecraft ranging from the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to the array of scientific observatories. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdrs/home/index.html

The exploration of outer space with cameras: A history of the NASA unmanned spacecraft missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirabito, M. M.

The use of television cameras and other video imaging devices to explore the solar system's planetary bodies with unmanned spacecraft is chronicled. Attention is given to the missions and the imaging devices, beginning with the Ranger 7 moon mission, which featured the first successfully operated electrooptical subsystem, six television cameras with vidicon image sensors. NASA established a network of parabolic, ground-based antennas on the earth (the Deep Space Network) to receive signals from spacecraft travelling farther than 16,000 km into space. The image processing and enhancement techniques used to convert spacecraft data transmissions into black and white and color photographs are described, together with the technological requirements that drove the development of the various systems. Terrestrial applications of the planetary imaging systems are explored, including medical and educational uses. Finally, the implementation and functional characteristics of CCDs are detailed, noting their installation on the Space Telescope.

STS-34 Galileo processing at KSC's SAEF-2 planetary spacecraft facility

NASA Image and Video Library

1989-07-21

At the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC's) Spacecraft and Assembly Encapsulation Facility 2 (SAEF-2), the planetary spacecraft checkout facility, clean-suited technicians work on the Galileo spacecraft prior to moving it to the Vehicle Processing Facility (VPF) for mating with the inertial upper stage (IUS). Galileo is scheduled for launch aboard Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, on Space Shuttle Mission STS-34 in October 1989. It will be sent to the planet Jupiter, a journey which will taken more than six years to complete. In December 1995 as the two and one half ton spacecraft orbits Jupiter with its ten scientific instruments, a probe will be released to parachute into the Jovian atmosphere. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the Galileo project. View provided by KSC.

Using formal specification in the Guidance and Control Software (GCS) experiment. Formal design and verification technology for life critical systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, Doug; Jamsek, Damir

1994-01-01

The goal of this task was to investigate how formal methods could be incorporated into a software engineering process for flight-control systems under DO-178B and to demonstrate that process by developing a formal specification for NASA's Guidance and Controls Software (GCS) Experiment. GCS is software to control the descent of a spacecraft onto a planet's surface. The GCS example is simplified from a real example spacecraft, but exhibits the characteristics of realistic spacecraft control software. The formal specification is written in Larch.

Major technological innovations introduced in the large antennas of the Deep Space Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Imbriale, W. A.

2002-01-01

The NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) is the largest and most sensitive scientific, telecommunications and radio navigation network in the world. Its principal responsibilities are to provide communications, tracking, and science services to most of the world's spacecraft that travel beyond low Earth orbit. The network consists of three Deep Space Communications Complexes. Each of the three complexes consists of multiple large antennas equipped with ultra sensitive receiving systems. A centralized Signal Processing Center (SPC) remotely controls the antennas, generates and transmits spacecraft commands, and receives and processes the spacecraft telemetry.

Secondary electron generation, emission and transport: Effects on spacecraft charging and NASCAP models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, Ira; Mandell, Myron; Roche, James C.; Purvis, Carolyn

1987-01-01

Secondary electrons control a spacecraft's response to a plasma environment. To accurately simulate spacecraft charging, the NASA Charging Analyzer Program (NASCAP) has mathematical models of the generation, emission and transport of secondary electrons. The importance of each of the processes and the physical basis for each of the NASCAP models are discussed. Calculations are presented which show that the NASCAP formulations are in good agreement with both laboratory and space experiments.

KSC-97PC905

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-06-16

Prelaunch processing begins on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft in the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2). ACE will investigate the origin and evolution of solar phenomenon, the formation of the solar corona, solar flares and the acceleration of the solar wind. ACE was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The spacecraft is scheduled to be launched Aug. 21 aboard a two-stage Delta II 7920-8 rocket from Space Launch Complex 17, Pad A

Tracking and data relay satellite system: NASA's new spacecraft data acquisition system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, W. C.; Garman, A. A.

The growth in NASA's ground network complexity and cost triggered a search for an alternative. Through a lease service contract, Western Union will provide to NASA 10 years of space communications services with a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). A constellation of four operating satellites in geostationary orbit and a single ground terminal will provide complete tracking, telemetry and command service for all of NASA's Earth orbital satellites below an altitude of 12,000 km. The system is shared: two satellites will be dedicated to NASA service; a third will provide backup as a shared spare; the fourth satellite will be dedicated to Western Union's Advanced Westar commercial service. Western Union will operate the ground terminal and provide operational satellite control. NASA's Network Control Center will provide the focal point for scheduling user services and controlling the interface between TDRSS and the rest of the NASA communications network, project control centers and data processing facilities. TDRSS single access user spacecraft data systems should be designed for efficient time shared data relay support. Reimbursement policy and rate structure for non-NASA users are currently being developed.

Kennedy Marks 20th Anniversary of Cassini Arrival

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-04-20

NASA's Cassini spacecraft arrived at Kennedy Space Center 20 years ago to begin processing for launch on a mission that would see it deliver spectacular images and data from the ringed planet Saturn. As the massive spacecraft begins its final chapter, engineers at Kennedy took a look back to how their contributions to the mission began.

Apollo experience report: Crew station integration. Volume 4: Stowage and the support team concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hix, M. W.

1973-01-01

Crew equipment stowage and stowage arrangement in spacecraft are discussed. Configuration control in order to maximize crew equipment operational performance, stowage density, and available stowage volume are analyzed. The NASA crew equipment stowage control process requires a support team concept to coordinate the integration of crew equipment into the spacecraft.

KSC-2009-1014

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-01-06

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The shipping container holding the Kepler spacecraft is lifted off the trailer outside Astrotech in Titusville, Fla. A NASA Discovery mission, Kepler is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover hundreds of Earth-size and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine how many of the billions of stars in our galaxy have such planets. Results from this mission will allow us to place our solar system within the continuum of planetary systems in the Galaxy. The spacecraft will be processed at Astrotech before being carried to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral. .NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than March 5, 2009, atop a Delta II rocket. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2012-5574

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-20

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Johnson Space Center Aerospace Engineer Jeff Hagen, left, and engineering intern Emmanuel Nyangweso attach rotors to the top of a model capsule ahead of tests inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The design would give a capsule the stability and control of a helicopter, but would not be powered. Instead, the wind passing over the rotors as the capsule descends would make the blades turn, a process called auto-rotation. The intent is to give real spacecraft a soft landing with enough control that they could touch down anywhere in the world, whether it be a runway or parking lot. In other words, wherever a helicopter could land, a spacecraft could land, too. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA Headquarters/Kennedy Space Center: Organization and Small Spacecraft Launch Services

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sierra, Albert; Beddel, Darren

1999-01-01

The objectives of the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELV) Program are to provide safe, reliable, cost effective ELV launches, maximize customer satisfaction, and perform advanced payload processing capability development. Details are given on the ELV program organization, products and services, foreign launch vehicle policy, how to get a NASA launch service, and some of the recent NASA payloads.

Jupiter Pearl and Swirling Cloud Tops

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-01-19

This amateur-processed image was taken on Dec. 11, 2016, at 9:27 a.m. PST (12:27 p.m. EST), as NASA's Juno spacecraft performed its third close flyby of Jupiter. At the time the image was taken, the spacecraft was about 15,200 miles (24,400 kilometers) from the gas giant planet. The citizen scientist (Eric Jorgensen) cropped the JunoCam image and enhanced the color to draw attention to Jupiter's swirling clouds southeast of the "pearl." The "pearl" is one of eight massive rotating storms at 40 degrees south latitude on Jupiter, known colloquially as the "string of pearls." The processing of this image highlights the turbulence of the clouds in the south temperate belt of the planet. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21377

KSC-08pd1126

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-05-03

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians lower the overhead crane onto NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, spacecraft. The spacecraft is being prepared for its move to the Hazardous Processing Facility for fueling. The GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our Universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. A launch date is still to be determined. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Kerley

KSC-08pd1124

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-05-03

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., technicians prepare NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, spacecraft for attachment of an overhead crane. The spacecraft is being prepared for its move to the Hazardous Processing Facility for fueling. The GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will explore the universe's ultimate frontier, where nature harnesses forces and energies far beyond anything possible on Earth; probe some of science's deepest questions, such as what our Universe is made of, and search for new laws of physics; explain how black holes accelerate jets of material to nearly light speed; and help crack the mystery of stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. A launch date is still to be determined. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Kerley

Deep Space 1 arrives at KSC and processing begins in the PHSF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Wearing special protective suits, workers ready NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft for prelaunch processing in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC. Targeted for launch on a Boeing Delta 7326 rocket on Oct. 15, 1998, the first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. Onboard experiments include an ion propulsion engine and software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but will also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999.

Deep Space 1 arrives at KSC and processing begins in the PHSF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Wearing special protective suits, workers look over NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft before prelaunch processing in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC. Targeted for launch on a Boeing Delta 7326 rocket on Oct. 15, 1998, the first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. Onboard experiments include an ion propulsion engine and software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but will also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999.

Deep Space 1 arrives at KSC and processing begins in the PHSF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Wearing special protective suits, workers maneuver NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft into place for prelaunch processing in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC. Targeted for launch on a Boeing Delta 7326 rocket on Oct. 15, 1998, the first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. Onboard experiments include an ion propulsion engine and software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but will also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999.

Deep Space 1 arrives at KSC and processing begins in the PHSF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Wearing special protective suits, workers move NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft into another room in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility for prelaunch processing . Targeted for launch on a Boeing Delta 7326 rocket on Oct. 15, 1998, the first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. Onboard experiments include an ion propulsion engine and software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but will also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999.

KSC-2011-7883

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-11-22

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The pressurized vessel of The Boeing Co.'s Commercial Crew Transportation System, which could take NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, is on display in Orbiter Processing Facility-3 (OPF-3) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Boeing is maturing its CST-100 spacecraft design for NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) activities. Boeing's current design shows the CST-100 taking up to seven astronauts and cargo to the space station or other low Earth orbit destinations by the middle of the decade. Through an agreement with NASA and Space Florida, Boeing is leasing OPF-3, the Processing Control Facility (PCC) and Space Shuttle Main Engine Shop at Kennedy to design, manufacture, process and integrate the CST-100. This work is expected to generate up to 550 engineering and technical jobs for Florida's Space Coast. Chuck Hardison, Boeing's production and ground operations manager, explained that the CST-100 will be manufactured using a spin-form technology, which is expected to bring down the cost and safety concerns of a traditional welded spacecraft. It's innovations such as this that CCP hopes will drive down the cost of space travel as well as open up space to more people than ever before. Seven aerospace companies are maturing launch vehicle and spacecraft designs under CCDev2, including Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) of Promontory, Utah, Blue Origin of Kent, Wash., The Boeing Co., of Houston, Excalibur Almaz Inc. of Houston, Sierra Nevada Corp. of Louisville, Colo., Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif., and United Launch Alliance (ULA) of Centennial, Colo. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial Photo credit: Jim Grossmann

KSC-2011-7884

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-11-22

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Chuck Hardison, the production and ground operations manager of The Boeing Co.'s Commercial Crew Transportation System, talks to media about plans to take NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in Orbiter Processing Facility-3 (OPF-3) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Boeing is maturing its CST-100 spacecraft design for NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) activities. Boeing's current design shows the CST-100 taking up to seven astronauts and cargo to the space station or other low Earth orbit destinations by the middle of the decade. Through an agreement with NASA and Space Florida, Boeing is leasing OPF-3, the Processing Control Facility (PCC) and Space Shuttle Main Engine Shop at Kennedy to design, manufacture, process and integrate the CST-100. This work is expected to generate up to 550 engineering and technical jobs for Florida's Space Coast. Hardison explained that the CST-100 will be manufactured using a spin-form technology, which is expected to bring down the cost and safety concerns of a traditional welded spacecraft. It's innovations such as this that CCP hopes will drive down the cost of space travel as well as open up space to more people than ever before. Seven aerospace companies are maturing launch vehicle and spacecraft designs under CCDev2, including Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) of Promontory, Utah, Blue Origin of Kent, Wash., The Boeing Co., of Houston, Excalibur Almaz Inc. of Houston, Sierra Nevada Corp. of Louisville, Colo., Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif., and United Launch Alliance (ULA) of Centennial, Colo. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial Photo credit: Jim Grossmann

KSC-2009-4760

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-08-17

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- At Vandenberg Air Force Base's Astrotech processing facility in California, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, spacecraft is situated on a work stand. At left on the spacecraft is the fixed panel solar array. In front, the square is the HGA Slotted Array (Ku-Band). The satellite will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects, which will be catalogued, providing a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. Launch is scheduled no earlier than Dec. 10. Photo credit: NASA/Moore, VAFB

Intricate Clouds of Jupiter

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-06

See intricate cloud patterns in the northern hemisphere of Jupiter in this new view taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft. The color-enhanced image was taken on April 1, 2018 at 2:32 a.m. PST (5:32 a.m. EST), as Juno performed its twelfth close flyby of Jupiter. At the time the image was taken, the spacecraft was about 7,659 miles (12,326 kilometers) from the tops of the clouds of the planet at a northern latitude of 50.2 degrees. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill processed this image using data from the JunoCam imager. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21984

Jupiter's Swirling Cloud Formations

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-15

See swirling cloud formations in the northern area of Jupiter's north temperate belt in this new view taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft. The color-enhanced image was taken on Feb. 7 at 5:42 a.m. PST (8:42 a.m. EST), as Juno performed its eleventh close flyby of Jupiter. At the time the image was taken, the spacecraft was about 5,086 miles (8,186 kilometers) from the tops of the clouds of the planet at a latitude of 39.9 degrees. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill processed this image using data from the JunoCam imager. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21978

KSC-2013-1119

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers guide a solar array fairing into place inside the processing hangar used by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The fairing will be installed on the Dragon spacecraft undergoing launch preparations inside the hangar. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-1099

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A truck arrives at the processing hangar used by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The truck is carrying solar array fairings to be installed on the Dragon spacecraft undergoing launch preparations inside the hangar. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-1115

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers guide a solar array fairing into place inside the processing hangar used by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The fairing will be installed on the Dragon spacecraft undergoing launch preparations inside the hangar. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-1116

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers guide a solar array fairing into place inside the processing hangar used by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The fairing will be installed on the Dragon spacecraft undergoing launch preparations inside the hangar. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-1109

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers guide a solar array fairing into place inside the processing hangar used by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The fairing will be installed on the Dragon spacecraft undergoing launch preparations inside the hangar. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-1118

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-14

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers guide a solar array fairing into place inside the processing hangar used by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The fairing will be installed on the Dragon spacecraft undergoing launch preparations inside the hangar. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-1100

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers lift containers from a truck at the processing hangar used by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The truck is carrying solar array fairings to be installed on the Dragon spacecraft undergoing launch preparations inside the hangar. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KSC-2013-1110

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-01-12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Workers guide a solar array fairing into place inside the processing hangar used by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The fairing will be installed on the Dragon spacecraft undergoing launch preparations inside the hangar. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX CRS-2 mission. The flight will be the second commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station by SpaceX. NASA has contracted for a total of 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Soaring Over Jupiter

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-09-21

This striking image of Jupiter was captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft as it performed its eighth flyby of the gas giant planet. The image was taken on Sept. 1, 2017 at 2:58 p.m. PDT (5:58 p.m. EDT). At the time the image was taken, the spacecraft was 4,707 miles (7,576 kilometers) from the tops of the clouds of the planet at a latitude of about -17.4 degrees. Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt processed this image using data from the JunoCam imager. Points of interest are "Whale's Tail" and "Dan's Spot." https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21966

Falling Away from Jupiter

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-07

This image of Jupiter's southern hemisphere was captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft as it performed a close flyby of the gas giant planet on Dec. 16, 2017. Juno captured this color-enhanced image at 10:24 a.m. PST (1:24 p.m. EST) when the spacecraft was about 19,244 miles (30,970 kilometers) from the tops of Jupiter's clouds at a latitude of 49.9 degrees south -- roughly halfway between the planet's equator and its south pole. Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt processed this image using data from the JunoCam imager. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21977

Rapid Spacecraft Development: Results and Lessons Learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, William A.

2002-01-01

The Rapid Spacecraft Development Office (RSDO) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is responsible for the management and direction of a dynamic and versatile program for the definition, competition, and acquisition of multiple indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity contracts - resulting in a catalog of spacecraft buses. Five spacecraft delivery orders have been placed by the RSDO and one spacecraft has been launched. Numerous concept and design studies have been performed, most with the intent of leading to a future spacecraft acquisition. A collection of results and lessons learned is recorded to highlight management techniques, methods and processes employed in the conduct of spacecraft acquisition. Topics include working relationships under fixed price delivery orders, price and value, risk management, contingency reserves, and information restrictions.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, a balloon gently lifts the solar array panel to be installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-04

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, a balloon gently lifts the solar array panel to be installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Gravity Probe B spacecraft is seen with all four solar array panels installed. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-04

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Gravity Probe B spacecraft is seen with all four solar array panels installed. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - A worker in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base adjust the supports on a solar array panel to be lifted and installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-03

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - A worker in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base adjust the supports on a solar array panel to be lifted and installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Gravity Probe B spacecraft is seen with two solar array panels installed. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-04

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Gravity Probe B spacecraft is seen with two solar array panels installed. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, a worker checks the installation of a solar array panel onto the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-04

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, a worker checks the installation of a solar array panel onto the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base prepare for the installation of solar array panel 3 on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-03

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base prepare for the installation of solar array panel 3 on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base prepare to rotate the framework containing one of four solar panels to be installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-03

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base prepare to rotate the framework containing one of four solar panels to be installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base work on a solar array panel to be installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-03

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base work on a solar array panel to be installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, workers prepare to attach the top of a solar array panel onto the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-04

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - In the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base, workers prepare to attach the top of a solar array panel onto the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base attach a solar array panel on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-03

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base attach a solar array panel on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base attach supports to a solar array panel to be lifted and installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-11-03

VANDENBERG AFB, CALIF. - Workers in the NASA spacecraft processing facility on North Vandenberg Air Force Base attach supports to a solar array panel to be lifted and installed on the Gravity Probe B spacecraft. Installing each array is a 3-day process and includes a functional deployment test. The Gravity Probe B mission is a relativity experiment developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stanford University and Lockheed Martin. The spacecraft will test two extraordinary predictions of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity that he advanced in 1916: the geodetic effect (how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth) and frame dragging (how Earth’s rotation drags space and time around with it). Gravity Probe B consists of four sophisticated gyroscopes that will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. The mission will look in a precision manner for tiny changes in the direction of spin.

Software Engineering for Human Spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fredrickson, Steven E.

2014-01-01

The Spacecraft Software Engineering Branch of NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) provides world-class products, leadership, and technical expertise in software engineering, processes, technology, and systems management for human spaceflight. The branch contributes to major NASA programs (e.g. ISS, MPCV/Orion) with in-house software development and prime contractor oversight, and maintains the JSC Engineering Directorate CMMI rating for flight software development. Software engineering teams work with hardware developers, mission planners, and system operators to integrate flight vehicles, habitats, robotics, and other spacecraft elements. They seek to infuse automation and autonomy into missions, and apply new technologies to flight processor and computational architectures. This presentation will provide an overview of key software-related projects, software methodologies and tools, and technology pursuits of interest to the JSC Spacecraft Software Engineering Branch.

KSC-2009-1682

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-02-18

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- On Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, two cranes are used to lift NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, spacecraft. It will be raised to vertical and attached to the waiting Stage 0 motor of the Taurus XL launch vehicle in the tower. The OCO is attached to the upper stack, consisting of Stages 1, 2 and 3 of the Taurus. The spacecraft is scheduled for launch aboard Orbital Sciences' Taurus XL rocket Feb. 24 from Vandenberg. The spacecraft will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists will analyze OCO data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important greenhouse gas. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB

KSC-2009-4267

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-07-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility in Titusville, Fla., the Solar Dynamics Observatory is moved across the floor toward the Ransome table in the background. The table will be used to rotate the spacecraft in various directions for access to different areas of the spacecraft. SDO is the first space weather research network mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information about changes in the sun's magnetic field and insight into how they affect Earth. In preparation for its anticipated November launch, engineers will perform a battery of comprehensive tests to ensure SDO can withstand the stresses and vibrations of the launch itself, as well as what it will encounter in the space environment after launch. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

KSC-02pd1655

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-10-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A truck containing the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft arrives at KSC. The spacecraft will undergo final processing for launch. SORCE is equipped with four instruments that will measure variations in solar radiation much more accurately than anything now in use and observe some of the spectral properties of solar radiation for the first time. With data from NASA's SORCE mission, researchers should be able to follow how the Sun affects our climate now and in the future. The SORCE project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The instruments on the SORCE spacecraft are built by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). Launch of SORCE aboard a Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled for mid-December 2002. Launch site is Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

Research-Based Monitoring, Prediction, and Analysis Tools of the Spacecraft Charging Environment for Spacecraft Users

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zheng, Yihua; Kuznetsova, Maria M.; Pulkkinen, Antti A.; Maddox, Marlo M.; Mays, Mona Leila

2015-01-01

The Space Weather Research Center (http://swrc. gsfc.nasa.gov) at NASA Goddard, part of the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov), is committed to providing research-based forecasts and notifications to address NASA's space weather needs, in addition to its critical role in space weather education. It provides a host of services including spacecraft anomaly resolution, historical impact analysis, real-time monitoring and forecasting, tailored space weather alerts and products, and weekly summaries and reports. In this paper, we focus on how (near) real-time data (both in space and on ground), in combination with modeling capabilities and an innovative dissemination system called the integrated Space Weather Analysis system (http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov), enable monitoring, analyzing, and predicting the spacecraft charging environment for spacecraft users. Relevant tools and resources are discussed.