NASA Archives - Free Stock Photos

Photo of the entire world from Space

July 20, 2011January 9, 2021 Brian

Space Stock Photos: Tropical Depression Ten formed in the early morning hours of September 2nd and by the afternoon it strengthened into Tropical Storm Josephine. That means that there were four tropical cyclones active in the Atlantic Ocean basin on Tuesday, September 2nd.

At 11:00 a.m. EDT Josephine was packing maximum sustained winds near 40 mph. She was located near latitude 13.2 north and longitude 25.3 west or about 125 miles south-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands, off the western African coast.

Josephine is moving toward the west near 15 mph and will move west-northwest over the next couple of days, passing just south of the Cape Verde Islands late on Tuesday bringing rainfall between 2 and 3 inches today and tomorrow. Estimated minimum central pressure is 1005 millibars.

This satellite image was captured on September 2 at 17:45 UTC (1:45 p.m. EDT) from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-11 and GOES-12). In the image, Tropical Depression Gustav is on the far left over northwest Texas; Tropical Storm Hanna is located to the right of Gustav, currently over the southern Bahamas; Tropical Storm Ike follows to the right in open ocean; and Tropical Storm Josephine is off the African coast, far right.

Keywords: picture of entire world, photo of earth from space, photo of earth, photo of the world, hurricane photo from space

STS-86 Rollout – Atlantis

July 3, 2011January 9, 2021 Brian

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – Shortly before dawn, a red-rimmed moon helps to light the way for the Space Shuttle Atlantis as it rolls out to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for launch of Mission STS-86. STS-86 will be the seventh docking of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than September 22.

Keywords: NASA Photos, Space Shuttle Missions, Kennedy Space Center, KSC, Space photography

STS-86 Rollover – Atlantis

July 3, 2011February 1, 2015 Brian

STS-86 Rollover - Atlantis

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – Carried atop an orbiter transporter, the Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis rolls out of Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) Bay 3, in background, enroute to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). This photo was taken from the roof of the VAB. The rollover of the orbiter is one of the prelaunch milestones. Atlantis is being readied for the next mission, STS-86, which is targeted for a September launch. STS-86 will be the seventh of nine planned dockings of the Space Shuttle orbiter with the Russian Space Station Mir.

Keywords: NASA Photos, Space Shuttle Missions, Kennedy Space Center, KSC, Space photography

STS-86 Rollover – Atlantis

July 3, 2011February 1, 2015 Brian

STS-86 Rollover - Atlantis

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – Carried atop an orbiter transporter, the Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis makes the short journey from Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). This photo was taken from the roof of the 525 foot tall VAB. The rollover of the orbiter is one of the prelaunch milestones. Atlantis is being readied for the next mission, STS-86, which is targeted for a September launch. STS-86 will be the seventh of nine planned dockings of the Space Shuttle Orbiter with the Russian Space Station Mir.

Keywords: NASA Photos, Space Shuttle Missions, Kennedy Space Center, KSC, Space photography

STS-84 Landing – Atlantis

July 3, 2011February 1, 2015 Brian

STS-84 Landing - Atlantis

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – Framed by the Vehicle Assembly Building in the distance, at left, and the Mate- Demate Device, the Space Shuttle Atlantis with its drag chute deployed touches down on KSC’s Runway 33 at the conclusion of STS-84 mission. The Shuttle Training Aircraft piloted by Astronaut Kenneth D. Cockrell, acting deputy chief of the Astronaut Office, is flying in front of Atlantis. Main gear touchdown was at 9:27:44 a.m. EDT on May 24, 1997. The first landing opportunity was waved off because of low cloud cover. It was the 37th landing at KSC since the Shuttle program began in 1981, and the eighth consecutive landing at KSC. STS-84 was the sixth of nine planned dockings of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. Atlantis was docked with the Mir for five days. STS-84 Mission Specialist C. Michael Foale replaced astronaut and Mir 23 crew member Jerry M. Linenger, who has been on the Russian Space Station since January 15. Linenger returned to Earth on Atlantis with the rest of the STS-84 crew, Mission Commander Charles J. Precourt, Pilot Eileen Marie Collins, and Mission Specialists Carlos I. Noriega, Edward Tsang Lu, Elena V. Kondakova of the Russian Space Agency and Jean-Francois Clervoy of the European Space Agency. Foale is scheduled to remain on the Mir for approximately four months, until he is replaced by STS-86 crew member Wendy B. Lawrence in September. Besides the docking and crew exchange, STS-84 included the transfer of more than 7,300 pounds of water, logistics and science experiments and hardware to and from the Mir. Scientific experiments conducted during the STS-84 mission, and scheduled for Foale’s stay on the Mir, are in the fields of advanced technology, Earth Sciences, fundamental biology, human life sciences, International Space Station risk mitigation, microgravity sciences and space sciences.

Keywords: NASA Photos, Space Shuttle Missions, Kennedy Space Center, KSC, Space photography

STS-83 Rollout – Discovery

July 3, 2011February 1, 2015 Brian

STS-83 Rollout - Discovery

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – The rising sun and some scattered clouds provide a picturesque backdrop for the Space Shuttle Discovery as it travels along the Crawlerway toward Launch Pad 39A in preparation for the STS-83 mission. The Shuttle is on a Mobile Launch Platform, and the entire assemblage is being carried by a large tracked vehicle called the Crawler Transporter. A seven-member crew will perform the second sevicing of the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during the 10-day STS-82 flight, which is targeted for a February 11 liftoff.

Keywords: NASA Photos, Space Shuttle Missions, Kennedy Space Center, KSC, Space photography

STS-79 Destacking in VAB

July 3, 2011February 1, 2015 Brian

STS-79 Destacking in VAB

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – A vantage point from far above yields a dramatic view of an orbiter being demated from its stack inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The approximately 171,000 pound (77,566 kilogram) Orbiter is being hoisted by crane up and away from the 184 foot (56 meter) tall external tank/solid rocket booster stack. The vehicle will be tilted to fit through an opening 190 feet (58 meters) above the ground, then lowered to the VAB transfer aisle and installed atop the orbiter transporter. This photograph was taken from the 34th level of the VAB; the operator cabin of the crane is located one level above. After a return visit to the Orbiter Processing Facility, Atlantis will be brought back to the VAB and mated to a new external tank/booster stack. It is targeted for liftoff on Mission STS-79 around September 12.

Keywords: NASA Photos, Space Shuttle Missions, Kennedy Space Center, KSC, Space photography

STS-67 Rollout – Endeavour

July 3, 2011February 1, 2015 Brian

STS-67 Rollout - Endeavour

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – A massive 19 million pounds (8.6 million kilograms) of Space Shuttle, support and transport hardware, inch toward Launch Pad 39A from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The fully assembled Space Shuttle Endeavour, minus its payloads, weighs about 4.5 million pounds (2 million kg.); the mobile launch platform on which it was stacked and from which it will lift off weighs 9.25 million pounds (4.19 million kg.) and the crawler-transporter carrying the platform and Shuttle checks in at around 6 million pounds (2.7 million kg.). Once at the pad, the Shuttle and launch platform will be positioned atop support columns to complete preparations for the second Shuttle launch of 1995. Primary payload of Mission STS-67 is the Astro-2 astrophysics observatory, carrying three ultraviolet telescopes that flew on the Astro-1 mission in 1990. STS-67 also is scheduled to become the longest Shuttle flight to date, lasting 16 days.

Keywords: NASA Photos, Space Shuttle Missions, Kennedy Space Center, KSC, Space photography

STS-63 Rollout – Discovery

July 3, 2011February 1, 2015 Brian

STS-63 Rollout - Discovery

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – The Space Shuttle Discovery completes the final Earth-bound portion of its journey into space, leaving the Vehicle Assembly Building on the slow trip to Launch Pad 39B. Discovery is scheduled to fly the first Shuttle mission of 1995, STS-63, in early February.

Keywords: NASA Photos, Space Shuttle Missions, Kennedy Space Center, KSC, Space photography

STS-66 Launch – Space Shuttle Atlantis

July 3, 2011February 1, 2015 Brian

STS-66 Launch - Space Shuttle Atlantis

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – The 66th Space Shuttle flight begins with a nearly ontime liftoff of Space Shuttle Mission STS-66 into clear Florida skies. The orbiter Atlantis returned to space after an approximately two year absence with a liftoff from Launch Pad 39B at 11:59:43 a.m. EST, about four minutes after the launch window opened. The planned 11 day flight will continue NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth, a comprehensive international collaboration to study how Earth’s environment is changing and how human beings affect that change. Primary payloads for the last Shuttle flight of 1994 include the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3), making its third flight, and the German built Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS), which will be deployed and later retrieved during the mission. Mission commander is Donald R. McMonagle; Curtis L. Brown Jr. is the pilot; Ellen Ochoa is the payload commander, and the three mission specialists are Joseph R. Tanner, Scott E. Parazynski, and Jean-Francois Clervoy, a French citizen who is with the European Space Agency.

Keywords: NASA Photos, Space Shuttle Missions, Kennedy Space Center, KSC, Space photography