NASA

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – The Space Shuttle Atlantis blazes through the night sky to begin the STS-86 mission, slated to be the seventh of nine planned dockings of the Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. Liftoff on September 25 from Launch Pad 39A was at 10:34 p.m. EDT, within seconds of the preferred time, during a six minute, 45 second launch window. The 10 day flight will include the transfer of the sixth U.S. astronaut to live and work aboard the Mir. After the docking, STS-86 Mission Specialist David A. Wolf will become a member of the Mir 24 crew, replacing astronaut C. Michael Foale, who will return to Earth aboard Atlantis with the remainder of the STS-86 crew. Foale has been on the Russian Space Station since mid May. Wolf is scheduled to remain there about four months. Besides Wolf (embarking to Mir) and Foale (returning), the STS-86 crew includes Commander James D. Wetherbee, Pilot Michael J. Bloomfield, and Mission Specialists Wendy B. Lawrence, Scott E. Parazynski, Vladimir Georgievich Titov of the Russian Space Agency, and Jean-Loup J.M. Chretien of the French Space Agency, CNES. Other primary objectives of the mission are a spacewalk by Parazynski and Titov, and the exchange of about 3.5 tons of science and logistical equipment and supplies between Atlantis and the Mir.

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

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – The Space Shuttle Discovery soars skyward from Launch Pad 39B on Mission STS-64 at 6:22:35 p.m. EDT, September 9, 1994. On board are a crew of six: Commander Richard N. Richards; Pilot L. Blaine Hammond Jr.; and Mission Specialists Mark C. Lee, Carl J. Meade, Susan J. Helms and Dr. J.M. Linenger. Payloads for the flight include the Lidar InSpace Technology Experiment (LITE), the Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy 201 (SPARTAN201) and the Robot Operated Processing System (ROMPS). Mission Specialists Lee and Meade also are scheduled to perform an extravehicular activity during the 64th Shuttle mission.

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

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – Operations, security and other personnel escort the orbiter Discovery from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). OV-103 will spend about five working days in the VAB, where it will be mated with the external tank/twin solid rocket booster assembly. The fully assembled Space Shuttle will then be rolled out to Launch Pad 39B. Liftoff on Mission STS-64 is targeted for early September.

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

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – A golden new era in space cooperation begins with a flawless countdown and the ontime liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery on Mission STS-60. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39A occurred at 7:10:01 a.m., EST. The first Shuttle mission of 1994 carries the first Russian cosmonaut, Sergei K. Krikalev, to fly on the Space Shuttle. The veteran space traveler joins astronauts N. Jan Davis and Ronald M. Sega, mission specialists; Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, payload commander: Kenneth S. Reightler, pilot; and Charles F. Bolden Jr., mission commander, on an eight day journey. Primary payloads of the 60th Space Shuttle flight are the SPACEHAB-2 laboratory and the Wake Shield Facility.

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

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – The Space Shuttle Endeavour is being rolled around from Launch Pad 39A to Launch Pad 39B. The rare pad switch was deemed necessary after contamination was discovered in the Payload Changeout Room at Pad A. The transfer began around noon and was completed about seven hours later. Still to come are the payloads for the upcoming STS-61 mission, the first servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.

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

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – The longest Space Shuttle flight in program history begins at 10:53:10 a.m. EDT with a flawless liftoff from Launch Pad 39B. During the 14 day flight of STS-58, a seven member crew will study extensively the adaptation of the human body to the near-weightless environment of space. Mission Commander is John E. Blaha; Pilot, Richard A. Searfoss; Payload Commander, Dr. M. Rhea Seddon; Mission Specialists, William S. McArthur Jr., David A. Wolf, and Shannon W. Lucid; and Payload Specialist, Martin J. Fettman.

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

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – The first flight of the commercially developed SPACEHAB laboratory module begins with the flawless liftoff of the Space Shuttle Endeavour from Launch Pad 39B at 9:07:22 a.m. EDT, June 21, 1993. Also planned for the eight-day flight of Mission STS-57 is the retrieval of the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA). Onboard for the fourth flight of Endeavour are a crew of six: Mission Commander Ronald J. Grabe; Pilot Brian Duffy; Payload Commander G. David Low; and Mission Specialists Nancy Jane Sherlock, Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff, and Janice E. Voss. The first launch attempt on June 20 was scrubbed due to unacceptable weather conditions both at KSC and the overseas contingency landing sites.

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

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – Ed Muktarian, a structural engineer with Lockheed Space Operations Co., is assisting with the docking of the Space Shuttle Endeavour at Launch Pad 39B. Muktarian is using a surveying instrument called a zenith nadir plummet to properly align survey plates located both on the pad surface and the mobile launch platform (MLP), which rests atop the crawler and supports the Shuttle. The north-south positioning provided by the plummet is used in conjunction with the east-west alignment accomplished with the highly precise laser docking system on the crawler. Muktarian communicates through his headset with the driver aboard the crawler to insure that the shuttle and MLP are placed in an accurate final position atop the hard stand. Launch of Endeavour on Mission STS-57 is targeted for early June.

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

Space Shuttle Stock Photos – Hundreds of birds scatter as the typical quiet reverie of their day is temporarily broken by the roar of a Space Shuttle surging off the pad. 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. The planned 11-day flight of Space Shuttle Mission STS-66 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