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STS-120 - LAUNCH - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
STS-125 - LAUNCH - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Solid rocket motors blazing, space shuttle Atlantis heads into the clouds over Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis began its final flight, the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station, at 11:29 a.m. EDT July 8. STS-135 will deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the orbiting laboratory. Atlantis also is flying the Robotic Refueling Mission experiment that will investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites in orbit. In addition, a failed ammonia pump module will be returned to Earth aboard Atlantis to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 is the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts135/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray and Tom Farrar KSC-2011-5395
Thousands of gallons of water released as part of the sound suppression system at the launch pad create clouds of steam and exhaust as Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at 2:19 p.m. EST Oct. 29 on mission STS-95. Making his second voyage into space after 36 years is Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio. Other crew members are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, (M.D., Ph.D.), with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), and Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski. The STS-95 mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Discovery is expected to return to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7 KSC-98pc1449
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Clouds of smoke and steam nearly obliterate the view of space shuttle Atlantis as it soars into the sky on mission STS-122. Liftoff was on time at 2:45 p.m. EST. This is the third launch attempt for Atlantis since December 2007 to carry the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. During the 11-day mission, the crew's prime objective is to attach the laboratory to the Harmony module, adding to the station's size and capabilities. Photo credit: NASA/NASA/Rick Wetherington, Tim Terry, Tim Powers KSC-08pp-0291
Space Shuttle Discovery: STS-120 launch
STS-120 - LAUNCH - Public domain NASA photogrpaph
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the orbiter access arm and White Room are extended toward space shuttle Discovery after rollback of the rotating service structure. The White Room provides crew access into the shuttle. The rollback is in preparation for Discovery's liftoff on the STS-119 mission with a crew of seven. An earlier launch attempt March 11 was scrubbed at 2:36 p.m. due to a gaseous hydrogen leak from the external tank at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate during tanking. A seven-inch quick disconnect and two seals were replaced. The STS-119 mission is the 28th to the International Space Station and the 125th space shuttle flight. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. Installation of S6 will signal the station's readiness to house a six-member crew for conducting increased science. Liftoff of Discovery is scheduled for 7:43 p.m. EDT on March 15. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2009-2029
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Minutes before launch was scrubbed, space shuttle Endeavour waits for liftoff on Launch Pad 39A. The scrub was due to weather conditions near the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy that violated rules for launching. The runway would be needed in the unlikely event that Endeavour would have to make an emergency landing back at Kennedy. Launch was rescheduled for July 13 at 6:51 p.m. EDT. This was the fourth launch attempt for the STS-127 mission. The first two launch attempts on June 13 and June 17 were scrubbed when a hydrogen gas leak occurred during tanking due to a misaligned Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate. Mission managers also decided to delay tanking on July 11 for a launch attempt later in the day to allow engineers and safety personnel time to analyze data captured during lightning strikes near the pad on July 10. Endeavour will deliver the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility, or JEM-EF, and the Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, or ELM-ES, in the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory complex on the International Space Station. STS-127 is the 29th flight for the assembly of the space. Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews KSC-2009-3991
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Twin columns of flame from the solid rocket boosters illuminate the clouds of smoke and steam as Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on mission STS-92, the fifth construction flight for the International Space Station. The perfect on-time liftoff occurred at 7:17 p.m. EDT, sending a crew of seven on the 100th launch in the history of the Shuttle program. Discovery carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT KSC00pp1551
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The brilliance of the exhaust flames from Space Shuttle Discovery’s solid rocket boosters are captured in the water below Launch Pad 39A. The perfect on-time liftoff at 7:17 p.m. EDT sends a crew of seven on a construction flight to the International Space Station on mission STS-92, the 100th in the history of the Shuttle program. Discovery also carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT KSC00pp1554
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Billows of smoke and steam surround Space Shuttle Discovery as it lifts off from Launch Pad 39A on mission STS-92 to the International Space Station. The perfect on-time liftoff occurred at 7:17 p.m. EDT, sending a crew of seven on the 100th launch in the history of the Shuttle program. Discovery carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT KSC00pp1553
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- The brilliance of the exhaust flames from Space Shuttle Discovery’s solid rocket boosters are captured in the water below Launch Pad 39A. The perfect on-time liftoff at 7:17 p.m. EDT sends a crew of seven on a construction flight to the International Space Station on mission STS-92, the 100th in the history of the Shuttle program. Discovery also carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT KSC-00pp1554
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- In a perfect on-time launch at 7:17 p.m. EDT, Space Shuttle Discovery trails a blaze of flame amid clouds of smoke and steam as it leaps into the night sky. The launch of mission STS-92 carries a crew of seven on a construction flight to the International Space Station. Discovery also carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT KSC00pd1549
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Framed in angle of two tree branches, Space Shuttle Discovery appears to rise out of the smoke and steam at Launch Pad 39A. The perfect on-time liftoff at 7:17 p.m. EDT sends a crew of seven on a construction flight to the International Space Station on mission STS-92, the 100th in the history of the Shuttle program. Discovery also carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT KSC-00pp1556
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Billows of smoke and steam spread across Launch Pad 39A as Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on mission STS-92 to the International Space Station. The perfect on-time liftoff occurred at 7:17 p.m. EDT, sending a crew of seven on the 100th launch in the history of the Shuttle program. Discovery carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT KSC-00pp1555
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Discovery seems to burst forth from a pillow of smoke as it lifts off from Launch Pad 39A on mission STS-92 to the International Space Station. The brilliant light from the solid rocket booster flames is reflected in nearby water. The perfect on-time liftoff occurred at 7:17 p.m. EDT, sending a crew of seven on the 100th launch in the history of the Shuttle program. Discovery carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT KSC00pp1552
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Viewed from across the waters of Banana Creek, clouds of smoke and steam are illuminated by the flames from Space Shuttle Discovery’s perfect on-time launch at 7:17 p.m. EDT. Discovery carries a crew of seven on a construction flight to the International Space Station. Discovery also carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT KSC-00pp1550
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Twin columns of flame from the solid rocket boosters illuminate the clouds of smoke and steam as Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on mission STS-92, the fifth construction flight for the International Space Station. The perfect on-time liftoff occurred at 7:17 p.m. EDT, sending a crew of seven on the 100th launch in the history of the Shuttle program. Discovery carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT KSC-00pp1551
Summary
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Twin columns of flame from the solid rocket boosters illuminate the clouds of smoke and steam as Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on mission STS-92, the fifth construction flight for the International Space Station. The perfect on-time liftoff occurred at 7:17 p.m. EDT, sending a crew of seven on the 100th launch in the history of the Shuttle program. Discovery carries a payload that includes the Integrated Truss Structure Z-1, first of 10 trusses that will form the backbone of the Space Station, and the third Pressurized Mating Adapter that will provide a Shuttle docking port for solar array installation on the sixth Station flight and Lab installation on the seventh Station flight. Discovery’s landing is expected Oct. 22 at 2:10 p.m. EDT
The Space Shuttle program was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011, administered by NASA and officially beginning in 1972. The Space Shuttle system—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank— carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and lands as a glider. Although the concept had been explored since the late 1960s, the program formally commenced in 1972 and was the focus of NASA's manned operations after the final Apollo and Skylab flights in the mid-1970s. It started with the launch of the first shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1. and finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis, in July 2011.
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construction
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Date
1960 - 1969
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