Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission

visibility Similar

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an overhead crane suspends shuttle Atlantis above the transfer aisle. The spacecraft then will be moved into a high bay where it will be lowered and attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters already on the mobile launcher platform. Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim are expected to launch in mid-July, taking with them the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies, logistics and spare parts. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing spacecraft and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be 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/Ken Thornsley KSC-2011-3803

In preparation for Space Shuttle Mission STS-87, the orbiter Columbia rolled into the Vehicle Assembly Building transfer aisle at about 6 a.m. today. The orbiter will be mated to the <a href="http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/count3.htm#et">external tank</a> and <a href="http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/ships.htm#srbs">solid rocket boosters</a> in high bay 3 over the weekend and is slated to roll out to Pad 39B on Wednesday. STS-87 will be the fourth flight of the United States Microgravity Payload and the Spartan-201 deployable satellite KSC-97PC1557

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. — In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Atlantis is raised to a nearly vertical position. Atlantis will next be lifted into high bay 3 and mated with the external tank and solid rocket boosters designated for mission STS-122, already secured atop a mobile launcher platform. On this mission, Atlantis will deliver the Columbus module to the International Space Station. The European Space Agency's largest contribution to the station, Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony. The module is approximately 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 large racks of experiments. The laboratory will expand the research facilities aboard the station, providing crew members and scientists from around the world the ability to conduct a variety of experiments in the physical, materials and life sciences. Mission STS-122 is targeted for launch on Dec. 6. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton KSC-07pd3088

Space Shuttle Enterprise Demate (201205130020HQ)

S45-04-026 - STS-045 - Payload Bay

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space shuttle Atlantis is lifted into the upper levels of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Atlantis will be lifted into high bay 3 and mated with the external tank and solid rocket boosters designated for mission STS-122, already secured atop a mobile launcher platform. On this mission, Atlantis will deliver the Columbus module to the International Space Station. The European Space Agency's largest contribution to the station, Columbus is a multifunctional, pressurized laboratory that will be permanently attached to U.S. Node 2, called Harmony. The module is approximately 23 feet long and 15 feet wide, allowing it to hold 10 large racks of experiments. The laboratory will expand the research facilities aboard the station, providing crew members and scientists from around the world the ability to conduct a variety of experiments in the physical, materials and life sciences. Mission STS-122 is targeted for launch on Dec. 6. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton KSC-07pd3093

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis moves through the open door of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to roll out to Launch Pad 39A. Atlantis is targeted to lift off May 12 to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. First motion was at 3:54 a.m. EDT. The 3.4-mile trip will take about six hours. During Atlantis' 11-day mission, the crew of seven astronauts will make the final shuttle flight to Hubble. During five spacewalks, they will install two new instruments, repair two inactive ones and replace components. The result will be six working, complementary science instruments with capabilities beyond what is now available, and an extended operational lifespan for the telescope through at least 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2009-2438

STS087-317-009 - STS-087 - USMP-4, United States Microgravity Payload-4 in the payload bay

Space Shuttle Atlantis, Crewmembers Peer at Mir

code Related

STS129-S-078 (16 Nov. 2009) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis and its six-member STS-129 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with the International Space Station. Liftoff was on time at 2:28 p.m. (EST) on Nov. 16, 2009 from launch pad 39A at NASA?s Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Onboard are astronauts Charles O. Hobaugh, commander; Barry E. Wilmore, pilot; along with Leland Melvin, Mike Foreman, Robert L. Satcher Jr. and Randy Bresnik, all mission specialists. Atlantis will deliver two Express Logistics Carriers to the station, the largest of the shuttle's cargo carriers, containing 15 spare pieces of equipment including two gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. Atlantis will return to Earth a station crew member, Nicole Stott, who has spent more than two months aboard the orbiting laboratory. STS-129 is slated to be the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight.

More: Space Shuttle Program

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.

More: related pages

File:STS-129 Atlantis Launch Wikimedia Commons, 40% OFF
File:STS-129 Atlantis Launch Wikimedia Commons, 44% OFF
Atlantis Space Shuttle Sts 129 Launch, 45% OFF
Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis / STS-129 Mission - Internet Archive
Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) On A Slow Trek To Launch, 44% OFF
Space Shuttle Atlantis Sts 129 Launch - Curriculum Nacional
Journey: Inspirational Quote and Motivational Poster
Journey: Inspirational Quote and Motivational Poster
Journey: Inspirational Quote and Motivational Poster
129 Art for Sale - Pixels

johnson space center launch atlantis sts space shuttle space shuttle liftoff high resolution nasa

16/11/2009

Space Shuttle Program

28.60820, -80.60133

NASA