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Space shuttles over the years

 

 
  • Twin columns of fire propel Space Shuttle Atlantis into a clear blue sky after liftoff from Launch Pad 39B. Atlantis is heading for a rendezvous with the International Space Station on mission STS-115. Liftoff was on-time at 11:14:55 a.m. EDT.
  • In Orbiter Processing Facility 1 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the orbiter boom sensor system, or OBSS, is installed in space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay.
  • Astronauts Carl J. Meade and Mark C. Lee (red strip on suit) test the new Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) system some 130 nautical miles above Earth. The pair was actually performing an in-space rehearsal or demonstration of a contingency rescue using never-before flown hardware.
  • Hurtling out of the conflagration at 78 seconds are the Challenger's left wing, main engines (still burning residual propellant) and the forward fuselage (crew cabin).
  • Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis into the deep blue sky is reflected in the nearby water framed by the green underbrush. Clouds of smoke and steam spread side to side across Launch Pad 39B.
  • With its twin solid rocket boosters and three main engines churning at seven million pounds of thrust, the Space Shuttle Atlantis thunders skyward from Launch Pad 39A. Liftoff of Mission STS-45 occurred at 8:13:40 a.m. EST, March 24, 1992.
  • The Space Shuttle Atlantis streaks skyward as sunlight pierces through the gap between the orbiter and ET assembly. Atlantis lifted off on the 42nd space shuttle flight at 11:02 a.m. EDT on August 2, 1991 carrying a crew of five and TDRS-E. A remote camera at the 275-foot level of the Fixed Surface Structure took this picture.
  • In high bay No. 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building, Space Shuttle Atlantis awaits its return to Launch Pad 39A. In late February, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area.
  • The S1 Integrated Truss Structure is lowered into the payload canister for transport to Atlantis. The first starboard truss segment, the S1 will be attached to the Central truss segment, the S0 Truss, on the International Space Station during mission STS-112. Atlantis is scheduled to launch no earlier than Oct. 2.
  • Space shuttle Atlantis slowly reaches the top of Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building.
  • The Space Shuttle Atlantis returns to Earth after mission STS-30 landing at Edwards Air Force Base, CA. At 3:43:38 EDT. The orbiter Atlantis was launched form Kennedy Space Center May 4, 1989 at 2:46:59 p.m. EDT carrying into low Earth orbit the spacecraft Magellan.
  • As the sun goes down behind Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the rotating service structure moves away from space shuttle Atlantis. Liftoff on its STS-129 mission is set for 2:28 p.m. EST Nov. 16.
  • Space Shuttle Atlantis streaks into the sky on mission STS-106 after a perfect on-time launch at 8:45:47 a.m. EDT.
  • Inside the wheel well behind Atlantis? right-hand main landing gear shown here, a replacement retract link is being installed. A small crack was found recently on the retract link assembly. To lower the main landing gear, a mechanical linkage released by each gear actuates the doors to the open position.
  • This view of the Space Shuttle Atlantis was photographed by an Expedition Five crewmember onboard the International Space Station (ISS) during rendezvous and docking operations. Docking occurred at 10:17 a.m. (CDT) on October 9, 2002.
  • This is an STS-66 mission onboard photo of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis showing the payload of the third Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3) mission.
  • In this broad view, the new full-color, flat panel Multifunction Electronic Display Subsystem (MEDS) is shown in the cockpit of the orbiter Atlantis. It is often called the
  • Moments after space shuttle main engine (SSME) and solid rocket booster (SRB) ignition, STS-30 Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, rises above mobile launcher platform at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex (LC) Pad 39B before clearing launch tower.
  • On flight day four of the STS-129 mission, a member of the crew photographed the aft section of space shuttle Atlantis through a window from aboard the International Space Station. Reflections on the window are visible in this image. The 11-day shuttle mission continued maintenance and upgrades to the orbital outpost.
  • With drag chute unfurled, space shuttle Atlantis lands on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after 11 days in space, completing the 4.5-million mile STS-129 mission.
  • On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and her seven-member crew were lost when a ruptured O-ring in the right Solid Rocket Booster caused an explosion soon after launch. This photograph, taken a few seconds after the accident, shows the Space Shuttle Main Engines and Solid Rocket Booster exhaust plumes entwined around a ball of gas from the External Tank.
  • The orbiter Atlantis is suspended vertically above the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building. It will be lifted up into high bay 1 and lowered onto the mobile launcher platform where the external tank and solid rocket boosters are already stacked.
  • In the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA?s Kennedy Space Center, United Space Alliance technicians Terry Williams (left) and Ron Delaney retract the nose landing gear on Space Shuttle Atlantis.
  • The Space Shuttle Atlantis prepares to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) during the STS-110 mission. Aboard Atlantis are astronauts Michael J. Bloomfield, mission commander; Stephen N. Frick, pilot; Rex J. Walheim, Ellen Ochoa, Lee M. E. Morin, Jerry L. Ross, and Steven L. Smith, all mission specialists.
  • Viewed from inside Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, Atlantis is ready for rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building. In the VAB it will be raised to vertical and lifted up and into high bay 3 for stacking with its external tank and solid rocket boosters. Atlantis will fly on mission STS-98, the seventh construction flight to the International Space Station.
  • In high bay No. 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building, Space Shuttle Atlantis awaits its return to Launch Pad 39A. In late February, Atlantis' external tank received hail damage during a severe thunderstorm that passed through the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area.
  • The five STS-74 astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis look out overhead windows on the aft flight deck toward their counterparts aboard the Mir Russian space station, with which they had just rendezvoused.
  • 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.
  • The Space Shuttle Atlantis begins the slow journey to Launch Pad 39A from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). This dramatic view looking directly down onto the Shuttle atop the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) and crawler-transporter was taken from the VAB roof approximately 525 feet (160 meters) above the ground. Atlantis is scheduled to lift off on Mission STS-79 around September 12.
  • Space Shuttle Atlantis takes flight on its STS-27 mission on December 2, 1988, 9:30 a.m. EST, utilizing 375,000 pounds thrust produced by its three main engines. The STS-27 was the third classified mission dedicated to the Department of Defense (DoD). After completion of mission, Orbiter Atlantis landed December 6, 1988, 3:36 p.m. PST at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
  • Space shuttle Atlantis on top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, is parked on the tarmac of NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The SCA landed at Kennedy after a more than 2,500-mile cross-country ferry flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California.
  • This view of the aft portion of the space shuttle Atlantis, including the three main engines, was provided by the Expedition 21 crew during a survey of the approaching vehicle prior to docking with the International Space Station. As part of the survey and every mission's activities, Atlantis performed a back-flip for the rendezvous pitch maneuver. The image was photographed with a digital still camera, using a 400mm lens at a distance of about 600 feet (180 meters).
  • Space shuttle Atlantis sits on Launch Pad 39A after rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The shuttle sits atop the mobile launcher platform, which is carried by the crawler-transporter beneath. At left is the rotating service structure with the payload changeout room that allows transfer of payloads from a canister into the shuttle's payload bay. Next to the shuttle is the fixed service structure with its 80-foot lightning mast on top.
  • The gate to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida welcomes space shuttle Atlantis onto the pad mound after rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion was at 3:54 a.m. EDT and Atlantis was secured on the pad at 11:17 a.m. The 3.4-mile trip took about seven-and-a-half hours.
 

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