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Watching a successful launch of Space Shuttle Discovery from the roof of the Launch Control Center are (left to right) Astronaut Eileen Collins (in flight suit) with unidentified companions, NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin, Astronaut Robert Cabana, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and U.S. President Bill Clinton. This was the first launch of a Space Shuttle to be viewed by President Clinton, or any President to date. They attended the launch to witness the return to space of American legend John H. Glenn Jr., payload specialist on mission STS-95. Collins will command the crew of STS-93, the first woman to hold that position. Cabana will command the crew of STS-88, the first Space Shuttle mission to carry hardware to space for the assembly of the International Space Station, targeted for liftoff on Dec. 3

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- NASA's "Super Guppy" aircraft arrives at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility after leaving Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The gargantuan plane carries the U.S. Laboratory module, considered the centerpiece of the International Space Station. The module will undergo final pre-launch preparations at KSC's Space Station Processing Facility. Scheduled for launch aboard the Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-98, the laboratory comprises three cylindrical sections with two end cones. Each end-cone contains a hatch opening for entering and exiting the lab. The lab will provide a shirtsleeve environment for research in such areas as life science, microgravity science, Earth science and space science. Designated Flight 5A, this mission is targeted for launch in early 2000

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Reflected in the waters near Launch Pad 39-B, Space Shuttle Columbia rockets into the night sky on mission STS-93. After two unsuccessful attempts on previous nights, liftoff occurred at 12:31 a.m. EDT.. STS-93 is a five-day mission primarily to release the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the universe. The crew numbers five: Commander Eileen M. Collins, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialists Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.), Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.) and Michel Tognini of France, with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). The target landing date is July 27, 1999, at 11:20 p.m. EDT

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Official Crew photo of the Apollow 11 Prime Crew. From left to right are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Commander; Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After six years of silence, the thunder of manned space flight is heard again, as the successful launch of the first Space Shuttle ushers in a new concept in utilization of space. The April 12 launch at Pad 39A, just seconds past 7 a.m., carries astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen into an Earth orbital mission scheduled to last 54 hours, ending with unpowered landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. STS-1, the first in a series of Shuttle Vehicles planned for the Space Transportation System, utilizes reusable launch and return components.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- Reflected in the turn basin at Launch Complex 39 Area, the Space Shuttle Discovery stands atop the crawler-transporter, which carries its cargo at 1 mph to Launch Pad 39B. The vehicle takes about five hours to cover the journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. Liftoff of Discovery on mission STS-96 is targeted for May 20 at 9:32 a.m. EDT. STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lighted by a Florida sunrise, a crawler transporter moves Space Shuttle Discovery from Pad 39B (in the background right) back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repair of damage to the external tank foam insulation caused by hail. The necessary repair work could not be performed at the pad due to limited access to the damaged areas. The work is expected to take two to three days, allowing Discovery to roll back to the pad by midweek for launch of mission STS-96, the 94th launch in the Space Shuttle Program. This is only the 13th time since 1981 that a Shuttle has had to roll back from the pad. Liftoff will occur no earlier than May 27. STS-96 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-shared experiment

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Apollo 11 Commander Neil A. Armstrong leads astronauts Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. from the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building to the transfer van from the eight-mile trip to Pad 39A. Liftoff of Apollo 11 is scheduled at 9:32 a.m. EDT, whch will begin man's first lunar landing mission.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- After rollback of the Rotating Service Structure, Space Shuttle Atlantis is poised and ready on Launch Pad 39A for a fourth launch attempt on mission STS-101. At the top of the photo can be seen the Gaseous Oxygen Vent Hood, often called the "beanie cap." The hood helps vent gaseous oxygen vapors away from the Space Shuttle. The hood will be raised and retracted two and a half minutes before launch. Abutting the side of Atlantis is the orbiter access arm with the environmental chamber known as the White Room at the end. The White Room provides access to the crew compartment. In the background of the photo is the Atlantic Ocean. This will be the third assembly flight to the International Space Station. Liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis for the 10-day mission is scheduled for about 6:12 a.m. EDT from Launch Pad 39A. Landing is targeted for May 29 at 2:19 a.m. EDT. This is the 98th Shuttle flight and the 21st flight for Shuttle Atlantis

In the pre-dawn hours at Launch Pad 39B under a cloud-filled sky on the east coast of Florida, the Rotating Service Structure is rolled back to reveal the Space Shuttle Discovery poised for flight on mission STS-103. The rollback of the structure was complete at 4:46 a.m. EST. STS-103 is scheduled for launch Dec. 16 at 9:18 p.m. EST. The mission is expected to last about 9 days and 21 hours with a landing at KSC Sunday, Dec. 26, at 6:56 p.m. EST

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The Space Shuttle's second lightweight external tank arrives at Kennedy Space Center and is moved into the Vehicle Assembly Building after removal from the barge by which it was delivered to the Launch Complex 39 Turn Basin. This external tank is slated for use on the STS-88 launch, the first International Space Station assembly flight. The improved tank is about 7,000 pounds lighter than its predecessors and was developed to increase the Shuttle payload capacity on International Space Station assembly flights. The tank was sent from the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans

DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER, CALIF. - Orbiter Columbia "flares out" for a landing at Rogers dry lake Runway 23, successfully completing the historic first flight for the Space Shuttle. Astronauts John Young, Commander, and Robert Crippen, Pilot, crewed the spacecraft for the first full test of the Space Transportation System. STS-1, known as a shuttle systems test flight, seeks to demonstrate safe launch into orbit and safe return of the orbiter and crew and verify the combined performance of the entire shuttle vehicle -- orbiter, solid rocket boosters and external tank.

Just after departing the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Shuttle Atlantis aboard the crawler-transporter wends its way to Launch Pad 39A. The crawler-transporter carries its cargo at 1 mph, taking about five hours to cover the 3.4 miles from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. A leveling system on the crawler-transporter keeps the top of the Space Shuttle vertical, especially negotiating the ramp leading to the launch pads and when it is raised and lowered on pedestals at the pad. Liftoff of Atlantis on mission STS-101 is scheduled for April 17 at 7:03 p.m. EDT. STS-101 is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, to restore full redundancy to the International Space Station power system in preparation for the arrival of the next pressurized module, the Russian-built Zvezda

At Pad 17A, Cape Canaveral Air Station, a fourth and final solid rocket booster (SRB) (right) is moved from the mobile tower by a crane before mating with the Delta II rocket (left). The rocket will be aided by four SRBs to carry the Stardust satellite into space for a close encounter with the comet Wild 2 in January 2004. Using a medium called aerogel, Stardust will capture comet particles flying off the nucleus of the comet, plus collect interstellar dust for later analysis. The collected samples will return to Earth in a Sample Return Capsule to be jettisoned as Stardust swings by Earth in January 2006. Stardust is scheduled to be launched on Feb. 6, 1999

In the pre-dawn hours, STS-95 Space Shuttle Discovery, on the Mobile Launch Platform, begins rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex Pad 39B via the crawler transporter. The 4.2-mile trip takes approximately 6 hours. Once at the launch pad, the orbiter, external tank and solid rocket boosters will undergo final preparations for the launch, scheduled to lift off Oct. 29. The 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

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The orbiter Atlantis, riding atop the modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, departed Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 1:53 p.m. on Nov. 11 en route to Palmdale, Calif., for the planned Orbiter Maintenance Down Period. Atlantis departed from KSC?s Shuttle Landing Facility Runway 33 for Palmdale?s Orbiter Assembly Facility, where it will remain until August 1998. At Palmdale, modifications and structural inspections will be conducted in preparation for Atlantis? future missions to support International Space Station assembly activities. Atlantis? next flight into space is scheduled to be Space Shuttle mission STS-92, targeted for launch from KSC in January 1999

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On its perfect launch today, Space Shuttle Discovery's brilliant flames illuminate the tower at left, with the lightning mast on top, and the billows of smoke and steam at right. Liftoff into a gossamer dawn sky for mission STS-96 occurred at 6:49:42 a.m. EDT. The crew of seven begin a 10-day logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying about 4,000 pounds of supplies, to be stored aboard the station for use by future crews, including laptop computers, cameras, tools, spare parts, and clothing. The mission also includes such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-involved experiment. It will include a space walk to attach the cranes to the outside of the ISS for use in future construction. Landing is expected at the SLF on June 6 about 1:58 a.m. EDT

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