• Tag Archives Kennedy Space Center

  • Kennedy Space Center: Saturn IB (2000) 

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Saturn IB at the Kennedy Space Center in February 2000

    Source: Kennedy Space Center: Saturn IB (2000)

    The Saturn IB was a predecessor to the Saturn V which first took Astronauts to the moon. The Saturn IB was used for early orbital test flights of the Apollo Command Service Module and the Lunar Module. It launched the first manned Apollo flight and test of the Command Service Module, Apollo 7 (originally designated Apollo 1 but a tragic fire killed that crew).

    Later (1973), the Saturn IB was used to launch crews to the Skylab space station three times. Finally in 1975, a Saturn IB was used to launch the Apollo portion of the US-USSR Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

    There were a total of 14 Saturn IBs built or partially built. The first five (SA-201 – SA-205) were used for test flights for the Apollo program. The next two (SA-206 – SA-207) were used for flights to Skylab. SA-208 was used as a standby to rescue astronauts from the Skylab 3 flight if needed (it wasn’t) and was used to transport the third and final Skylab crew.

    SA-209 was used as a rescue standby for both the Skylab 4 flight and the Apollo-Soyuz flight (fortunately not needed for either). It was then designated for the Skylab 5 mission which was to boost the orbit of Skylab so that it would last until the Space Shuttle was ready. This mission was cancelled and the rocket was never used. This is the Saturn IB in the picture above at the Kennedy Space Center.

    SA-210 was used for the Apollo-Soyuz mission and was the last Saturn IB flight.

    SA-211 was unused and the first stage is at the Alabama Welcome Center on I-65 in Alabama while the S-IVB stage is on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Alabama.

    SA-212 was unused. The first stage was scrapped while the S-IVB stage was converted to the Skylab Space Station.

    Both SA-213 and SA-214 only had first stages built and they were unused and eventually scrapped.



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  • Kennedy Space Center: ISS Destiny Module

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The above photo is from October 2000 at the Kennedy Space Center of the Destiny module for the International Space Station.

    The Destiny module was launched in February 2001 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Once it was attached to the Unity module and activated, it became NASA’s first permanent orbital research station since Skylab in 1974. This module is where the U.S. performs most of its research on board the ISS. At the time this module was added, it increased liveable space onboard the ISS by nearly 50%. Several years after Destiny was installed, the Harmony module was attached to the forward end of Destiny.

    In addition to being the home of most U.S. scientific experiments, the Destiny module also contains a one of a kind observation window and the control center for the station’s robotic arm. The window is made from telescopic quality glass and is the clearest glass ever flown in space. The robotic arm is a much larger and more capable version of the robotic arms of the Space Shuttles.


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  • Leonardo MPLM/PMM for the International Space Station

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Above is a picture I took at Kennedy Space Center in October 2000 of the Leonardo module for the International Space Station. Originally it was known as the Leonardo MPLM or MPLM-1 (MPLM standing for Multi-Purpose Logistics Module). It was built in Italy and designed to carry cargo to the ISS onboard the Space Shuttle. In other words, it was a fancy cargo container. Because it had to also function as a space station module it included life support, fire detection and suppression, electrical distribution and computer components. So it was a VERY fancy cargo container. It would be removed from the Shuttle’s cargo bay in orbit and attached to the ISS so that new supplies could be offloaded and trash or other things that needed to be returned to Earth could be loaded onto it. It would then be detached, reloaded into the Space Shuttle and returned home.

    Leonardo was one of three MPLMs and it was the first one launched in 2001. It made a total of eight trips to the ISS, the last being in 2011. After it’s second to last flight in 2010, it was modified so that on its last flight it could become a permanent part of the ISS.

    After modifications, it became known as the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module (or PMM). It was initially connected to the Earth facing port of the Unity module in 2011 and later relocated to the forward facing port of the Tranquility module. This was so that the Unity port can be used for future manned NASA flights. Today, Leonardo is used to store spare parts, supplies and trash. Still, not bad for a former cargo container.


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