Rusty Schweickart, during a spacewalk in Earth orbit. Here, Schweickart may be trying to regain his balance by pinwheeling his arm forward. Apollo VII-XVII/NASA

The Return to Flight launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery and its five-man crew from Pad 39B at 11:37 a.m. September 29, 1988, as Discovery embarked on a four- day, one-hour mission.

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. 25.09.97

Marsh driftwood and Florida shrubbery frame the liftoff phase of the Space Shuttle Endeavour as it begins the STS-69 mission. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39A occurred at 11:09:00:52 a.m. (EDT), 09/07/1995

The Space Shuttle Atlantis atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) returns to the Kennedy Space Center after a ten month refurbishment. Atlantis and the SCA arrived at Kennedy on September 24, 1998.

The Space Shuttle Discovery soars skyward from Launch Pad 39B on Mission STS-64 at 6:22:35 p.m. EDT, September 9, 1994.

The Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" soars above the NASA 747 carrier aircraft during the second Free Flight during the Shuttle Approach and Landing (ALT) tests. Free Flight 2 took place on September 13, 1977

Space Shuttle Atlantis' STS-46 mission launched on July 31, 1992 from the Kennedy Space Center.

Columbia, slated for mission STS-35, left, rolls past Atlantis on its way to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch pad 39A. August 2, 1990

STS-127 awaits launch
The space shuttle Endeavour is seen at launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
July 11, 2009

The Apollo 14 Saturn V, lifted off at 4:03 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 31, 1971, from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, to begin the fourth manned lunar landing mission.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis moves within 80 feet of Russia's Mir Space Station during rendezvous and docking operations.

A small satellite called STARSHINE 2 is deployed from a canister in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Endeavour at 10 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on Sunday, December 16, 2001.

The Space Shuttle Columbia passes into a brilliant sunrise scene during the STS-9\Spacelab 1 mission.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour is backdropped over Cook Strait, New Zealand as it approaches the International Space Station (ISS) during STS-113 rendezvous and docking operations.

Just prior to dawn, the space shuttle Columbia heads for a landing on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) to successfully complete a 17-day mission.

The first flight of the commercially developed SPACEHAB laboratory module begins with the flawless liftoff of the Space Shuttle Endeavour from Launch Pad 39B at 9:07:22 a.m. EDT, June 21, 1993.

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.

Taken on September 16, 1994

Astronaut Michael R. (Rich) Clifford, mission specialist, works at a restraint bar on the Docking Module (DM) of Russia's Mir Space Station during a March 27, 1996, Extravehicular Activity (EVA).

A view of the Space Shuttle Atlantis departing the Mir Russian Space Station. This image was taken during the STS-71 mission by cosmonauts aboard their Soyuz TM transport vehicle. 07/04/95