NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

STS-119/Discovery
Target Launch Date: Feb. 12, 2009

S6 Truss Segment
Aboard Discovery
Mission STS-119

Oct. 1 marks the 50th Anniversary of NASA, as it was on this date in 1958 that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration began operations.

NOAA-N Prime
Launch Date: Feb. 4, 2009
Launch Window: 2:22 - 2:32 a.m. PST

On launch day, a space shuttle astronaut's first challenge isn't handling the force of liftoff or adjusting to microgravity -- it's getting dressed.

The astronauts of STS-126 acted as craftsmen, mechanics, spacewalkers and, of course, astronauts during International Space Station mission.

When a shuttle lands anywhere but Kennedy Space Center, it gets a piggyback ride back to its home base.

NASA's space shuttles have a few landing sites to choose from.