Historical Timeline

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Ground breaking ceremony for construction of the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory08 Feb 2001 - A ground breaking ceremony, attended by dignitaries including Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush, was held for a construction project that included the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory (SERPL) and a new roadway. The project was enabled by a partnership and collaboration between NASA and the State of Florida to create a vital resource for international and commercial space customers. SERPL is considered a magnet facility, and will support the development and processing of life sciences experiments destined for the International Space Station. SERPL was since renamed the Space Life Sciences Lab and was ready for occupancy in October 2003.
 
For the first time two orbiters return to Kennedy on the same day.05 Mar 2001 - For the first time, two space shuttle orbiters, atop a modified 747 shuttle carrier aircraft, returned to their home base at Kennedy Space Center on the same day. Atlantis arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility about 10:45 a.m. EST; Columbia touched down on the skid strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station around 2:30 p.m. Atlantis' ferry flight was required by a landing in California Feb. 19 following the STS-98 mission; Columbia was returning from a 17-month-long modification and refurbishment process, a routine maintenance down period, in Palmdale, Calif.
 
Image of Earth taken by crew of Columbia01 Feb 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia and her seven-member crew were lost over east Texas during her landing descent to Kennedy Space Center at the conclusion of STS-107, a microgravity research mission, which was her 28th flight. Approximately 83,800 pieces of debris, representing 38 per cent of Columbia's dry weight, was recovered and analyzed in the reusable launch vehicle hangar at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility, converted to the Columbia Reconstruction Hangar for the project. Following the conclusion of the investigation into the accident, the debris was moved into storage on the 16th floor of the Vehicle Assembly Building on Sept. 15. The storage location was chosen to allow access to the debris for use in aerospace research. + View site
 
Mars Exploration Rovers June/July 2003 - The new millennium brought about leaps and bounds in space exploration beyond our world. NASA launched an ambitious mission to Mars in 2003. Two Mars rovers were launched from Cape Canaveral to explore the possibility that life once existed on the red planet. The rovers, named "Opportunity" and "Spirit," will act as robotic geologists equipped with special cameras and tools to examine the history of climate and water in two locations. The mission will give young explorers an opportunity follow the Rovers' progress. The Mars Exploration Student Data Team has 51 participating schools - where students will work with mentors from the Mars science team and aid in data analysis. The rovers will reach the planet in 2004. + View video
 
James W. Kennedy, Center Director10 Aug 2003 - Deputy Director James W. Kennedy succeeded Roy D. Bridges to become the eighth director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Kennedy is a mechanical engineer who formerly served as the deputy director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
 
Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-114 26 July 2005 - Return-to-flight mission STS-114 launched on Space Shuttle Discovery. The seven-member crew arrived at the International Space Station on July 28. Their primary objective was to test and evaluate new safety procedures and conduct assembly and maintenance tasks on the station. During three spacewalks astronauts Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi demonstrated the first repair techniques on the shuttle's thermal protection system; replaced a failed control moment gyroscope, which helps keep the station oriented properly and installed the external stowage platform -- a space shelf for holding spare parts during station construction.
+ View site | + View video
 
Artistic rendering of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 12 Aug 2005 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) launched on a mission to research the history of water on Mars with its science instruments. One of its cameras is the largest ever flown on a planetary mission. This camera is able to spot something as small as a dinner table. That capability will also allow the orbiter to identify obstacles like large rocks that could jeopardize the safety of future landers and rovers. Its imaging spectrometer will also be able to look at small-scale areas about five times smaller than a football field, at a scale perfect for identifying any hot springs or other small water features. The orbiter's primary mission ends about 5 1/2 years after launch, on December 31, 2010. + View site
 
New Horizons launch 19 Jan 2006 - When New Horizons launched it was with all the prestige of the first spacecraft to study Pluto, the last unvisited planet in the solar system. Seven months later, astronomers reclassified Pluto to a dwarf planet. But its mission remains the same: after a 9 1/2 year journey across the solar system the spacecraft will cross the orbits of all the planets from Earth to Neptune and fly by Pluto and Charon in July 2015. The seven science instruments on the piano-sized New Horizons probe will shed light on the bodies' surface properties, geology, interior makeup and atmospheres. + View site
 
Discovery touches down completing mission STS-121 04 July 2006 - Discovery launched on mission STS-121, the first ever shuttle launch to take place on the U.S. holiday of Independence Day. The crew accomplished the return-to-flight objectives by flying an improved external tank, testing on-orbit shuttle repair procedures and preparing the International Space Station for future assembly. Discovery delivered a third crewmember, European Space Agency Astronaut Thomas Reiter and the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Leonardo carrying more than two tons of equipment and supplies to the station. The crew made a picture-perfect touchdown at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Discovery was the first orbiter to land at Kennedy since the conclusion of Endeavour's mission STS-113 in December of 2002.
+ View site | + View landing video
 
Kennedy Space Center Director William W. Parsons 04 Jan 2007 - Kennedy Space Center gets new leadership as William W. Parsons takes over the helm as the Center's ninth director, succeeding James W. Kennedy, who retired from the agency. Parsons previously served as director of NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
+ Center Director's welcome page
 
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