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"This view of the International Space Station, backdropped against a blue and white Earth, was taken shortly after the Space Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the orbital outpost at 7:50 a.m. CDT. The unlinking completed six days, two hours and two minutes of joint operations with the station crew. Atlantis left the station with a new, second pair of 240-foot solar wings, attached to a new 17.5-ton section of truss with batteries, electronics and a giant rotating joint. The new solar arrays eventually will double the station's onboard power when their electrical systems are brought online during the next shuttle flight, planned for launch in December."

Date: September 17, 2006

NASA ID: S115-E-06767

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Starliner undocking from the ISS.

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The Crawler Transporter carring Apollo 12 Saturn V (CSM-108/LM-6/SA-507) space vehicle from the VAB's High Bay 3 at the start of the 3.5 mile rollout to Launch Complex 39A. The transporter carried the 12.8 million pound load along the crawlerway at speeds under one mile per hour.

Date: September 8, 1969

NASA ID: 69PC-0529

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Mir in the early stages of construction, as seen from a departing spacecraft, likely Soyuz TM-8. February, 1990.

The Kvant 2 module, at left, was the most recent addition at the time, having been berthed to the space station in November, 1989.

SpaceFacts

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Launch of Voyager 1 aboard a Titan IIIE/Centaur rocket. September 5, 1977.

Voyager 1 would become the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space on August 25, 2012, after having made fly-bys of Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

First close-up of Jupiter from Voyager 1

Voyager 1 is still operational and returning scientific data to ground crews. It is expected to continue its extended mission until 2025, with a maximum lifespan of until 2030.

NASA JPL

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NASA’s T-38 jets fly in formation above the Space Launch System rocket on Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

NASA/Josh Valcarcel

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Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) under construction at Rockwell International's Palmdale Facility.

Date: September 4, 1981

Mike Acs's Collection: link

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The boulder-strewn field of red rocks reaches to the horizon nearly two miles from Viking 2 on Mars' Utopian Plain. Scientists believe the colors of the Martian surface and sky in this photo represent their true colors. Fine particles of red dust have settled on spacecraft surfaces. The salmon color of the sky is caused by dust particles suspended in the atmosphere. Color calibration charts for the cameras are mounted at three locations on the spacecraft. Note the blue star field and red stripes of the flag. The circular structure at top is the high-gain antenna, pointed toward Earth. Viking 2 landed September 3, 1976, some 4600 miles from its twin, Viking 1, which touched down on July 20.

NASA

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Challenger roars off the pad during STS-8. August 30, 1983.

STS-8 was the first night launch of the Space Shuttle Program. It also carried the first Black American in space, Guion Bluford. The primary mission of STS-8 was the deployment of the Indian communications and weather observation satellite, INSAT-1B. Once deployed, INSAT-1B used its own PAM-D booster to place it into a geostationary orbit.

Deployment of INSAT-1B, taken from Challenger's flight deck.

Secondary payload included the payload flight test article, and stand-in for a delayed NASA communications satellite. The PFTA would be used to test the shuttle's Remote Manipulator System, also known as Canadarm. Additional scientific experiments were carried out, particularly the study of biological materials in electric fields under microgravity, and research into space adaptation sickness.

Canadarm lifts the PFTA out of the payload bay.

STS-8 crew portrait. From left: Mission Specialists Dale Gardner Guion Bluford, and William Thornton; Pilot Daniel Brandenstein; Commander Richard Truly.

Challenger touched down on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base on September 5, 1983, completing STS-8. This was the first night landing of the Space Shuttle program.

Challenger just moments prior to landing at Edwards Air Force Base.

NASA 1, 2, 3, 4

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Lightning strike near the Challenger orbiter stack, hours before the launch of STS-8. August 30, 1983.

NASA

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Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-128. August 29, 2009.

STS-128, also know as ISS assembly flight 17A, carried the Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo as its primary payload. This was the sixth flight of the logistics module to the International Space Station, and the penultimate flight of the module before it became permanently berthed to the station. Leonardo's payload during STS-128 consisted of extra supplies and equipment to support a six-person crew aboard the ISS, the TVIS2 treadmill, and an Air Revitalization System.

Discovery prior to docking with the International Space Station. Leonardo MPLM can be seen in the aft portion of the payload bay.

Three extra-vehicular activities took place during STS-128. The first, performed on September 1, was to prepare an empty ammonia tank for retrieval, and the collection of two materials experiments attached to the outside of the Columbus laboratory. The second on September 3 retrieved and replaced the ammonia tank. The third and final EVA was performed on September 3 and prepared the Unity node for the arrival of the Tranquility node, which would be delivered by STS-130 in 2010.

Mission Specialists John Olivas (left) and Nicole Stott participating in the first EVA, preparing an ammonia tank for replacement.

STS-128 crew portrait. From left: Commander Rick Sturckow, Mission Specialists Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang (ESA), Pilot Kevin Ford, and Mission Specialists Nicole Stott, Patrick Forrester, and Jose Hernandez.

STS-128 was complete when Discovery touched down on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, California on September 11, 2009. This mission marked the last time a space shuttle would land at the base, with all remaining flights landing at the Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida.

Discovery landing at Edwards Air Force Base, completing STS-128.

NASA 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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Enhanced color image of asteroid 243 Ida and its moon Dactyl, taken by the Galileo probe while en route to Jupiter. This image was taken just before Galileo's closest approach to the asteroid on August 28, 1993.

Ida is part of the Koronis family of asteroids that make up the outer portion of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Its moon Dactyl was discovered Ann Harch, a member of the Galileo team and an astronomer at Cornell University, during the aforementioned fly-by.

NASA JPL

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Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off the pad at the Kennedy Space Center during STS-51-I. August 27, 1985.

STS-51-I's primary mission was the deployment of three communications satellites. The Australian Aussat-1 and American ASC-1 were deployed on the first day of the mission, and the Department of Defense-leased Leasat 4 was deployed two days later. All three satellites reached their geosynchronous orbits without issue.

Discovery over the Pacific Ocean during STS-51-I. Typhoons Pat and Odessa can be seen. This is the first ever photograph of paired typhoons taken from space.

Discovery also performed a rendezvous with the malfunctioning Leasat 3 satellite, which was repaired during two extra-vehicular activities performed by Mission Specialists William Fisher and James van Hoften. Both EVAs totaled 11 hours and 46 minutes, owed in part to an issue with the Space Shuttle's Remote Manipulator System.

STS-51-I on-orbit crew portrait, from left: Mission Specialist James van Hoften, Mission Specialist William Fisher, Commander Joe Engle, Pilot Richard Covey, and Mission Specialist John Lounge.

Discovery completed STS-51-I on September 3, 1985 when it touched down on Runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Discovery landing at Edwards Air Force Base, completing STS-51-I.

NASA 1, 2, 3, 4

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Maxime Faget (August 26, 1921-October 9, 2004) poses with a prototype model of a space shuttle that he designed in 1969.

Faget joined NASA in 1958 and was one of 35 engineers that made up the Space Task Group, which created the Mercury spacecraft. Faget was instrumental in selecting the blunt body shape of the spacecraft. He also worked on the Mercury escape tower, and contributed to the designs of the Gemini and Apollo spacecraft, and the Space Shuttle.

NASA 1, 2

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Images of the Salyut 6 space station from Soyuz 31.

Soyuz 31 was launched from Baikonur on August 26, 1978 and was the seventh mission to visit Salyut 6. It was the sixth mission to actually dock with the station.

Soyuz 31 consisted of Commander Valery Bykovsky and Research Cosmonaut/Flight Engineer Sigmund Jähn, the first German to fly in space, as part of the Interkosmos program. They joined Vladimir Kovalyonok and Aleksandr Ivanchenkov, who were part of the long-duration Soyuz 29 mission.

During their mission, Bykovsky and Jähn carried out medical, biological, and materials experiments. They also conducted Earth observation and atmospheric research.

The crew of Soyuz 31 swapped spacecraft with the Soyuz 29 crew to provide them with a fresh vehicle, and returned to Earth on September 3, 1978.

Spacefacts

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NASA has made the decision to return Butch and Suni on Crew-9 in February. Starliner will return uncrewed.

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Engineering and spaceflight specialists from NASA and Boeing continue data analysis ahead of a decision this week on the path forward for the Starliner spacecraft’s return from the International Space Station. NASA’s decision on whether to return Starliner to Earth with astronauts aboard is expected no earlier than Saturday, Aug. 24 at the conclusion of an agency-level review chaired by Ken Bowersox, the associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. The agency flight readiness review is where any formal dissents are presented and reconciled. Other agency leaders who routinely participate in launch and return readiness reviews for crewed missions include NASA’s administrator, deputy administrator, associate administrator, various agency center directors, the Flight Operations Directorate, and agency technical authorities. NASA will host a televised news conference following the review’s conclusion to discuss the agency’s decision and next steps. More information on the news conference will be shared once confirmed. After the agency-level decision, program and flight control teams will continue preparing for Starliner’s return, including training sessions and other actions as appropriate. Ahead of the agency-level review, NASA and Boeing are working to finalize and present flight rationale to various teams across the community and to the program control board. Engineering teams have been working to evaluate a new model that represents the thruster mechanics and is designed to more accurately predict performance during the return phase of flight. This data could help teams better understand system redundancy from undock to service module separation. Ongoing efforts to complete the new modelling, characterize spacecraft performance data, refine integrated risk assessments, and determine community recommendations will fold into the agency-level review. Alongside the crew members of Expedition 71, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, commander, and Suni Williams, pilot, continue supporting a host of research, maintenance, and other activities aboard the microgravity laboratory since arriving on Starliner on June 6.