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Space Operations Mission Directorate

The Space Operations Mission Directorate is working to maintain a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit and preeminent U.S. leadership in space. The programs within the directorate are the heart of NASA’s humans space exploration efforts, enabling Artemis, commercial space, science, and other agency missions through communication, launch services, research capabilities, and crew support. 

Creating a golden streak in the night sky, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after liftoff from Launch Complex...
Creating a golden streak in the night sky, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the company’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of science and research, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
ISS033-E-011146 (10 Oct. 2012) --- The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is grappled by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic...
The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is grappled by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Working from the robotics workstation inside the seven-windowed Cupola, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide, Expedition 33 flight engineer, with the assistance of NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, commander, captured Dragon at 6:56 a.m. (EDT) and used the robotic arm to berth Dragon to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node Oct. 10, 2012. Dragon is scheduled to spend 18 days attached to the station. During that time, the crew will unload 882 pounds of crew supplies, science research and hardware from the cargo craft and reload it with 1,673 pounds of cargo for return to Earth. After Dragon’s mission at the station is completed, the crew will use Canadarm2 to detach Dragon from Harmony and release it for a splashdown about six hours later in the Pacific Ocean, 250 miles off the coast of southern California. Dragon launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 8:35 p.m. Oct. 7 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, beginning NASA's first contracted cargo delivery flight, designated SpaceX CRS-1, to the station.
From left, Mission Specialist Shannon Walker, Pilot Victor Glover, Crew Dragon Commander Michael Hopkins – all NASA astronauts – and...
The crew members for NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 mission are photographed seated inside SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft.
In view here is a closeup of SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft, sitting atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, at NASA’s...
In view here is a closeup of SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft, sitting atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A in Florida on Oct. 1, 2022, as the Sun begins to rise.
NASA astronauts Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew, both STS-133 mission specialists, participate in the mission's first session of extravehicular activity...
NASA astronauts Steve Bowen and Alvin Drew, both STS-133 mission specialists, participate in the mission's first session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 34-minute spacewalk, Bowen and Drew installed the J612 power extension cable, move a failed ammonia pump module to the External Stowage Platform 2 on the Quest Airlock for return to Earth at a later date, installed a camera wedge on the right hand truss segment, installed extensions to the mobile transporter rail and exposed the Japanese "Message in a Bottle" experiment to space.
Deep Space Network, Deep Space Station 35 (DSS-35) at the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex near Canberra, Australia.
A 112-foot (34-meter) antenna points toward a bright blue sky. Mountains and several clouds can be seen in the background.
(14 June 2018) NASA astronaut Drew Feustel is pictured tethered to the International Space Station just outside of the Quest...
(14 June 2018) NASA astronaut Drew Feustel is pictured tethered to the International Space Station just outside of the Quest airlock during a spacewalk he conducted with fellow NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold (out of frame) on June 14, 2018. During the six-hour, 49-minute spacewalk the duo installed high-definition cameras to provide enhanced views of commercial crew spacecraft, including the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the Boeing Starliner, as they approach and dock with the orbital laboratory.
NASA SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts stand inside the crew access arm leading to the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft Endeavour during a countdown...
NASA SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts stand inside the crew access arm leading to the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft Endeavour during a countdown dress rehearsal at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 23, 2023. From left are NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, spacecraft commander; Andrey Fedyaev, Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist; Sultan Alneyadi, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut and mission specialist; and NASA astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg, pilot. The Crew-6 astronauts will launch to the International Space Station aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Launch is targeted for 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27 from Launch Complex 39A. Crew-6 is the sixth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station, and the seventh flight of Dragon with people as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
On July 29, 2021, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rolled out of the...
On July 29, 2021, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Starliner will launch on the Atlas V for Boeing’s second uncrewed Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 is an important uncrewed mission designed to test the end-to-end capabilities of the new system for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour carrying four commercial crew astronauts departs the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour departs the station
As the Crew-2 mission departed the International Space Station aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour, the crew snapped this image of...
The space station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour carrying four commercial crew astronauts departs the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour departs the space station
NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Nicole Mann is pictured in her Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, during her...
NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Nicole Mann is pictured in her Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or spacesuit, during her second spacewalk
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen as it is rolled out...
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen as it is rolled out of the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission
Near Space Network 18-meter antennas at the Fairbanks, Alaska ground station.
Two antennas point up at the sky, rising above the tree line.
Northrop Grumman's Cygnus space freighter is positioned away from the International Space Station in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic...
Cygnus space freighter in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm
Astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, STS-115 mission specialist, waves toward the digital still camera of his spacewalk colleague, astronaut Heidemarie M....
Astronaut Joseph R. Tanner, STS-115 mission specialist, waves toward the digital still camera of his spacewalk colleague, astronaut Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper as the two share extravehicular activity (EVA) duties during the first of three scheduled spacewalks. The STS-115 astronauts and the Expedition 13 crewmembers are joining efforts this week to resume construction of the International Space Station.