 Humans have always looked at the heavens and wondered about the nature of the

objects seen in the night sky. With the development of rockets and the advances
in electronics and other technologies in the 20th century, it became possible to
send machines and animals and then people above Earth’s atmosphere into
outer space.
 Johnson Space Center is home to the nation’s astronaut corps
 About 240 men and women,
including 130 international astronauts, with primarily. engineering, scientific and militar
y backgrounds make up NASA's astronaut corps today
 At Johnson Space Center, potential astronaut candidates undergo one of
the world’s most competitive selection processes. 
______________
 Only then do astronaut candidates become eligible for a flight assignment. 
__________________
 During their classroom “boot camp,” candidates are schooled in
shuttle and space station systems along with a variety of other disciplines, including Eart
h sciences,
meteorology, space science and engineering. They also train in land and water survival, 
aircraft operations and scuba diving.
 Once the candidate training period is complete, new astronauts are given their mission.
assignment and grouped with experienced astronauts to continue training. 
__________

Mission Operations Phases
Interplanetary mission operations may be considered in four phases: the Launch Phase,
the Cruise Phase, the Encounter Phase, and, the Extended Operations Phase. 

 The launch phase – this starts from the selection of crews and preparations of all
the equipments to be used in the flight up to the day of the spacecraft’s
launching.
 The cruise phase comes between the launch phase and the encounter
phase. It may last only for a few months or for years. 
 the Encounter Phase - includes the period of closest approach to the target. It
is marked by intensely active observations with all of the spacecraft's science
experiments, including onboard instruments and radio science investigations.
 It continues to send back data until the parts to collect or transmit such
information no longer work. Depending on the state of spacecraft health and
mission funding.

Launch Vehicles
The launch of a spacecraft comprises a period of powered flight during which the vehicle
rises above Earth's atmosphere and accelerates at least to orbital velocity. Powered flight
ends when the rocket's last stage burns out, and the spacecraft separates and continues
in freefall. If the spacecraft has achieved escape from Earth's gravitation, rather than
entering Earth orbit
 The spacecraft used during a specific space missions depends on the
characteristics including the environment of its destination.
 Spacecrafts are delicately made. Not only for the mission to be successful but also
for the safety of the crew. An example of this are the three astronauts of the
Apollo 1. During the pre-launch test, a fire broke out in their capsule, killing all
three of them. This fatal accident led to major design changes for future launch
vehicles.
 Nowadays, Robotic spacecrafts are mostly sent to the moon and mars,

Launch Sites

Kennedy Space Center in Canada (Previously the launch pad for Voyager and Viking
missions).

Launch Windows
A launch window is the span of time during which a launch may take place while satisfying
the constraints imposed by safety and mission objectives. For an interplanetary launch,
the window is constrained typically within a number of weeks by the location of Earth in its
orbit around the sun, in order to permit the vehicle to use Earth's orbital motion for its
trajectory, while timing it to arrive at its destination when the target planet is in position.
The launch window may also be constrained to a number of hours each day, in order to
take best advantage of Earth's rotational motion. In the illustration above, the vehicle is
launching from a site near the Earth's terminator which is going into night as the Earth's
rotation takes it around away from the sun. If the example in the illustration were to launch
in the early morning hours on the other side of the depicted Earth, it would be launching in
a direction opposite Earth's orbital motion.
Preparations For Launch
ATLO stands for Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations.
This period is usually scheduled very tightly.
1. Spacecraft engineering components and instruments are all delivered according to
plan where the spacecraft first takes shape in a large clean room.
2. They are integrated and tested using computer programs for command and
telemetry very much like those that will be used in flight. Communications are
maintained with the growing spacecraft nearly continuously throughout ATLO.
3. The spacecraft is transported to an environmental test lab where
it is installed on a shaker table and subjected to launch-like vibrations. Its thermal
properties are also tested.
4. Then the spacecraft is transported to the launch site. During the trip to the launch
site, the spacecraft is sealed inside an environmentally controlled carrier, and
internal conditions are carefully monitored throughout the journey whether it is by
truck or airplane.
Once at the launch site, additional testing takes place.

Launch Vehicle Integration

There is a long, detailed process of planning how we integrate the spacecraft to the launch vehicle so
that everything will work properly. 

The spacecraft is shipped to the launch site at about the same time the launch vehicle is shipped there, three
months or so before launch. These two systems go through their final preparations for physical integration.
The spacecraft is attached to the launch vehicle adapter, and is then encapsulated in the fairing. The
encapsulated spacecraft is transported to the launch pad and is hoisted by crane and attached to the top of the
launch vehicle. This happens about 10 days before launch, at which time when the countdown clock typically
starts.

Launch Day    

Around one day before launch, things start to get exciting.

 The launch vehicle begins its fueling process and final preparations. The spacecraft launch
crews come in to power up the spacecraft, load software and send commands that put the
spacecraft into its launch configuration.

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/160410main_space_training_fact_sheet.pdf

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/basics/chapter14-1/#preparations