The American flag flies at half staff at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building in the background. On Sunday, June 12, President Barack Obama ordered U.S. flags flown at half staff “as a mark of respect for the victims of the act of hatred and terror” at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ksc-20160613-ph_kls0001_0016.jpeg

A test version of the Orion spacecraft is pulled back like a pendulum and released, taking a dive into the 20-foot-deep (6.1 meters) Hydro Impact Basin at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/lrc-2016-h1_p_orion-060712.jpeg

Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo craft is released from the International Space Station in this June 14, 2016, photograph by ESA astronaut Tim Peake. Once Cygnus reached a safe distance, ground controllers at NASA's Glenn Research Center initiated the sequence for an experiment design to better understand how fire spreads in a microgravity environment. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/27594170151_e2625a7d6b_o.jpg

Expedition 47 Flight Engineer Jeff Williams of NASA captured a series of photos for this composite image of the setting sun reflected by the ocean. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/27041570914_5de6cc0400_o.jpg

With 14 electric motors turning propellers and all of them integrated into a uniquely-designed wing, NASA will test new propulsion technology using an experimental airplane now designated the X-57 and nicknamed “Maxwell.” This concept image illustrates NASA's X-57 plane in flight. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/sceptor_city_nasa_half_res.jpg

The Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 47 crew members Tim Kopra of NASA, Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, and Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Kopra, Peake, and Malenchenko are returning after six months onboard the International Space Station. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/27490491440_d820b1ecff_o.jpg

Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA took this photograph on June 21, 2016, from the International Space Station, writing, "A spectacular rise of the full moon just before sunset while flying over western China." https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_feature/public/thumbnails/image/13483161_584622341720597_1974906168820359890_o.jpg

Along the Bellingshausen Sea coast of West Antarctica, ice has been retreating inland being lost to the sea. Scientists knew this, but they lacked a full picture of the scale. Now a team of researchers has compiled a Landsat-based data set and found that such losses have been going on for at least the past four decades. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/antarctica_oli_2015061_lrg.jpg

New images obtained on May 16, 2016, by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope confirm the presence of a dark vortex in the atmosphere of Neptune. This full visible-light image shows that the dark feature resides near and below a patch of bright clouds in the planet's southern hemisphere. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/hs-2016-22-b-full.jpg

A test version of the booster for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, will fire up for the second of two qualification ground tests at 10:05 a.m. EDT (8:05 a.m. MDT) Tuesday, June 28 at prime contractor Orbital ATK's test facility in Promontory, Utah. NASA Television will air live coverage of the booster test June 28 beginning at 9:30 a.m. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/m16-055a.jpg

NASA's Juno spacecraft obtained this color view on June 21, 2016, at a distance of 6.8 million miles (10.9 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Juno will arrive at Jupiter on July 4. As Juno makes its initial approach, the giant planet's four largest moons -- Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto -- are visible. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia20701.jpg

The second and final qualification motor (QM-2) test for the Space Launch System’s booster is seen, Tuesday, June 28, 2016, at Orbital ATK Propulsion Systems test facilities in Promontory, Utah. During the Space Launch System flight the boosters will provide more than 75 percent of the thrust needed to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/27928160046_309a2b0123_o.jpg

Pressure vessels built by SpaceX to test its Crew Dragon designs are going through structural testing, so engineers can analyze the spacecraft’s ability to withstand the harsh conditions of launch and spaceflight. A pressure vessel is the area of the spacecraft where astronauts will sit during their ride to the International Space Station. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/27263296274_db0774f7be_o.jpg

On June 24, 2016, Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams of NASA photographed the brilliant lights of an aurora from the International Space Station. Sharing the image on social media, Williams wrote, "We were treated to some spectacular aurora south of Australia today."
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iss048e007924.jpg

A model of the Juno spacecraft is seen at a news briefing on Thursday, June 30, 2016, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Juno mission will arrive at Jupiter July 4, 2016, to orbit the planet for 20 months and collect data on the planetary core, map the magnetic field, and measure the amount of water and ammonia in the atmosphere. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/27392354164_7912311d8c_o.jpg

This is the final view taken by the JunoCam instrument on NASA's Juno spacecraft before Juno's instruments were powered down in preparation for orbit insertion on July 4. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia20706_figb_labeled.png

The Juno team celebrates after receiving confirmation from the spacecraft that it had successfully completed the engine burn and entered orbit of Jupiter, Monday, July 4, 2016 in mission control of the Space Flight Operations Facility at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Juno mission launched August 5, 2011 and will orbit the planet for 20 months. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/27997163342_4ea08a0abc_o.jpg

The Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft is raised vertical after it was rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Monday, July 4, 2016. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and astronaut Takuya Onishi of JAXA will launch to the International Space Station the evening of July 6 Eastern time. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/28080162595_65d5012e24_o.jpg

The Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with Expedition 48. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/nhq201607070004.jpg.jpeg

This image of dark dunes on Mars was taken on Feb. 6, 2016, by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. These dunes are influenced by local topography. The shape and orientation of dunes can usually tell us about wind direction, but in this image, the dune-forms are very complex, so it’s difficult to know the wind direction. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/esp_044675_2580.jpg

Around local midnight time on April 8, 2015, astronauts aboard the International Space Station took this photograph of Paris, often referred to as the “City of Light.” The pattern of the street grid dominates at night, providing a completely different set of visual features from those visible during the day. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iss043e093480_lrg.jpg