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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - - After the deployment test of two solar panels at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) prepare the MESSESNGER spacecraft for a move to a hazardous processing facility in preparation for loading the spacecraft’s complement of hypergolic propellants. The solar arrays will provide MESSENGER’s power on its journey to Mercury. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. It will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. The spacecraft uses the tug of Venus’ gravity to resize and rotate its trajectory closer to Mercury’s orbit. Three Mercury flybys, each followed about two months later by a course-correction maneuver, put MESSENGER in position to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. During the flybys, MESSENGER will map nearly the entire planet in color, image most of the areas unseen by Mariner 10, and measure the composition of the surface, atmosphere and magnetosphere. It will be the first new data from Mercury in more than 30 years - and invaluable for planning MESSENGER’s year-long orbital mission. MESSENGER was built for NASA by APL in Laurel, Md. KSC-04pd1371

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to place Radiation Belt Storm Probes, or RBSP, spacecraft A on a spin test stand. During the spin test, the spacecraft is turned at a rate of 55 rpm to ensure that it is properly balanced. NASA’s RBSP mission will help us understand the sun’s influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the Earth’s radiation belts on various scales of space and time. RBSP will begin its mission of exploration of Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts and the extremes of space weather after its launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Launch is targeted for Aug. 23. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/rbsp. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser KSC-2012-3537

NASA GLORY SPACECRAFT AT ORBITAL SCIENCES CLEANROOM

NASA Earth Science - Public domain drawing

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers prepare to remove the protective shroud from around NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) as it rests in the bottom half of a shipping container. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB KSC-2012-1158

2 Stages of Deployment - NASA Rover images

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft / SOLAR PANEL INSTALL

NASA’s Lunar Prospector is prepared for mating to the Trans Lunar Injection Module of the spacecraft, seen in the background, at Astrotech, a commercial payload processing facility, in Titusville, Fla. The small robotic spacecraft, to be launched for NASA on an Athena II launch vehicle by Lockheed Martin, is designed to provide the first global maps of the Moon’s surface compositional elements and its gravitational and magnetic fields. The launch of Lunar Prospector is scheduled for Jan. 5, 1998 at 8:31 p.m KSC-97PC1802

STS064-14-006 - STS-064 - Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy 201

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Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. – At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, is covered with protective material for a move to the stand in the foreground. The overhead crane will be attached to make the move. Designed to detect the edge of the Solar System, the IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, on Oct. 19. Photo credit: NASA/Mark Mackley, VAFB KSC-08pd3038

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. – At Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Pegasus XL aircraft (left) is ready for mating to NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft and upper stage booster (right). The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is the first mission designed to detect the edge of the Solar System. IBEX is targeted for launch from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, on Oct. 19. Photo credit: NASA/D. Kolkow, VAFB KSC-08pd3018

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. – At Vandenberg Air Force Base, workers prepare to move NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft and upper stage booster (right) to mate it with the Pegasus XL aircraft (left). The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is the first mission designed to detect the edge of the Solar System. IBEX is targeted for launch from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, on Oct. 19. Photo credit: NASA/D. Kolkow, VAFB KSC-08pd3019

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – On the ramp of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft, which is mated to the Pegasus XL rocket, is attached under the wing of an Orbital Sciences’ L-1011 aircraft. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch Oct. 19. The Pegasus rocket will be dropped from under the wing of the L-1011 over the Pacific Ocean to carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB KSC-08pd3079

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – On the ramp of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft, which is mated to the Pegasus XL rocket, is attached under the wing of an Orbital Sciences’ L-1011 aircraft. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch Oct. 19. The Pegasus rocket will be dropped from under the wing of the L-1011 over the Pacific Ocean to carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB KSC-08pd3080

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In Hangar 1555 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, a crane lowers NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft onto a moveable stand. In the hangar, IBEX will be mated with the Pegasus XL rocket for launch. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, on Oct. 19 aboard the Pegasus rocket dropped from under the wing of an L-1011 aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean. The Pegasus will carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Liberotti, VAFB KSC-08pd3066

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft is driven from the Astrotech building in an environmentally controlled container to Hangar 1555 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In the hangar, IBEX will be mated with the Pegasus XL rocket for launch. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, on Oct. 19 aboard the Pegasus rocket dropped from under the wing of an L-1011 aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean. The Pegasus will carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Liberotti, VAFB KSC-08pd3064

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft leaves the Astrotech building to head for Hangar 1555 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In the hangar, IBEX will be mated with the Pegasus XL rocket for launch. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, on Oct. 19 aboard the Pegasus rocket dropped from under the wing of an L-1011 aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean. The Pegasus will carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Liberotti, VAFB KSC-08pd3063

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In Hangar 1555 on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, work is under way preparing NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft and attached Pegasus XL rocket on its transporter for a trip to the runway. There, the rocket-spacecraft will be attached to the L-1011 aircraft. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, on Oct. 19 aboard the Pegasus rocket dropped from under the wing of an L-1011 aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean. The Pegasus will carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB KSC-08pd3074

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. – At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, waits to be covered so it can be moved to another facility for mating with the Pegasus XL rocket. Designed to detect the edge of the Solar System, the IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, on Oct. 19. Photo credit: NASA/Mark Mackley, VAFB KSC-08pd3037

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Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. – At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, waits to be covered so it can be moved to another facility for mating with the Pegasus XL rocket. Designed to detect the edge of the Solar System, the IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX is targeted for launch from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, on Oct. 19. Photo credit: NASA/Mark Mackley, VAFB

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kennedy space center vandenberg vandenberg air force base california boundary explorer boundary explorer ibex pegasus rocket pegasus xl rocket edge solar system solar system satellite ibex satellite map first map space kwajalein atoll kwajalein atoll marshall islands marshall islands pacific ocean pacific ocean mark mackley vafb vafb ksc air force high resolution maps nasa
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18/08/2008
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NASA
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https://images.nasa.gov/
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label_outline Explore Boundary Explorer, Ibex Satellite, Mackley

STS055-80-089 - STS-055 - Earth observations taken during STS-55 mission

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In a clean room inside the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians position NASA’s National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) for test and checkout. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. NPP is targeted to launch Oct. 25 from Space Launch Complex-2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/NPP. Photo credit: NASA/30th Communications Squadron, VAFB KSC-2011-7016

A reconfigured Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from Vandenberg AFB at 8:39 p.m. 23 June 1997. The missile, part of the Multi-Service Launch System developed by Lockheed-Martin Astronautics, deployed a payload of nine target objects in space to test sensors carried aloft by a second Minuteman II that was launched from the Kwajalein Missile Range in the south Pacific Ocean approximately 20 minutes later. It carried sensors using existing National Missile Defense technology to identify and track the nine target objects released by the Vandenberg missile. A side effect from the launch resulted in what is termed as a "twilight phenomenon," a multicolored light...

Ibex-head earrings, Egypt, Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE)

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In a clean room inside the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Ball Aerospace technicians rotate NASA’s National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) into the vertical position during a solar array frangible bolt pre-load verification test. NPP represents a critical first step in building the next-generation of Earth-observing satellites. NPP will carry the first of the new sensors developed for this satellite fleet, now known as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), to be launched in 2016. NPP is the bridge between NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) satellites and the forthcoming series of JPSS satellites. The mission will test key technologies and instruments for the JPSS missions. NPP is targeted to launch Oct. 25 from Space Launch Complex-2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/NPP. Photo credit: NASA/30th Communications Squadron, VAFB KSC-2011-7025

[Assignment: 48-DPA-SOI_K_Kwajalein_6-11-07] Pacific Islands Tour: Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne [and aides] to Kwajalein Atoll, of the Republic of Marshall Islands [48-DPA-SOI_K_Kwajalein_6-11-07__DI14382.JPG]

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In the airlock of processing facility 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, workers monitor NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) as it is lowered onto a handling dolly. The spacecraft arrived at VAFB Jan. 27 after a cross-country trip which began from Orbital Sciences' manufacturing plant in Dulles, Va., on Jan. 24. Next, NuSTAR will be transferred from the airlock into the processing hangar, joining the Pegasus XL rocket that is set to carry it to space. After checkout and other processing activities are complete, the spacecraft will be integrated with the Pegasus in mid-February and encapsulation in the vehicle fairing will follow. The rocket and spacecraft then will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll for launch in March. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB KSC-2012-1170

STS050-48-021 - STS-050 - Earth observation views of Diego Garcia atoll, Indian Ocean.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In Orbital Sciences’ hangar on Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Pegasus fairing closes around NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, during operations to reinstall the fairing. Access to the spacecraft was needed for compatibility testing to verify communication with a tracking station in Hawaii. With the change in the launch timeframe to June, this station will be needed to support launch. After processing of Orbital’s Pegasus XL rocket and the spacecraft is complete, they will be flown on Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft from Vandenberg, to the U.S. Army's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pegasus, mated to its NuSTAR payload, will be launched from the carrier aircraft 117 nautical miles south of Kwajalein at latitude 6.75 degrees north of the equator. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. Launch is scheduled for June 13. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: U.S. Air Force 30th Space Wing/Aaron Taubman, VAFB KSC-2012-3236

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. – In the Astrotech Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, preparations are under way to fuel NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, with hydrazine thruster control propellant. The OCO is a new Earth-orbiting mission sponsored by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program. The OCO mission will collect precise global measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists will analyze OCO data to improve our understanding of the natural processes and human activities that regulate the abundance and distribution of this important greenhouse gas. This improved understanding will enable more reliable forecasts of future changes in the abundance and distribution of CO2 in the atmosphere and the effect that these changes may have on the Earth's climate. The launch of OCO is scheduled for Feb. 23 from Vandenberg. Photo credit: Robert Hargreaves Jr., VAFB KSC-2009-1150

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Multi-Purpose Processing Facility at KSC, the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft is rotated from a vertical to horizontal position on a workstand. SORCE arrived at Kennedy Space Center Oct. 26 to begin final processing. SORCE is equipped with four instruments that will measure variations in solar radiation much more accurately than anything now in use and observe some of the spectral properties of solar radiation for the first time. With data from NASA's SORCE mission, researchers should be able to follow how the Sun affects our climate now and in the future. The SORCE project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The instruments on the SORCE spacecraft are built by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). Launch of SORCE aboard a Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled for mid-December 2002. Launch site is Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. KSC-02pd1663

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the Astrotech payload processing facility, building 1032, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, is displayed after blankets and edge tape were applied. The OCO is a new Earth-orbiting mission sponsored by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program. The observatory is targeted to launch Jan. 15 from Space Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg. Photo credit: NASA/Robert Hargreaves Jr., VAFB KSC-08pd3848

Topics

kennedy space center vandenberg vandenberg air force base california boundary explorer boundary explorer ibex pegasus rocket pegasus xl rocket edge solar system solar system satellite ibex satellite map first map space kwajalein atoll kwajalein atoll marshall islands marshall islands pacific ocean pacific ocean mark mackley vafb vafb ksc air force high resolution maps nasa