Browse All : Earth of Florida from 2007

Title	Drought in the United States
Description	This vegetation index image shows patterns of plant growth across the United States for the last ten days of May 2007 compared to average conditions during the same period from 2000 through 2006. A splash of green up the nation's interior points to abundant, fast-growing vegetation, while brown on both coasts indicates more sparse vegetation than average. Early May treated the Midwestern United States from Texas to North Dakota to heavy, even excessive, rain. The rain brought floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14265 ], but it also spurred plant growth, as this image shows. Conditions on both the East and West Coasts of the United States are less rosy. Here, drought has limited plant growth, particular in the south. Dark red-brown dominates in southern California in the west and Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina in the east. The dry conditions indicated in this image gave rise to extensive wildfires in California, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14258 ] Georgia, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14282 ] and Florida. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14283 ] The image was made from data collected by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and processed by the Global Inventory Modeling & Mapping Studies (GIMMS [ http://gimms.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) Group at Goddard Space Flight Center. Grey areas indicate that the satellite was unable to collect valid data, probably because of cloud cover throughout the period. For current information about drought conditions in the United States, please see the U.S. Drought Monitor [ http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ] produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of USDA FAS and processed by Jennifer Small and Assaf Anyamba, NASA GIMMS Group.

Title	Drought in the United States
Description	This vegetation index image shows patterns of plant growth across the United States for the last ten days of May 2007 compared to average conditions during the same period from 2000 through 2006. A splash of green up the nation's interior points to abundant, fast-growing vegetation, while brown on both coasts indicates more sparse vegetation than average. Early May treated the Midwestern United States from Texas to North Dakota to heavy, even excessive, rain. The rain brought floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14265 ], but it also spurred plant growth, as this image shows. Conditions on both the East and West Coasts of the United States are less rosy. Here, drought has limited plant growth, particular in the south. Dark red-brown dominates in southern California in the west and Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina in the east. The dry conditions indicated in this image gave rise to extensive wildfires in California, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14258 ] Georgia, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14282 ] and Florida. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14283 ] The image was made from data collected by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and processed by the Global Inventory Modeling & Mapping Studies (GIMMS [ http://gimms.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) Group at Goddard Space Flight Center. Grey areas indicate that the satellite was unable to collect valid data, probably because of cloud cover throughout the period. For current information about drought conditions in the United States, please see the U.S. Drought Monitor [ http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html ] produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center. NASA images created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of USDA FAS and processed by Jennifer Small and Assaf Anyamba, NASA GIMMS Group.

Title	Drought in the United States
Description	May 2007 was a record-setting month in Georgia. Typically a dry month in this southern state, May 2007 was exceptionally so, with many locations setting record-low rainfall records and some receiving no rain at all, said state climatologist David Emory Stooksbury on GeorgiaDrought.org. [ http://www.apps.caes.uga.edu/news/storypage.cfm?storyid=3141 ] The lack of rain slowed plant growth, as shown in this vegetation index image. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite collected the data used to make this image between May 9 and May 24, 2007. The image shows vegetation conditions compared to average conditions observed from 2000 through 2006. Areas in which plants are more sparse or are growing more slowly than average are brown, while better-than-average growth is green. Georgia and its neighbors (South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida) are all brown, an indication that the lack of rainfall is suppressing plant growth. The gray area in southern Georgia and northern Florida shows where MODIS could not collect valid vegetation measurements, either because of clouds or smoke. In this case, the area corresponds with land that burned [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14282 ] during this period and was probably masked by smoke. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided by Inbal Reshef, Global Agricultural Monitoring Project [ http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/glam.cfm ].

title	2001 Mars Odyssey Turns 5
Description	Five years after leaving Florida for Mars, NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft is still orbiting the red planet, collecting scientific data and relaying communications from NASA's two Mars rovers to Earth. Images such as this spectacular, color view of sun-bathed, layered escarpments and wind-scalloped, basalt dunes in the solar system's largest canyon continue to beckon space explorers and guide the way for future missions. Basaltic dunes are common on Mars but rare on Earth. Rounded knobs and mesas on the canyon floor are reminiscent of desert geology in the southwestern U.S. A team led by Phil Christensen, principal investigator for Odyssey's cameras at Arizona State University, Jim Bell at Cornell University, and space artist Don Davis created this panorama. They added color to radiance files from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), a camera on Odyssey that takes images in both the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum. They correlated the radiance - intensity of reflected sunlight - with that of other color images from Mars and mimimized the effects of residual scattered light in the images. In addition to producing images such as this, Mars Odyssey has made global observations of Martian climate, geology, and mineralogy. The spacecraft's Gamma Ray Spectrometer has allowed scientists to make maps of the elemental distribution of hydrogen, silicon, iron, potassium, thorium, and chlorine on the Martian surface. A global map of minerals associated with water, essential to life as we know it, guided NASA in its selection of Meridiani Planum, the landing site for NASA's Opportunity rover, an area rich in hematite. Odyssey is currently supporting landing site selection for the Phoenix Scout Mission, to be launched in 2007, using data showing that surface areas near the poles of Mars consist of more than 50 percent water ice by volume. Other Odyssey accomplishments include measurement of radiation, a prerequisite for future human exploration because of its potential health effects, and a groundbreaking program in education outreach that has allowed students to take pictures of Mars and conduct scientific investigations with cameras on Odyssey. Mars Odyssey was launched April 7, 2001 on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and reached Mars on October 24, 2001. Odyssey employed a technique called "aerobraking" that used the atmosphere of Mars to slow down and gradually bring the spacecraft closer to Mars with each orbit. Odyssey's science mapping mission began in February 2002. The primary science mission continued through August 2004. Odyssey is currently in its extended mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Cornell/Don Davis

Drought in the United States: Natural Hazards

mediatype	IMAGE
mediatype	image
date	2007-05-31
creator	NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier	UnitedStates_AVR_20070531

mediatype	IMAGE
mediatype	image
date	2007-05-31
creator	NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day
identifier	UnitedStates_AVR_20070531

Title	CloudSat Profiles Tropical Storm Andrea
Original Caption Released with Image	CloudSat's Cloud Profiling Radar captured a profile across Tropical Storm Andrea on Wednesday, May 9, 2007, near the South Carolina/Georgia/Florida Atlantic coast. The upper image shows an infrared view of Tropical Storm Andrea from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite, with CloudSat's ground track shown as a red line. The lower image is the vertical cross section of radar reflectivity along this path, where the colors indicate the intensity of the reflected radar energy. CloudSat orbits approximately one minute behind Aqua in a satellite formation known as the A-Train.

General Description	STS-117 Shuttle Mission Imagery

General Description	STS-117 Shuttle Mission Imagery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., look over a solar panel ready to be installed on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., look over a solar panel ready to be installed on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/24/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians check the second solar panel that will be installed on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians check the second solar panel that will be installed on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/25/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At right, technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., guide into place the second solar panel to be installed on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. At left is the first panel already installed. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At right, technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., guide into place the second solar panel to be installed on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. At left is the first panel already installed. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/25/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., attach a bar to a solar panel in order to lift it and move it to NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft for installation. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., attach a bar to a solar panel in order to lift it and move it to NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft for installation. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/24/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., carry a solar panel toward NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft for installation. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., carry a solar panel toward NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft for installation. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/24/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., steady a solar panel suspended from above as others prepare to install it on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., steady a solar panel suspended from above as others prepare to install it on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/24/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., help guide a solar panel toward NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft for installation. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., help guide a solar panel toward NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft for installation. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/24/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., guide a solar panel closer to NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft for installation. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., guide a solar panel closer to NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft for installation. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/24/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians maneuver a second solar panel to a vertical position to move it toward NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft for installation. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians maneuver a second solar panel to a vertical position to move it toward NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft for installation. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/25/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians secure guide wires on the second solar panel to be installed on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians secure guide wires on the second solar panel to be installed on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/25/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., adjust a solar panel suspended from above for installation on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., adjust a solar panel suspended from above for installation on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/24/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., maneuver a solar panel into place for installation on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., maneuver a solar panel into place for installation on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. It is one of two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, that will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/24/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) monitor the progress of the solar array deployment on the MESSENGER spacecraft. The two panels 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.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) monitor the progress of the solar array deployment on the MESSENGER spacecraft. The two panels 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.
Release Date	06/28/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., hold steady the second solar panel being installed on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. At left is the first panel already installed. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., hold steady the second solar panel being installed on NASA?s MESSENGER spacecraft. At left is the first panel already installed. The two large solar panels, supplemented with a nickel-hydrogen battery, will provide MESSENGER?s power. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/25/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) prepare one of two solar array panels on the MESSENGER spacecraft for deployment. The panels 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.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) prepare one of two solar array panels on the MESSENGER spacecraft for deployment. The panels 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.
Release Date	06/28/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., NASA Mission Integration Manager Cheryle Mako and NASA Launch Site Integration Manager John Hueckel talk before the deployment of the solar array panels on the MESSENGER spacecraft behind them. 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.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., NASA Mission Integration Manager Cheryle Mako and NASA Launch Site Integration Manager John Hueckel talk before the deployment of the solar array panels on the MESSENGER spacecraft behind them. 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.
Release Date	06/28/2004

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - 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. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on a journey to Mercury. 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.
Release Date	06/28/2004

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., NASA Mission Integration Manager Cheryle Mako and NASA Launch Site Integration Manager John Hueckel talk before the deployment of the solar array panels on the MESSENGER spacecraft behind them. 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 the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	06/28/2004

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) prepare one of two solar array panels on the MESSENGER spacecraft for deployment. The panels 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.
Release Date	06/28/2004

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) prepare to cover the MESSESNGER spacecraft for a move to a hazardous processing facility in preparation for loading the spacecraft?s complement of hypergolic propellants. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on a journey to Mercury. 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.
Release Date	06/28/2004

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.

Description	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.
Release Date	06/28/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) check one of two solar panels on the MESSENGER spacecraft after a deployment test. The other panel is at right, undeployed. 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.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., technicians with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) check one of two solar panels on the MESSENGER spacecraft after a deployment test. The other panel is at right, undeployed. 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.
Release Date	06/28/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., a technician with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) watches as one of the solar array panels on the MESSENGER spacecraft is deployed. The two panels 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.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., a technician with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) watches as one of the solar array panels on the MESSENGER spacecraft is deployed. The two panels 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.
Release Date	06/28/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - An overhead crane lifts the MESSENGER spacecraft from its work stand under the watchful eyes and hands of technicians. The spacecraft is being moved to mate it with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, in the foreground. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - An overhead crane lifts the MESSENGER spacecraft from its work stand under the watchful eyes and hands of technicians. The spacecraft is being moved to mate it with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, in the foreground. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/12/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., watch closely as the MESSENGER spacecraft is lowered toward the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below for mating. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., watch closely as the MESSENGER spacecraft is lowered toward the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below for mating. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	07/12/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Gathered on the work stand, technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., check closely the mating of the MESSENGER spacecraft with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below it. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Gathered on the work stand, technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., check closely the mating of the MESSENGER spacecraft with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below it. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	07/12/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., oversee the mating of the MESSENGER spacecraft with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below it. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., oversee the mating of the MESSENGER spacecraft with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below it. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	07/12/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., the MESSENGER spacecraft is lowered toward the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, for mating. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., the MESSENGER spacecraft is lowered toward the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, for mating. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/12/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., work on the back side of the MESSENGER spacecraft, mating it with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below. The white panel seen here is the heat-resistant, ceramic cloth sunshade that will enable MESSENGER to operate at room temperature. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., work on the back side of the MESSENGER spacecraft, mating it with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below. The white panel seen here is the heat-resistant, ceramic cloth sunshade that will enable MESSENGER to operate at room temperature. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	07/12/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - An overhead crane moves the MESSENGER spacecraft from its work stand under the watchful eyes and hands of technicians. The spacecraft is being moved to mate it with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, at right. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - An overhead crane moves the MESSENGER spacecraft from its work stand under the watchful eyes and hands of technicians. The spacecraft is being moved to mate it with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, at right. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/12/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., complete the mating of the MESSENGER spacecraft with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below it. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Technicians at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., complete the mating of the MESSENGER spacecraft with the Payload Assist Module, the Boeing Delta II third stage, below it. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) 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. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.
Release Date	07/12/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers move a panel into place above the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft. The overhead panel will suspend an environmental curtain around the spacecraft while in the tower before encapsulation. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers move a panel into place above the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft. The overhead panel will suspend an environmental curtain around the spacecraft while in the tower before encapsulation. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla
Release Date	07/21/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers watch closely as the upper canister around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft is detached from the lower panels. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2. It will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers watch closely as the upper canister around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft is detached from the lower panels. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2. It will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/21/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers attach supports to an overhead panel above the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft. The panel will suspend an environmental curtain around the spacecraft while in the tower before encapsulation. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers attach supports to an overhead panel above the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft. The panel will suspend an environmental curtain around the spacecraft while in the tower before encapsulation. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/21/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers get ready to remove the lower panels from around the Delta II upper stage booster of the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft. The upper canister was removed first. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers get ready to remove the lower panels from around the Delta II upper stage booster of the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft. The upper canister was removed first. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/21/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers oversee removal of the canister from around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers oversee removal of the canister from around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/21/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers suspend an environmental curtain around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft, which is still wrapped from its journey to the pad. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers suspend an environmental curtain around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft, which is still wrapped from its journey to the pad. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/21/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers place an environmental curtain around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft, which is still wrapped from its journey to the pad. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers place an environmental curtain around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft, which is still wrapped from its journey to the pad. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/21/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the environmental curtain suspended around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft while in the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a worker removes the protective material wrapped around MESSENGER. Visible at right is the sunshade that will protect MESSENGER?s instruments during exposure to the sun as it orbits Mercury. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the environmental curtain suspended around the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft while in the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a worker removes the protective material wrapped around MESSENGER. Visible at right is the sunshade that will protect MESSENGER?s instruments during exposure to the sun as it orbits Mercury. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/21/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the unwrapped MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft waits under an environmental curtain for encapsulation. Visible in this view is the sunshade that will protect MESSENGER?s instruments during exposure to the sun as it orbits Mercury. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the mobile service tower at Launch Complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the unwrapped MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft waits under an environmental curtain for encapsulation. Visible in this view is the sunshade that will protect MESSENGER?s instruments during exposure to the sun as it orbits Mercury. Scheduled to launch Aug. 2, MESSENGER will return to Earth for a gravity boost in July 2005, then fly past Venus twice, in October 2006 and June 2007. It is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. Processing is being done at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla.
Release Date	07/21/2004

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The first stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket leaves for Launch Pad 17-B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket is the launch vehicle for the THEMIS spacecraft, consisting of five identical probes, the largest number of scientific satellites ever launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. This unique constellation of satellites will resolve the tantalizing mystery of what causes the spectacular sudden brightening of the aurora borealis and aurora australis - the fiery skies over the Earth's northern and southern polar regions. After the first stage is in the mobile service tower on the pad, nine solid rocket boosters will be placed around the base of the first stage and attached in sets of three. THEMIS is scheduled to launch aboard the Delta II at 6:07 p.m. EST on Feb. 15. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

Description	KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The first stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket leaves for Launch Pad 17-B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket is the launch vehicle for the THEMIS spacecraft, consisting of five identical probes, the largest number of scientific satellites ever launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. This unique constellation of satellites will resolve the tantalizing mystery of what causes the spectacular sudden brightening of the aurora borealis and aurora australis - the fiery skies over the Earth's northern and southern polar regions. After the first stage is in the mobile service tower on the pad, nine solid rocket boosters will be placed around the base of the first stage and attached in sets of three. THEMIS is scheduled to launch aboard the Delta II at 6:07 p.m. EST on Feb. 15. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton
Release Date	01/06/2007

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