KSC-02PD-1019

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Space Assembly and Encapsulation Facility 2 (SAEF-2), a container is lowered toward the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft below. CONTOUR will be enclosed in the container for transfer to the launch pad. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. Flying as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets, the spacecraft will take the sharpest pictures yet of a nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. Launch of CONTOUR aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for July 1, 2002, from Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station