KSC-04pd-2277
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Wrapped inside a protective cover, the Swift spacecraft leaves Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It is being moved to Launch Pad 17-A and scheduled to launch Nov. 17. The liftoff aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is targeted at the opening of a one-hour launch window beginning at 12:09 p.m. EST. A first-of-its-kind multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science, Swift’s three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. Gamma-ray bursts are distant, yet fleeting explosions that appear to signal the births of black holes.
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NASA ID
04pd2277
Date Created
November 8, 2004
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Photographer
NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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