The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission stacked all four of its spacecraft in preparation for vibration testing. This time lapse shows one image every thirty seconds over three days of work. First, the spacecraft are assembled into mini-stacks, or placed on top of each other in sets of two. To create a full stack, engineers lift one mini-stack on top of another. Vibration testing simulates the conditions that the MMS spacecraft will experience during launch. MMS will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space.
Most NASA images are in the public domain and free to use. Credit NASA as the source. Check NASA's media usage guidelines for details. Images featuring identifiable individuals may require additional permissions.
NASA ID
GSFC_20140418_MMS_m11524_Stack
Date Created
April 18, 2014
Center
GSFC
Media Type
video
Location
Goddard Space Flight Center
Download this video in multiple resolutions. All NASA media are free for public use.
Captions
Subtitles