Workers in the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility 2 move the shipping crate away from the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, at left on the stand. Odyssey is still covered by a protective sheet. The spacecraft, which arrived from Denver, Colo., Jan. 4, will undergo final assembly and checkout in the SAEF-2. That includes installation of two of the three science instruments, integration of the three-panel solar array, and a spacecraft functional test. Launch aboard a Boeing Delta II launch vehicle from Pad A, Complex 17, CCAFS, is planned for April 7, 2001 the first day of a 21-day planetary window. The spacecraft will arrive at Mars on Oct. 20, 2001, for insertion into an initial elliptical capture orbit. Its final operational altitude will be a 250-mile-high, Sun-synchronous polar orbit. Mars Odyssey will spend two years mapping the planet’s surface and measuring its environment
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NASA ID
KSC-01pp0067
Date Created
January 5, 2001
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
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Medium
960px