
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility 2, the CONTOUR spacecraft is lowered toward the apogee kick motor to which it will be attached. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. The spacecraft will fly close to at least two comets, Encke and Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, taking pictures of the nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. The Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., built CONTOUR and will also be in control of the spacecraft after launch, scheduled for July 1, 2002, from LC 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.CONTOUR and will also be in control of the spacecraft after launch, scheduled for July 1, 2002, from LC 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
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NASA ID
KSC-02pd0741
Date Created
May 22, 2002
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Kennedy Space Center, FL
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