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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech Space Operations facilities near KSC, the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft is carried across the floor by an overhead crane. MESSENGER is being moved to a turnover fixture that will rotate it for prelaunch testing. Launch is scheduled for May 11 from Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The spacecraft will fly past Venus three times and Mercury twice before starting a year-long orbital study of Mercury in July 2009.