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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., members of the media, wearing clean room suits, gather around Ted Hartka, MESSENGER lead mechanical engineer, with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Hartka is talking about the MESSENGER spacecraft’s mission to Mercury. The spacecraft, mated to the Delta II third stage Payload Assist Module, is in the background. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.