KSC-07pd0693
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. -- Inside the clean-room "tent" of Building 1555 at North Vandenberg Air Force Base, technicians in bunny suits prepare for the solar array deployment on the AIM spacecraft. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study polar mesospheric clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global climate change. AIM is scheduled to be mated to the Pegasus XL during the second week of April, after which final inspections will be conducted. Launch is scheduled for April 25.
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Details
NASA ID
KSC-07pd0693
Date Created
March 15, 2007
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Vandenberg AFB, CA
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