KSC-2011-6036

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Astrotech Space Operations' payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., preparations are under way to transport the Juno spacecraft, enclosed in an Atlas payload fairing, to Space Launch Complex 41. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the impact of aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent and will be jettisoned once the spacecraft is outside the Earth's atmosphere. Juno is scheduled to launch Aug. 5 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/juno. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston