KSC-98pc1095

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Plasma Experiment for Planetary Exploration (PEPE), one of two advanced science experiments flying on the Deep Space 1 mission, is being installed on the spacecraft in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. PEPE combines several instruments that study space plasma into one compact 13-pound (6-kilogram) package. Space plasma is composed of charged particles, most of wich flow outward from the Sun. The first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program, Deep Space 1 is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch during a period opening Oct. 15 and closing Nov. 10, 1998. Most of its mission objectives will be competed within the first two months. A near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, has also been selected for a possible flyby.