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LDEF: Postflight Detail-Front Areas of Discoloration
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians inspect the solar arrays for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft was built by engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center, where it recently completed two months of tests in a thermal vacuum chamber. The orbiter will carry seven instruments to provide scientists with detailed maps of the lunar surface and enhance our understanding of the moon's topography, lighting conditions, mineralogical composition and natural resources. Information gleaned from LRO will be used to select safe landing sites, determine locations for future lunar outposts and help mitigate radiation dangers to astronauts. The polar regions of the moon are the main focus of the mission because continuous access to sunlight may be possible and water ice may exist in permanently shadowed areas of the poles. Accompanying LRO on its journey to the moon will be the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, a mission that will impact the lunar surface in its search for water ice. Launch of LRO/LCROSS is targeted for April 24. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller KSC-2009-1641
LDEF (Postflight), S0001 : Space Debris Impact Experiment, Tray F03
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft is ready for installation of the fairing, a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the Delta II upper stage booster and forms an aerodynamically smooth joint, protecting the spacecraft during launch. Seen on the left is one of the solar panels on the spacecraft. On the right is part of the heat-resistant, ceramic-cloth sunshade that will protect the spacecraft’s instruments as MESSENGER orbits the Mercury where the surface reaches a high temperature near 840 degrees Fahrenheit and the solar intensity can be 11 times greater than on Earth. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket and is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. KSC-04pd1566
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LDEF: Postflight Detail-Front Upper Right 1/6
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LDEF (Postflight), AO054 : Space Plasma High-Voltage Drainage Experiment, Tray B04
LDEF (Flight), AO054 : Space Plasma High-Voltage Drainage Experiment, Tray B04
LDEF (Flight), AO054 : Space Plasma High-Voltage Drainage Experiment, Tray D10
LDEF (Postflight), S0001 : Space Debris Impact Experiment, Tray E04
LDEF (Postflight), AO038 : Interstellar Gas Experiment, Tray H09
LDEF (Postflight), S0001 : Space Debris Impact Experiment, Tray G04
LDEF (Flight), S0001 : Space Debris Impact Experiment, Tray F05
LDEF (Flight), S0001 : Space Debris Impact Experiment, Tray B08
LDEF (Postflight), AO038 : Interstellar Gas Experiment, Tray H09
LDEF (Postflight), AO054 : Space Plasma High-Voltage Drainage Experiment, Tray B04
Summary
LDEF (Postflight), AO054 : Space Plasma High-Voltage Drainage Experiment, Tray B04 The postflight photograph was taken in the SAEF II at KSC prior to removal of the experiment from the LDEF. The experiment trays upper, lower and right flanges have light tan discolorations. The paint dots on clamp blocks located at the centers of the trays upper and right flanges and at the left end of the lower flange have changed from their original white color to a light tan. The SP HVD experiment consist of two identical sets of experiment hardware mounted in three (3) inch deep LDEF experiment trays, one tray is located in the LDEF position B04 adjacent to the LDEF trailing edge and the other is located at LDEF position D10 adjacent to the LDEF leading edge. Each set of SP HVD experiment hardware, self-contained within the experiment tray, consist of six (6) fiberglass reinforced epoxy modules carrying charged dielectric samples on top and the power supplies and electronics below. Four (4) dielectric samples, Kapton with Vapor Deposited Aluminum on one side (VDA-Kapton), are bonded to each of the fiberglas modules with a silver filled conductive epoxy. The spaces between the dielectric sample covered modules and between the modules and the tray flanges are covered by strips of VDA-Kapton attached with acrylic transfer adhesive and Kapton tape. Each experiment tray also contain two solar cell modules. Power for the experiment is provided by LiSO2 batteries supplied by the LDEF Project. The experiment was assembled using non-magnetic stainless steel fasteners. The SP HVD experiment appears to be intact with no apparent physical damage from exposure to the space environment. The white paint around the outer edges of the solar cell modules appears to have changed to a light tan.
NASA Identifier: L92-17647 KSC-390C-730.08