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Installing Reaction Wheels

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While an APL videographer documents the process, APL technicians mechanically mount a reaction wheel onto the STEREO "A" observatory (the one that will be placed ahead of Earth in its orbit around the sun). There are four reaction wheels mounted onto each of the twin STEREO observatories to provide spacecraft attitude control and stability during their space-based operations.

Like other technical documentation, footage of this process may be included in educational videos, products for reporters and NASA TV broadcasts.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory