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Testing the Spacecraft on the Ground

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STEREO team members power up the twin observatories while monitoring the spacecraft from a room overlooking the facility where the spacecraft are being built at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. The area houses the ground support equipment used to test the spacecraft while they're on the ground to ensure systems will operate properly after launch. This equipment will travel with the spacecraft during their testing and launch preparations at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Md., and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory