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Observatory "A" Tests and Checks

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STEREO engineers and technicians at APL simultaneously test Observatory A's high-gain antenna and check blankets placed on the SECCHI (Sun-Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation) instrument suite. The bottom of the spacecraft, where portions of the SECCHI instrument suite is located, can only be accessed while the spacecraft is on a stand.

Pieces of special thermal material, which engineers refer to as "blankets," are wrapped around instruments and other spacecraft components to insulate them. After launch, high-gain antennas are used for downlinking data from, or uplinking commands to, a spacecraft.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory