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Preparing for Vibration Tests

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STEREO engineers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., have stacked the twin STEREO spacecraft on top of one another in their launch configuration in preparation for vibration tests in APL's space environmental test facilities. Vibration tests simulate the ride into space the observatories will encounter aboard a Delta II launch vehicle so engineers can check the twin spacecraft's structural integrity prior to their launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., in 2006.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory