Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
On Nov. 9, 2005, the twin STEREO observatories were shipped from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (where they were designed and built) to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for additional pre-launch environmental tests. These included a series of spin tests to check the spacecraft's balance and alignment; thermal vacuum tests to duplicate the extreme temperature and airless conditions of space; and acoustic tests that simulate the noise-induced vibrations of launch.
The mission team transported the STEREO observatories to Florida in May 2006 for final launch preparations.
