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Vibration Test (front view)
Engineers prepare the MESSENGER spacecraft for a vibration test at the Johns
Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md., where the Mercury-bound
NASA spacecraft was designed and built. Conducted on a vibration table, the
test checks the spacecraft's structural integrity by simulating the rough ride
atop a launch vehicle. MESSENGER's mirrored solar panels are folded in on the
sides of the spacecraft; the long post in the center is the folded boom for
MESSENGER's Magnetometer instrument.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of
Washington
