NASA Administrator Charles Bolden got a firsthand look at work being done on the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft during his visit to the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Standing 20 feet high inside a Goddard cleanroom, the spacecraft were in their “four-stack” formation, similar to how they will be arranged inside their launch vehicle. The MMS spacecraft recently completed vibration testing.
With MMS as a backdrop, Bolden and Goddard Center Director Chris Scolese discussed the mission, ground testing and preparations for launch with project personnel.
During its two-year mission, MMS will explore the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy — a process known as magnetic reconnection. The four MMS spacecraft will provide the first three-dimensional views of this fundamental process that occurs throughout our universe.
After their visit to the testing facility, Bolden and Scolese addressed Goddard employees in a town hall-style meeting, where they gave an update on several NASA missions and answered questions from the crowd.
Release Date: May 12, 2014
Source: NASA
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