NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Baked and Ready for More Tests

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2008-179

NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Baked and Ready for More Tests
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
September 23, 2008

NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission, scheduled to launch in 2009, has
survived an extreme temperature test.

The thermal vacuum test is part of a series of environmental tests the
spacecraft will undergo before it blasts into space aboard a Delta II
rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

"Kepler functioned extremely well at the intense temperatures it will
encounter in space," said James Fanson, Kepler project manager at
NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

The test, which was performed at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
in
Boulder, Colo., simulates the vacuum of space, and the extreme
temperatures Kepler will face once launched. The spacecraft is tucked
into a vacuum chamber and surrounded by a cold shroud to mimic the
deep
chill of space. One side of the spacecraft -- the side with solar
panels
-- is then baked as if it were being heated by the sun.

The goal is to make sure that the spacecraft and its detectors operate
properly in the space-like environment. An electromagnetic
compatibility
test, to ensure Kepler's electronics are sound, will begin soon.

Kepler will monitor 100,000 stars, searching for signs of planets --
including ones as small as or smaller than Earth. To date, no
Earth-sized planet has been discovered.

"The results of these tests are now being used to prepare for the
science operations that will start after the spacecraft launches and
undergoes in-orbit checkout," said Bill Borucki of NASA Ames Research
Center, Moffett Field, Calif., the science principal investigator for
the Kepler Mission.

Kepler is a NASA Discovery mission. In addition to being the home
organization of the science principal investigator, NASA Ames Research
Center is responsible for the ground system development, mission
operations and science data analysis. Kepler mission development is
managed by JPL. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. is responsible for
developing the Kepler flight system and supporting mission operations.

More information about the Kepler mission is at http://kepler.nasa.gov/
.. More information about extrasolar planets and NASA's planet-finding
program is at http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov .

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whitney Clavin 818-354-4673
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
whitney.clavin@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Michael Mewhinney 650-604-3937
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Michael.S.Mewhinney@xxxxxxxx

Roz Brown 303-533-6059
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.
rbrown@xxxxxxxx

release 2008-179

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