A Colorado-built spacecraft has taken its last earthly steps on its way to Jupiter. On Wednesday, Juno was placed atop an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The launch window for the NASA mission is Aug. 5-26.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems designed and assembled Juno at its Waterton Canyon facility. United Launch Alliance, based in Centennial, is providing the ride to space. The 8,000-pound Juno, with its massive solar arrays folded up tight, was tucked into a ULA protective shell for the ride from a Titusville, Fla., preparation facility.
After a five-year journey to Jupiter, the spacecraft will orbit the gas giant for a year to learn about the processes that formed the planet. The mission will be the first solar-powered spacecraft designed to operate despite the great distance from the sun.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is managing the mission, which had an initial cost cap of $700 million. Ann Schrader, The Denver Post
