Spacecraft Care
Date: 17 Jun 2007

At Astrotech, a Dutch Space technician repairs a small damaged section on the lower edge of the solar array panel on the Dawn spacecraft. The damage occurred during a procedure to prepare the Dawn spacecraft for spin-balance testing. The size of the affected area was about 2.5 inches by 2 inches.


Dawn's goal is to characterize the conditions and processes of the solar system's earliest epoch 4.5 billion years ago by investigating in detail two of the largest asteroids, Ceres and Vesta. They reside between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt.


Last Update: 30 Aug 2011 (AMB)

Credit: NASA/George Shelton