Multimedia
STEREO Pre-Launch Teleconference Multimedia Resources
08.17.06
Image #1 (left):The Solar and Heliopsheric Observatory (SOHO) watched CMEs streaming out into space during the notorious Halloween storms in October/November 2003. Click on the above image to play small movie (mpg) or view 640x480 version. Credit: NASA/ESA. Image #2 (right): Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), associated giant clouds of plasma in space, are the largest explosions in the solar system. They are caused by the buildup and sudden release of magnetic stress in the solar atmosphere above the giant magnetic poles we see as sunspots. CMEs can cause magnetic storms affecting communication systems, power grids and astronauts in space. Click on image to view movie. Credit: NASA.
Image #3 (left): Model of the STEREO observatory shows each of the instruments. Click image to enlarge. + Click for 8.7 MB tif Credit: NASA/APL. Image #4 (right): Animation of STEREO observing a CME blowing past. Click to view animation. + High resolution still Credit: NASA
Image #1 (left): Observatory "A" undergoes testing at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla. earlier this month. + High resolution image Credit: NASA. Image #2 (right): The observatories sit side-by-side while engineers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center before shipping to Florida. Credit: NASA/APL. + High resolution image
Image #3 (left): The stacked spacecraft undergo a spin test at GSFC to mimic their launch configuration and conditions. Credit: NASA.+ High resolution image Image #4 (right): Artist's concept demonstrating the STEREO launch configuration. + High resolution image Credit: NASA/APL.
Image #5: First contact with the observatories will take place about 9 minutes and 14 minutes after spacecraft separation for "A" and "B" respectively, over Canberra, Australia. + High resolution image Credit: NASA.
Image #6: STEREO "A" observes the sun in an orbit ahead of Earth while the "B" spacecraft follows behind the Earth. The distance between the two observatories changes over the mission timeframe. Click on image to view animation. Credit: NASA.
Image #1 (left):Engineers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), in Laurel, Md., work on the twin STEREO observatories during integration and test efforts. The Laboratory designed and built the spacecraft and will operate the twin observatories for NASA during the mission. + High resolution image Credit: NASA/JHU Applied Physics Lab. Image #2 (right): With the twin STEREO spacecraft stacked in their launch configuration, STEREO engineers make final checks prior to vibration tests at APL. During vibration tests, which simulate the ride into space the observatories will encounter aboard the Delta II launch vehicle, engineers use a large "shake" table to check the structural integrity of the twin spacecraft prior to launch. Credit: NASA/JHU Applied Physics Lab + High resolution image Credit: NASA/JHU Applied Physics Lab.
Image #3 (left): The twin STEREO observatories will ride into space aboard a single launch vehicle. They will separate shortly after launch. Click image to view animation. + High resolution image Credit: NASA/JHU Applied Physics Lab. Image #4: Artist's concept depicting STEREO spacecraft panels being deployed shortly after launch. Click image to view animation. + High resolution image Credit: NASA/JHU Applied Physics Lab.
Image #5 (left): Left graphic shows orbits of the "Ahead" (blue) and "Behind" (red) observatories relative to the Earth's orbit (green). "Ahead's" elliptical orbit fits inside Earth's orbit and transits around the sun faster than Earth; "Behind's" is larger than Earth's orbit and transits around the sun more slowly. The "B" spacecraft swings by the moon twice ("S1" and "S2") and "A" swings by one time ("S1") to get into its orbit. Click here to see related animations. + High resolution image Credit: NASA/JHU Applied Physics Lab. Image #6 (right): Mission operations personnel at APL conduct a pre-launch simulation. + High resolution image Credit: NASA/JHU Applied Physics Lab
Image #1 (top): NASA's Heliophysics department objectives. Image #2 (left): The artist's illustration highlights the fleet of Sun-Earth observing spacecraft operated by NASA and its partners. STEREO data will often be used to complement other missions and vice versa. It also provides a unique service with its different perspective to space weather. Click image to enlarge. + High resolution image Credit: NASA Image #3 (right): Images of the sun's magnetic fields from the Transition Region And Coronal Explorer (TRACE) spacecraft. Click on the image for movie or download high resolution images. Credit: NASA/LMSAL
Goddard Space Flight Center