Workers finish donning SCAPE suits for the fueling of the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft in the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility 2 (SAEF-2).
In Hangar S at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers finish donning SCAPE suits for the fueling of the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft in the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility 2 (SAEF-2). SCAPE refers to Self-Contained Atmospheric Protective Ensemble. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet — the nucleus. Flying as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets, the spacecraft will take the sharpest pictures yet of a nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround them. CONTOUR is scheduled for launch aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket July 1, 2002, from Launch Complex 17-A, the Cape. Photo credit: NASA