DOUG HUIE, RESEARCH TECHNICIAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE, CAFEFULLY SETS THE NANOSAIL-D SATELLITE ON A SPECIALLY CONSTRUCTED SURFACE DESIGNED FOR DEPLOYMENT TESTING. THE SPACECRAFT MEASURES 4 INCHES WIDE, 4 INCHES DEEP, AND 13 INCHES LONG, ROUGHLY THE SIZE OF A LOAF OF BREAD, AND WEIGHING ABOUT 9 POUNDS.

NanoSail-D II (a Marshall payload) at Ames.

From left, Giovanni Minelli with the NASA's Ames Research Center; Center: Kitty Sedam with Aerospace Corp.; and Charlie Friedericks with Ames inspect the packing list and instructions for the Ames-managed O/OREOS and NanoSail-D from NASA's Marshall Space Flgith Center nano satellites at Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska . Image credit: U.S. Air Force/Lou Hernandez