VANDENBERG AFB, Calif. – Technicians test fit the separation system that will push NASA's IRIS spacecraft away from an Orbital Pegasus XL rocket when IRIS reaches its proper orbit after launch. IRIS is short for Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph and the spacecraft's mission will improve our understanding of how heat and energy move through the deepest levels of the sun’s atmosphere, thereby increasing our ability to forecast space weather. Photo credit: VAFB_Randy Beaudoin
Photographer VAFB_Randy Beaudoin
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