Assembly of the TIMED Spacecraft

The TIMED spacecraft was assembled during a process known as integration. Integration typically begins when the wiring harness and the primary structure, or frame of a spacecraft, are assembled. Like the frame of a house, the spacecraft's frame, or structure, is what the instruments, solar panels, and other parts within the spacecraft are attached to. TIMED's integration was completed in October 1999.

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Testing of TIMED's Solar Arrays

In one of APL's clean rooms, TIMED's solar arrays were assembled, inspected, and deployed through a series of tests on specially designed air bearings that counter the effects of gravity. These air bearings were designed specifically to test TIMED's solar arrays because they were too large to be tested and deployed while mounted on the spacecraft inside the clean room where the spacecraft was assembled.

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Keeping the Spacecraft Clean

The TIMED spacecraft has stringent cleanliness requirements. During its construction and transport to and from test facilities and the launch site, it's important to keep its sensors clean and free of debris so that data collected is not skewed by the presence of contaminants, such as particulates, oils, and fibers.

Like most spacecraft, TIMED was assembled in a special facility known as a "clean room," where scientists take elaborate precautions to reduce dust particles and other airborne contaminants. When TIMED is prepared to travel outside this room, it's covered by one or more special antistatic bags to ensure its cleanliness standards are maintained.

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Shipping the Spacecraft

When preparing the TIMED spacecraft for travel, several precautions are taken to ensure its safety and cleanliness. Before leaving the clean room, the spacecraft is covered with several antistatic bags to maintain its cleanliness. It's then loaded into and sealed within a specially designed shipping container with instrumentation to record humidity, temperature, shock, and pressure. A continuous nitrogen purge is maintained on the spacecraft to keep moisture and contaminants out — keeping the spacecraft's instruments extremely clean. The container is then loaded onto a custom flatbed truck equipped with special shocks to reduce vibration to the spacecraft and its systems during transport.

To date, the TIMED spacecraft has traveled to and from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Md., from The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, in Laurel, Md., for environmental testing. On May 30, 2001, it was shipped from APL to Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in preparation for launch.

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TIMED's Acoustic and Shock Tests

Acoustic and shock tests simulate a spacecraft's environment while riding in a rocket during launch. Acoustic tests simulate the noise and sound pressure levels inside the rocket's fairing, or the portion of the rocket in which the satellite sits during launch. Shock tests simulate the vibration a satellite experiences as it separates from the launch vehicle and when its solar arrays are deployed and its instrument covers are released. The TIMED spacecraft's acoustic and shock tests were conducted at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in November 1999.

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Checking the Flight Payload Adapter Fitting

During prelaunch tests, TIMED engineers check the spacecraft's Flight Payload Adapter Fitting — a ring that connects the spacecraft to the launch vehicle — to ensure the spacecraft and launch vehicle will fit together properly when they meet at the launch pad. These tests were conducted at NASA Goddard's Space Flight Center in November 1999.

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TIMED's Thermal Vacuum Testing at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

To make sure the TIMED spacecraft will operate as designed throughout a variety of environmental conditions it will experience during orbit, the spacecraft underwent a series of tests, known as thermal vacuum tests. A large vacuum chamber at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Md., was used to replicate the space environment in which TIMED will be operating. These tests were conducted during December 1999 and January 2000.

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TIMED Spacecraft Removed from Thermal Vacuum Chamber

TIMED underwent thermal vacuum testing at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to make sure the spacecraft will operate as designed throughout the various environmental conditions it will experience while in orbit. After these tests were completed, TIMED was removed from the thermal vacuum chamber, loaded into its shipping container, and sent back to The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

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TIMED Spacecraft Returns to APL

Stored inside its shipping container, the TIMED spacecraft and its most crucial support equipment are returned to The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) after completing environmental testing at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in February 2000. The spacecraft is transported via a specially designed flatbed truck to ensure that the spacecraft shipping container safely passes underneath all bridges and highway overpasses. The truck is also equipped with an air ride system, or special shocks, to reduce vibration to the spacecraft during travel.

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