Technicians recently inspected the sunshade and solar cells for NASA’s NEO Surveyor mission in Colorado.
A technician recently examined the large sunshade for NASA’s NEO Surveyor mission. This inspection took place in late July in Boulder, Colorado. BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems hosted the event.
Applied Aerospace built the main sunshade structure in Stockton, California. Workers added the solar cells earlier this year. SolAero Technologies finished this task in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during January.
Next, the team moved the equipment to El Segundo, California. They performed environmental testing at a special vacuum facility in March. This process ensured the hardware could handle space conditions.
After that, the team finished their work ahead of schedule. They delivered the completed sunshade to BAE Systems in May. The project remains on track for its future launch.
Meanwhile, NASA designed the NEO Surveyor to find hidden space rocks. It will hunt for asteroids and comets that are difficult to spot. These objects often hide near the bright Sun.
However, ground-based telescopes struggle to see in that direction. The sunshade protects the sensitive mission instruments from solar heat. This allows the craft to search effectively near the star.
Finally, this mission will improve our view of the solar system. It helps scientists find objects that might pose a threat to Earth. The team continues to prepare the spacecraft for its vital journey.