NASA's Kepler spacecraft survived an extreme-temperature test which was administered as part of a series of tests before it blasts into space, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said on Tuesday.
The JPL-managed Kepler spacecraft is scheduled to launch next year to scan the universe for as-yet-undiscovered planets.
"Kepler functioned extremely well at the intense temperatures it will encounter in space," said James Fanson, Kepler project manager at NASA's JPL headquarters in Pasadena, Los Angeles.
The thermal vacuum test which was performed at Ball Aerospace & Technologies in Boulder, Colorado simulates the vacuum of space and extreme temperatures the spacecraft will have to endure.
During the test, the spacecraft was placed in a vacuum chamber and surrounded by a cold shroud to mimic the chill of space. One side of the spacecraft was then baked as if it were being heated by the sun.
With the craft successfully passing that test, it will now undergo an electromagnetic compatibility test to ensure its electronics are sound, according to JPL scientists.
The spacecraft will be blasted into space next year aboard a Delta II rocket, launching from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Kepler will monitor 100,000 stars, searching for signs of planets, including ones as small as or smaller than the Earth. The roughly 500-million-dollar mission is expected to last at least four years.
"The results of these tests are now being used to prepare for the science operations that will start after the spacecraft launches and undergoes in-orbit checkout," said principal science investigator Bill Borucki of NASA's Ames Research Center.
Source:Xinhua
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