On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station spacecraft is prepared for installation of the fairing.

On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft is prepared for installation of the fairing, a molded structure that fits flush with the outside surface of the Delta II upper stage booster and forms an aerodynamically smooth joint, protecting the spacecraft during launch. Seen at right is one of the solar panels on the spacecraft. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch Aug. 2 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket and is expected to enter Mercury orbit in March 2011. MESSENGER was built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.