Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL AIM Processing

In a clean-room environment at North Vandenberg Air Force Base, a technician prepares the lights for illumination testing of the AIM spacecraft at left. The AIM spacecraft will fly three instruments designed to study those clouds located at the edge of space, 50 miles above the Earth's surface in the coldest part of the planet's atmosphere. The mission's primary goal is to explain why these clouds form and what has caused them to become brighter and more numerous and appear at lower latitudes in recent years. AIM's results will provide the basis for the study of long-term variability in the mesospheric climate and its relationship to global climate change. AIM is scheduled to be mated to the Pegasus XL during the second week of April, after which final inspections will be conducted. Launch is scheduled for April 25.