Spacecraft technicians manipulate a solar array on the Solar Dynamics Observatory or SDO during preparations to test the release mechanism sequence.

At the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Fla., spacecraft technicians manipulate a solar array on the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, during preparations to test the release mechanism sequence for the arrays using signal commands.

SDO is the first space weather research network mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information about changes in the sun's magnetic field and insight into how they affect Earth. Liftoff on an Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2010. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller