Technicians extend a solar array on the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft to test the release mechanism sequence for the array using signal commands.

In Space Systems International's Payload Processing Facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians extend a solar array on the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft to test the release mechanism sequence for the array using signal commands.
Following final tests, the spacecraft will be integrated to a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket in preparation for the targeted June launch. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on the SAC-D spacecraft, will provide new insights into how variations in ocean surface salinity relate to fundamental climate processes on its three-year mission. Photo credit: NASA/VAFB