The Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft inches closer to the top of the gantry

On Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) spacecraft inches closer to the top of the gantry where it will be encapsulated and mated with the launch vehicle. CONTOUR will provide the first detailed look into the heart of a comet -- the nucleus. Flying as close as 60 miles (100 kilometers) to at least two comets, the spacecraft will take the sharpest pictures yet of a nucleus while analyzing the gas and dust that surround these rocky, icy building blocks of the solar system. Launch of CONTOUR aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for July 1, 2002