Workers cut away portions of the protective covering surrounding one of NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory STEREO spacecraft.

Workers cut away portions of the protective covering surrounding one of NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft in the clean room at Astrotech, a payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft arrived on May 3 and will now undergo final preparations and testing for launch. Liftoff will occur aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Launch Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the summer. STEREO consists of two spacecraft whose mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-D. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann