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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center



Astrophysics Science Division | Sciences and Exploration

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XRS-2 PhotosCalibration at SHI →Closing the Gate Valve

Ochi-san cranking the gate valve closed. (55K JPEG)

Ochi-san closing the gate valve which keeps air and radiation out of the Dewar. Once the spacecraft is in orbit (and pointed safely away from the sun), we will fire a pyrotechnic bolt cutter to open the gate valve and let the X-rays in. The spring that opens it is pretty tight, as you can tell from this photo.


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