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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center



Astrophysics Science Division | Sciences and Exploration

This website is kept for archival purposes only and is no longer updated.

XRS-2 Photos →LTTO and Launch


Starting 2 days before launch, we top off the helium dewar with superfluid liquid helium. Helium at atmospheric pressure is liquid at 4.2 Kelvin, while our dewar keeps the helium at 1.3 Kelvin by keeping it under vacuum. In space there's lots of vacuum for free, but here we need to provide it with pumps. To fill the dewar with 1.3 K helium we need to pump on the storage tank, and transfer it under vacuum. Then we launch!

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Fill 'er up with helium, please
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Someone get Mr. BTuttle!
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The big red button
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Looking at the system
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All finished in the tower
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"What do you want?"
"Information"
(Weather information)
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No launch today
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They grow 'em big down here!
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Installing the shorting plugs
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We are outta here!

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Goddard