Curiosity Rover's Payload Fairing
August 1, 2012
The dual sections of the Atlas V payload fairing for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission await further processing in the airlock of the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the impact of aerodynamic pressure and heating during ascent and will be jettisoned once the spacecraft is outside the Earth's atmosphere.
Image credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
Topics:
Environment, Technology Internet, Payload fairing, Atlas V, Spaceflight, NASA, NASA Ames Research Center, Manned spacecraft, Human spaceflight, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
