JPL Facility has Built Famed Spacecraft for 50 Years

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE 818-354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Feature: 2011-142 May 12, 2011

JPL Facility has Built Famed Spacecraft for 50 Years
See it at JPL Open House May 14 and 15

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-142&cid=release_2011-142

The Spacecraft Assembly Facility of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
Calif., was constructed in 1961 to support NASA's Ranger and Mariner missions to the
moon, Venus and Mars.

America had entered the Space Age just three years earlier, with the launch of the
JPL-built Explorer 1 spacecraft.

The Spacecraft Assembly Facility, also known as JPL Building 179, originally had just
one high bay, the large chamber now named High Bay 1. It is about 80 feet by 120 feet
(about 24 by 36 meters). In contrast to the cleanliness standards for spacecraft
assembly today, in the early days of the facility, personnel were even permitted to
smoke inside this high bay.

All JPL-built spacecraft through the Viking Orbiters (launched to Mars in 1975) were
built in High Bay 1. At times during the 1960s, as many as five different spacecraft
were being assembled at the same time in the facility.

After the original construction of the high bay, the System Test Complex on the south
side of the high bay's windows was added. A second high bay, about 70 feet by 70 feet
(21 meters by 21 meters) was finished in 1976 to support the Voyager Project.
Spacecraft assembled in High Bay 2 have included Voyager 1 and 2, Galileo and
Cassini.

The project being assembled and tested in High Bay 1 in spring 2011 is the Mars
Science Laboratory, including its rover, Curiosity. The mission is scheduled for launch
in November 2011. Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity were also built in High Bay 1.

Emblems on the wall of High Bay 1 represent all the missions (spacecraft and
instruments) that were assembled in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility, regardless of
which high bay was used. These include the first successful missions to Venus, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, as well as Earth's moon. The facility has also
built Earth-science instruments, plus Wide Field and Planetary Cameras that flew on
the Hubble Space Telescope.

Both of the high bays are certified to a cleanliness level of Class 10,000, which means
that there are less than 10,000 particles of 0.5 micron (half a millionth of a meter or
yard) or larger in size per cubic foot of air volume. It is a great place to work if you have
allergies. The filtration systems in the high bays are effective in reducing both
particulates as well as hydrocarbons. The system maintained acceptable levels even
when a brush fire raged near JPL in 2009.

Personnel working in the high bay wear protective clothing to minimize particles and
bacteria reaching the spacecraft and the facility. All the equipment that enters the high
bay is cleaned first with approved solvents (usually isopropyl alcohol). Both high bays
are equipped with continuous remote monitoring for environmental conditions and
cleanliness levels to ensure system safety and quick response to anomalous
conditions.

More information about JPL is online at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov . Follow us via social
media, including Facebook and Twitter. Details are at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/social .
A live feed of Curiosity being built and tested in High Bay 1, with a chat feature
available most days, is online at: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl .

The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.

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