KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) spacecraft is transported from the hazardous processing facility at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., where it has been since arrival March 10, to an adjacent nonhazardous payload processing facility. The remainder of its final assembly and testing will be completed there. The spacecraft will return to the hazardous processing facility when ready for fueling, spin balance testing and mating to the upper stage. MESSENGER is scheduled to launch no earlier than July 30 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MESSENGER is a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury, the least explored terrestrial planet. Understanding Mercury and how it was formed is essential to understanding the other terrestrial planets and their evolution. The MESSENGER mission will orbit Mercury after making two flybys of the planet, using data collected during the flybys as an initial guide to perform a more focused scientific investigation of this mysterious world. The spacecraft will enter Mercury orbit in March 2011 and carry out comprehensive measurements for one full Earth year. KSC-04pd0859
