Dynamic Test Chamber
NASA's International Sun-Earth Explorer C (ISEE C) was undergoing testing and evaluation inside Goddard's dynamic test chamber when this photo was taken. Working inside a dynamic test chamber, Goddard engineers wear protective "clean room" clothing to prevent microscopic dust particles from damaging the sophisticated instrumentation. NASA launched the 16-sided polyhedron on August 12, 1978. From its halo orbit 932,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth, the satellite monitored the characteristics of solar phenomena about one hour before its companion satellites—ISEE-A and ISEE-B—observed the same phenomena from a much closer near-Earth orbit. The correlated measurements supported the work of 117 scientists who to obtain a better understanding of how the Sun controls Earth's near-space environment.
Image Credit: NASA