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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 

Jane Platt  818-354-0880
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.      

News Release: 2003-069                                May 06, 2003

Galaxy Evolution Explorer Mission Status

NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer successfully opened its telescope
cover this morning at 4:32 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (1:32 a.m.
Pacific Daylight Time).  

The cover deployment sequence involved the heating of a thermal
actuator, which melted a wax pellet.  When the wax melted, it pushed
a mechanical pin, which in turn released the cover.  This release
enabled a spring-loaded hinge to swing open the cover.  The cover is
now safely stowed against the side of the spacecraft, where it will
remain for the duration of the mission.  Confirmation of successful
cover deployment was received in real time at the Mission Operations
Center at Orbital Sciences Corporation in Dulles, Virginia.

On Sat., May 3, engineers began the process of turning on the science
instrument.  So far, they have powered up both the digital processing
unit, which houses the main computer, and the detector front-end
electronics box, which contains the photon discrimination and
processing logic. The procedure went very smoothly.  The spacecraft
computer, mechanisms and heaters are operating properly, and
telemetry and data have been routinely transmitted to Earth.

The rest of this week ground controllers will put the spacecraft
through its paces by sending it simulated sequence commands.  Next
week, the high voltage power supply will be gradually brought up to
operational voltage.  High voltage is essential for the telescope to
gather the ultraviolet photons that will help scientists piece
together the story of how and when stars form inside galaxies.  

The two weeks after launch serve as a decontamination period, when
moisture and other materials absorbed by the spacecraft's paint and
thermal blankets bleed away, or "outgas."

Once the optic wheel is rotated into position, the telescope will
begin gathering photons --  a milestone known as first light.  This
will occur on or about May 19.

The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission will image millions of galaxies
across 10 billion years of cosmic history, which is 80-percent of the
way back to the Big Bang.  Additional information about Galaxy
Evolution Explorer is available at http://www.galex.caltech.edu
http://www.galex.caltech.edu/ . JPL, a division of the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galaxy Evolution
Explorer mission for NASAs Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C.

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