Pictures of the Spacecraft

Pictures of the Spacecraft

Line Drawing of Galileo with Callouts

This figure shows the locations of many of Galileo's main structural and scientific components.

Getting Ready for Launch

This photo shows the Galileo spacecraft being prepared for mating to its Inertial Upper Stage. The black and gold fabric that covers the spacecraft is designed to protect it from both the heat of the sun and the chill of interplanetary space. The conical structure near the bottom of the spacecraft conceals the atmospheric probe, which will drop into the Jovian atmosphere on December 7, 1995.

Note how the high gain antenna is completely furled (it's the long cigar-shaped black object sticking out from the top of the spacecraft); the large black disk near the top of the spacecraft (but under the antenna) is the sunshade.

Environmental Testing

Before being launched from the shuttle, the Galileo orbiter was tested in a space simulation chamber. The test chamber, located at JPL, is designed to subject spacecraft to approximately the same environmental conditions that they will encounter in space. The high gain antenna can be seen fully extended.

Shuttle Launch

The space shuttle Atlantis lifts off, with Galileo on board.

Deployment from the Shuttle

The Galileo spacecraft and its Inertial Upper Stage booster rocket were deployed from the space shuttle Atlantis October 18, 1989. Shortly thereafter, the booster rocket fired and separated, sending Galileo on its six-year journey to the planet Jupiter. Upon its arrival at Jupiter in December 1995, Galileo will release a probe into the atmosphere so that scientists can survey the composition of the planet's clouds. The orbiter will relay probe information and will survey and photograph Jupiter and some of its major satellites.

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