Intro music.
With three eyes in the sky, the Swift orbiting observatory will
attempt to unravel mysteries about the most powerful explosions in the Universe -- gamma-ray bursts.
But before such a complex set of instruments can be launched on its seven-year mission,
all of the components must be carefully checked in an environment free of contamination.
The testing of Swift's three "eyes" -- the telescopes that will spot and record the bursts --
was completed in a "clean room" before they were assembled and integrated with the rest of the hardware.
In addition to the telescopes, small cameras called Star Trackers
were installed to help position the observatory by pinpointing known stars in images of the sky.
The check-out included the observatory's solar arrays,
which will collect sun light and turn it into power for the spacecraft.
The lower part of Swift supports the optical instruments and houses the control systems.
The spacecraft had to pass various checks, including acoustic and thermal vacuum testing.
Once all the hardware was checked, tested and assembled,
the Swift observatory was ready for its November launch aboard a Delta II rocket.