WEBVTT

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Intro music.

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The Deep Impact spacecraft took the first step toward its journey to comet

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Tempel 1 when it arrived in Florida in October.

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It was shipped by truck from Ball Aerospace and Technologies in Boulder, Colorado,

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to the Astrotech Space Operations facility near the Kennedy Space Center.

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After removal from the container, the spacecraft was carefully moved to a work stand for post-shipping check-out.

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With the spacecraft secured, technicians attached large protective covers to its solar arrays,

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which were then locked to the open position.

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A series of mission readiness tests will follow the loading of updated flight software.

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The spacecraft is scheduled for a December 30 launch aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

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On July 4, 2005, when it's 83 million miles from Earth, Deep Impact will fire an 820-pound copper projectile

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that will collide with the comet's surface at a speed of 23 thousand miles per hour.

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The force will produce a crater that could be up to as large as a football field.

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Deep Impact will collect data and pictures from the impact,

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sending them back to Earth through the antennas of the Deep Space Network.

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By studying the results, astronomers hope to discover whether

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comets exhaust their supply of gas and dust into space or seal it inside.

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They would also like to learn more about the structure of a comet's interior.

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