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At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, workers monitor NASAs MESSENGER spacecraft as it is lowered onto a test stand by an overhead crane. Once in place, employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, will begin final processing for launch, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. The thermal blankets will also be attached for flight. MESSENGER short for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket no earlier than July 30 on a six-year mission to study the planet Mercury.