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April 20, 2009
Yesterday, the solar arrays were installed on the Orbiter. With this complete, all that remains is some final checks of the attitude control system sensors, some blanket touch-up, removal of red tag/green tag items and filling the tanks with propellant!
In early April, we conducted our last mission rehearsal with the Orbiter. We operated the system continuously for 5 days, simulating the period from just before launch to just after lunar orbit insertion. After that, we took care of some final testing, including a measurement of transmitter power through each of our communication paths. We ran the high-gain antenna through its range of motion last week and stowed it for launch. With the successful launch of the Atlas V-16 mission, LRO is next on the launch vehicle.
Here is the Orbiter with the solar panels installed. The white cylinders
projecting from the panel catch the bolts that hold the panels in place for launch.
 Launch Site | Fueled, Stacked... 
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