Plato is back from space-like test
This photo captures a moment during the delicate process of moving Plato from the Large Space Simulator (LSS), Europe’s largest cryo-vacuum chamber, to a cleanroom.
In the LSS chamber, Plato successfully completed a series of tough tests in space-like conditions.
Engineers used a special crane to lift the spacecraft out of the LSS chamber, move it over the open ceiling of a cleanroom, and then gently lower it onto a mobile supporting platform.
In the following days, engineers will perform further measurements and checks of the spacecraft.
[Image description: Photo of a large spacecraft suspended vertically inside a white-walled hall. The spacecraft is held securely by overhead lifting cables connected to a yellow crane hook. Directly beneath the spacecraft, a mobile support platform is ready to receive the spacecraft once it is lowered. Six engineers wearing lab coats are standing around the spacecraft. Some stand close to the lifting area, while others observe from nearby.]
