{author}        National Aeronautics and Space Administration

{date}          13-Mar-2003

{description}   KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the Multi-Payload Processing
                Facility, NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer is prepared for mating
                with the Pegasus XL launch vehicle. The GALEX, set to launch
                April 2 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, will carry into
                space an orbiting telescope that will observe a million galaxies
                across 10 billion years of cosmic history to help astronomers
                determine when the stars and elements we see today had their
                origins. The spacecraft will sweep the skies for 28 months using
                state-of-the-art ultraviolet detectors to single out galaxies
                dominated by young, hot, short-lived stars that give off a great
                deal of energy at that wavelength. These galaxies are actively
                creating stars, and therefore provide a window into the history
                and causes of star formation in galaxies.

{highres}       3000 x 1995

{highsize}      1211479

{hightype}      JPEG

{keywords}      NASA,KSC,Kennedy Space Center

{lowres}        320 x 212

{lowsize}       77727

{lowtype}       GIF

{mediumres}     1024 x 680

{mediumsize}    215319

{mediumtype}    JPEG

{number}        KSC-03PD-0741

{slideres}      120 x 108

{slidesize}     15500

{slidetype}     GIF

{tinyres}       100 x 66

{tinysize}      8288

{tinytype}      GIF

{title}         KSC-03PD-0741

{type}          Image

{end}