Space History Photo: Galileo Preparations

The spacecraft Galileo is prepared for its October 1989 six-year trip to Jupiter. (Image credit: NASA.)

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, the spacecraft Galileo is in the Vertical Processing Facility (VPF), prepared for mating with the Inertial Upper Stage booster. Galileo will be launched aboard the Orbiter Atlantis on Space Shuttle mission STS-34, October 12, 1989 and sent to the planet Jupiter, a journey which will take more than six years to complete.

Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).

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