Rosetta Lander successfully completes on-ground check-out

January 2004 saw the completion of the on-ground check-out activities of the
Rosetta Lander at CSG, Kourou, French Guiana.

The check-out team took the Lander through a flawless "Cruise Abbreviated
Functional Test". This test successfully demonstrated that all Lander
subsystem and payload units were as alive and well as expected. To round off
the test series, the electrical configuration was finalized for launch, the
primary battery was checked out, and the secondary battery was fully
charged. Finally, the harpoons, which in 10.5 years’ time will secure the
Lander to the comet surface, were mounted.

By now, only a few protective covers and other "remove-before-flight" items
still have to be removed (including tip protectors of the harpoons, still
present on the picture you see here), and the plug that sets the Lander to
the Arm status will be installed late February, when Rosetta is atop its
Launch Vehicle.

In addition, the Lander staff graduated from their refresher Safety Training
to be cleared for work at the BAF (Ariane 5 Final Assembly Building), where
that last "remove-before-flight" and arming task will be performed. No
small feat!