Photos: InSight Completes Final Launch Processing, Takes its Spot atop Atlas V

NASA’s InSight spacecraft completes final pre-launch processing steps at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base as engineers remove the final protective covers from the lander before closing its aeroshell by installing the heat shield that will protect it during its entry into the Martian Atmosphere in November 2018. The spacecraft was then encapsulated in the protective payload fairing before moving to the SLC-3E launch pad for installation atop the Atlas V 401 rocket.

All Photos: NASA Kennedy