Mariner takes form as the solar panels are attached and the final hangar checkout operations are performed before the launch.
Wrapped in a dust cover, the spacecraft is transferred from Hangar AE at AMR to the explosive safe area for further tests.
Inside the bunker-like explosive safe area, the powerful midcourse maneuver rocket engine is installed in the center of the spacecraft.
Final assembly and inspection complete, Mariner is “canned” in the nose shroud that will protect it through the Earth’s atmosphere and into space.
At the pad, the shrouded spacecraft is lifted past the Atlas ...