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We've been working on TIRS since 2008.

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We're building it in-house at Goddard and these last two months of testing

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we ran 3 shifts a day to monitor the instrument 24/7.

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Because TIRS is a thermal instrument that measures temperature from space,

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we do our testing in a thermal vacuum chamber where we can control the temp and pressure.

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At the front of the chamber is our calibration equipment.

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Behind is the TIRS instrument.

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Both sit on top of a sled that slides out of the chamber.

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But before we move TIRS we need to do a thorough inspection.

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Photographs document the layout of wires to see if anything is touching that shouldn't be.

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It only takes a little bit of accidental contact to add an extra heat load to the cryo-cooler.

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- So, OK, you can pull it out.

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Once satisfied with our inspection we disconnect the wires and cooling lines

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from the instrument and the calibration equipment.

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Then we pull out the sled.

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- And then we'll have three people out here pulling

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and everybody else that's not doing anything

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is going to be monitoring, making sure we don't catch any harnesses, cables, or whatnot.

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We need someone in the back of the chamber to handle the connections on that side too.

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They also help push the sled out.

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- Thank you.

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- Ready, Karl?
- Yes.

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It doesn't feel that heavy, even though it's a lot of weight.

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The sled is engineered to roll pretty smoothly.

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-Stop!

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As we work we stay connected to a grounding wire,

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to keep static electricity from damaging the instrument.

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- Watch your step, Michael.

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- Stop!
- There it is.

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We need to completely cover the equipment before we open the protective tent.

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This keeps dust and other particulates from contaminating or damaging the instrument.

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We'll move the whole platform down the hall with TIRS still on top.

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- We're going to have Karl, Mike pushing from the back

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The platform rides on a cushion of air, kind of like an air hockey table, or a hovercraft.

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It's pretty easy to steer, but we don't want to move too quickly and jolt the instrument .

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The important thing is safety, because we are moving hundreds of pounds of equipment.

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Once we get TIRS in the cleanroom, we can do the final touches

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and get on with the rest of our environmental testing.

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So far TIRS has done a beautiful job of providing the engineering team

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and the scientists with the data that they need.