Mercury Orbit Insertion, Events and Discussion leading up to MOI |
Mercury Orbit Insertion, Events and Discussion leading up to MOI |
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#1
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Senior Member ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Members Posts: 1018 Joined: 29-November 05 From: Seattle, WA, USA Member No.: 590 ![]() |
Excerpts from a new press release from the Messenger Team:
QUOTE Deep-Space Maneuver Positions MESSENGER for Mercury Orbit Insertion The Mercury-bound MESSENGER spacecraft completed its fifth and final deep-space maneuver of the mission today, providing the expected velocity change needed to place the spacecraft on course to enter into orbit about Mercury in March 2011. . . . today's maneuver began at 4:45 p.m. EST. Mission controllers at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., verified the start of the maneuver about 12 minutes, 49 seconds later, when the first signals indicating spacecraft thruster activity reached NASA's Deep Space Network tracking station outside Goldstone, Calif. "The team was well-prepared for the maneuver," said MESSENGER Mission Systems Engineer Eric Finnegan, of APL. "Initial data analysis indicates an extremely accurate maneuver execution. After sifting through all the post-burn data I expect we will find ourselves right on target." --Greg |
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#2
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Member ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Members Posts: 146 Joined: 31-October 08 Member No.: 4473 ![]() |
Mercury is about to pass behind the Sun in its pursuit of Messenger at the halfway point between the 3rd flyby and orbit insertion. Mercury is at periapsis and Messenger at apoapsis. Go Messenger!
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#3
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![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Group: Admin Posts: 4763 Joined: 15-March 05 From: Glendale, AZ Member No.: 197 ![]() |
If it is the planet pursuing the craft, shouldn't it be "Go Mercury" ?
-------------------- If Occam had heard my theory, things would be very different now.
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