Mercury Orbit Insertion, Events and Discussion leading up to MOI |
Mercury Orbit Insertion, Events and Discussion leading up to MOI |
Nov 25 2009, 05:30 AM
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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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Mar 9 2011, 01:10 PM
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10256 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
I used to do that! For Voyager, not Mariner 10, but it was the same thing. Don Bane from the Public Affairs Office would record a phone message, updated every week during slow times, and daily or more often for busy times like a flyby. It was the equivalent of checking into UMSF every morning.
I'm at LPSC this week... I'll post a few pics when I get back... but regarding Mercury, I asked Sean Solomon if his spacecraft was going to impact on Mercury at the end of the mission so I could have a point to plot on a map. I think he preferred not to think about that just yet... but yes, it will. Still not clear to me if it will be a controlled impact, or just left to strike at an unknown location. Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke Maps for download (free PDF: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...Cartography.pdf NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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