MESSENGER News Thread, news, updates and discussion |
MESSENGER News Thread, news, updates and discussion |
Apr 20 2005, 11:22 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 562 Joined: 29-March 05 Member No.: 221 |
Launched on August 3rd 2004, NASA's MESSENGER will become the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury.
News and updates are availbale via Johns Hopkins University MESSENGER website and the Kennedy Space Center's MESSENGER website. There will be an earth flyby in August followed by a couple of swings by Venus and three velocity scrubbing passages past mecury before the craft enters orbit in March 2011. April 18, 2005 status report from JHU. Extensive JHU FAQs page here. |
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Jan 23 2007, 11:38 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1018 Joined: 29-November 05 From: Seattle, WA, USA Member No.: 590 |
I see Messenger has just started its fourth orbit. (Yes, I know it's a silly milsetone, but I like the graphs.)
http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/whereis/index.php#current_orbit Given the shape of the orbit, that gravitational assist from Venus in June is going to be a whopper. I note also that we're within one year of the first Mercury flyby. |
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Jan 31 2007, 03:21 PM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 98 Joined: 29-July 05 From: Amsterdam, NL Member No.: 448 |
I note also that we're within one year of the first Mercury flyby. That’s a mission fact that isn’t so apparent from the MESSENGER website front page. Sure, we still have over 1500 days before orbit insertion, but the Venus flyby/gravity assist in early June sends the craft careening towards Mercury with the first flyby occurring on January 14, 2008. About half of the hemisphere facing the sun is unexplored, and MESSENGER should get great views of it on the outbound. http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/the_mission/ani.html |
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