Deep Impact's Coverage Options

[hal_9000]

I open this topic to the Monday event!
In SpaceflightNOW:

NASA's Deep Impact mission promises to create spectacular July Fourth fireworks in space when it shoots a 820-pound copper-tipped bullet into the frigid heart of Comet Tempel 1, creating a window to materials frozen in time since the solar system was born.

The washing machine-sized projectile will be released from its mothership spacecraft at 2:07 a.m. EDT (0607 GMT) Sunday for the day-long cruise to oblivion.

"We put the impactor in the comet's path so that the comet overtakes it. So it is like standing in the middle of the road with semi truck bearing down on you," said Rick Grammier, Deep Impact project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

The impactor and comet collide at 1:52 a.m. EDT (0552 GMT) Monday, releasing the energy equivalent of 4.5 tons of exploding TNT as they smash together at 23,000 mph. The intense forces vaporize the projectile as the circular crater -- perhaps 300 feet in diameter and 100 feet deep -- is rapidly excavated.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/deepimpact/status.html

[Decepticon]

I hope we get full mapping of the comet. At the very least rotation animations.


I was a bit disappointed with images taken by Stardust.


Can we expect Phoebe type coverage?

[hal_9000]

I hope we get full mapping of the comet. At the very least rotation animations.
I was a bit disappointed with images taken by Stardust.
Can we expect Phoebe type coverage?

Deep Impact mothership's telescope has a problem also...
I hope we get good pictures after processing!!!

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

We will definitely get MUCH, MUCH better photos of Tempel 1 from both of DI's cameras than have ever been obtained of a comet's surface -- including detailed full mapping during the nucleus' rotation during approach. The worry about the High Resolution Imager is that they wanted EXTREMELY high resolution shots of the crater produced by the Impactor, since one of DI's major goals is to examine the layering of a comet's surface and the thickness of its Sun-dehydrated rind -- and so even the possible drop in the resolution of DI's HRI photos of the crater from 1.4 meters/pixel at 700 km distance to maybe twice that is worrisome, since the crater (if we're unlucky) may be only a few dozen meters wide and only a small fraction of that deep. However, when it comes to photographing the comet itself, this resolution (and the 7 meters/pixel resolution of the MRI camera) will, as I say, be several quantum leaps beyond anything we've ever had before, even if the impact experiment itself fails completely.

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

By the way, the next DI press conference will be on NASA TV tomorrow morning at 7 AM Eastern time. I missed the last one -- which has never been rerun, as far as I can tell -- and so I hope they get some serious questions about the likely quality of the deconvoluted HRI photos (and that the reporters refuse to take any evasive guff on the subject).

[Decepticon]

Here is the schedule http://deepimpact.umd.edu/press/schedule.html

[djellison]

Brilliant - todays the day they turned off most of the Analgoue NASA tv signal - so all the webfeeds are all glorious static


Doug

[Decepticon]

They should rename NASA TV to "ISS 24/7"

[djellison]

Well - airtime is probably split dependant on where the funds go

Doug

[dvandorn]

Brilliant - todays the day they turned off most of the Analgoue NASA tv signal - so all the webfeeds are all glorious static
Doug

Yep -- my local cable system carries a NASA TV signal that originates from one of the local high schools. The high school brought in the signal for educational purposes and shared it with the cable company.

But today, the channel is blank. So, obviously, the high school couldn't afford the digital coverter.

So, I guess I'm SOL when it comes to further NASA TV coverage -- except on the web feeds, that is.

-the other Doug

[djellison]

Ahh - some of the feeds are coming back now - http://www.napacomfort.com/mars/nasa_feed.html

I wish Sky Digital would carry it in the UK - it's so frustrating to have 50+ channels which serve no purpose save that of showing what another channel was showing an hour ago, and no Nasa TV!!!

Anyhoo - those two hrs of press conferences are at about 6pm UK time, so I've got some fun viewing tonight

Doug

[ElkGroveDan]

The impactor and comet collide at 1:52 a.m. EDT (0552 GMT) Monday,

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/deepimpact/status.html

Somehow it always seems the times of these events or the otpimum viewing locations are best suited for Africa or Eastern Europe, or some corner of Antarctica. This time however it's going to be 11:00 pm here in California (with clear skies in the off-chance there's something to see in my 4-inch off-the-shelf reflector). That will be just enough time to have a few drinks after putting the kids to bed.

I can't wait!

[hal_9000]

Somehow it always seems the times of these events or the otpimum viewing locations are best suited for Africa or Eastern Europe, or some corner of Antarctica.  This time however it's going to be 11:00 pm here in California (with clear skies in the off-chance there's something to see in my 4-inch off-the-shelf reflector).  That will be just enough time to have a few drinks after putting the kids to bed.

I can't wait!

Brazil also!!!

[hal_9000]

Yep -- my local cable system carries a NASA TV signal that originates from one of the local high schools.  The high school brought in the signal for educational purposes and shared it with the cable company.

But today, the channel is blank.  So, obviously, the high school couldn't afford the digital coverter.  (What with the Minnesota state government being shut down starting today due to lack of funding and a governor who will only consider cutting essential services as opposed to finding new revenues, I'm not surprised.)

So, I guess I'm SOL when it comes to further NASA TV coverage -- except on the web feeds, that is. 

-the other Doug

I think there is one transponder in a satellite is broadcasting in analogic sign...

The New Digital NASA Television

As of 12:01 a.m. EDT July 1, 2005, digital NASA TV is available on AMC 6, Transponder 17C. Analog NASA TV is no longer available on satellite AMC 6, Transponder 9. Analog NASA TV will remain on AMC 7, Transponder 18C through NASA's Return to Flight mission.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

I'm still reviewing my recording of the press conference; but if I heard it right the first time, not one bloody comment was ever made about the HRI problem. Pfui.