[X] My Assistant

[Guest_PhilCo126_*]

Any weblinks where we can learn something about the where-abouts of ICE/ISEE ( International Comet Explorer / International Sun Earth Explorer ) as the craft was expected to return to Earth in 2014?

[Phil Stooke]

So... the lunar flyby was supposed to be very low altitude, and the current uncertainty means the spacecraft might impact. "This has become extremely important as there is a solid statistical chance that the spacecraft could impact the moon or even be off course enough to threaten other spacecraft in Earth orbit."
(http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/05/isee-3-is-not-e.html)

Is it inappropriate of me to wish for an impact so I can mark it on my map? Not even if I said it was to save those other spacecraft?

Phil

[mcaplinger]

The stated error is 250e3 km, presumably derived from RA/dec errors in pointing since they don't have any range data. Unless there's some data they haven't described, they really know very little about the actual positional error, and prognosticating impacts or approach distances is nearly meaningless at this point. They need ranging, and for that they have to command the spacecraft AFAIK.