SMART-1 enters lunar orbit
Posted: Tue, Nov 16, 2004, 8:04 AM ET (1304 GMT)
SMART-1, Europe's first lunar spacecraft, has entered orbit around the Moon, ESA announced early Tuesday The spacecraft passed within 5,000 km of the lunar surface late Monday, about 12 hours after the spacecraft restarted its ion engine to nudge the spacecraft into a lunar orbit. The ion engine will run continuously for several days, then for shorter periods thereafter to maneuver the spacecraft into an elliptical polar orbit that passes between 300 and 3,000 km from the lunar surface; that orbit should be achieved by mid-January. SMART-1, an acronym for Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology, is primarily an experimental spacecraft designed to demonstrate ion propulsion and other technologies. The spacecraft also carries instruments to study the lunar surface, including looking for traces of water ice hidden in permanently-shadowed craters at the lunar south pole. SMART-1 was launched as a secondary payload on an Ariane 5 in September 2003, and has been slowly spiraling out to the Moon using its ion engine.
SMART-1, Europe's first lunar spacecraft, has entered orbit around the Moon, ESA announced early Tuesday The spacecraft passed within 5,000 km of the lunar surface late Monday, about 12 hours after the spacecraft restarted its ion engine to nudge the spacecraft into a lunar orbit. The ion engine will run continuously for several days, then for shorter periods thereafter to maneuver the spacecraft into an elliptical polar orbit that passes between 300 and 3,000 km from the lunar surface; that orbit should be achieved by mid-January. SMART-1, an acronym for Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology, is primarily an experimental spacecraft designed to demonstrate ion propulsion and other technologies. The spacecraft also carries instruments to study the lunar surface, including looking for traces of water ice hidden in permanently-shadowed craters at the lunar south pole. SMART-1 was launched as a secondary payload on an Ariane 5 in September 2003, and has been slowly spiraling out to the Moon using its ion engine.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, September 5
Gilat Announces $100 Million Five-Year Convertible Notes at 60% Conversion Premium
Gilat Satellite Networks — 11:15 am ET (1515 GMT) 6U-Class Earth Observation Satellite ONGLAISAT, Co-Developed by ArkEdge Space, Wins Small Satellite Mission of the Year Award –First mission involving a Japanese company and university to receive the award–
ArkEdge Space — 11:15 am ET (1515 GMT) Datacentrex Invests $30 Million in Eagle LNG Partners, a Supplier of Fuel for the U.S. Space Launch Industry
Datacentrex — 11:14 am ET (1514 GMT) HawkEye 360 Confirms Early Lock-up Release for September 2nd; Preliminary Inclusion in Russell 2000
HawkEye 360 — 11:13 am ET (1513 GMT) America’s AI Lead Won’t Win The Next Space Race
Forbes.com — 11:11 am ET (1511 GMT) |
