Venus Express enters final orbit
Posted: Wed, May 10, 2006, 8:35 AM ET (1235 GMT)
ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has entered its final orbit around Venus, even as spacecraft engineers troubleshoot a problem with an instrument on the spacecraft. Venus Express, which entered its initial orbit around the planet last month, completed a series of five maneuvers between April 15 and May 6 to adjust its orbit into its desired configuration, a polar orbit ranging between 250 and 66,000 kilometers above the planet. The orbit allows for up-close studies of the planet's north polar regions and long-duration studies of its southern polar area. Scientific operations of the spacecraft are scheduled to begin in early June. However, New Scientist reported Monday that a mirror that is part of the spacecraft's Planetary Fourier Spectrometer has stuck in an unusable position. The cause of the stoppage is unknown, but project scientists said they have been able to move the mirror somewhat and hope to be able to position it into a usable configuration as early as this week.
ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has entered its final orbit around Venus, even as spacecraft engineers troubleshoot a problem with an instrument on the spacecraft. Venus Express, which entered its initial orbit around the planet last month, completed a series of five maneuvers between April 15 and May 6 to adjust its orbit into its desired configuration, a polar orbit ranging between 250 and 66,000 kilometers above the planet. The orbit allows for up-close studies of the planet's north polar regions and long-duration studies of its southern polar area. Scientific operations of the spacecraft are scheduled to begin in early June. However, New Scientist reported Monday that a mirror that is part of the spacecraft's Planetary Fourier Spectrometer has stuck in an unusable position. The cause of the stoppage is unknown, but project scientists said they have been able to move the mirror somewhat and hope to be able to position it into a usable configuration as early as this week.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Roscosmos replaces cosmonaut on next Crew Dragon mission to ISS
Posted: Sat, Dec 6 9:45 AM ET (1445 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Friday, December 12
Ramon Sanchez Joins Firefly Aerospace as Chief Operating Officer
Firefly Aerospace — 6:16 am ET (1116 GMT) Firefly Aerospace Adds Volta’s Wireless Power Receiver to Blue Ghost Mission on Far Side of the Moon
Firefly Aerospace — 6:16 am ET (1116 GMT) The Exploration Company is Developing an In-Orbit Serving Vehicle
European Spaceflight — 6:14 am ET (1114 GMT) Draco: atmospheric reentry from the inside
ESA — 6:14 am ET (1114 GMT) Ariane 6 – made in Romania
ESA — 6:14 am ET (1114 GMT) |
