Spacecraft flies by Venus
Posted: Wed, Jun 6, 2007, 8:31 AM ET (1231 GMT)
NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft flew past Venus on Tuesday, a flyby that collected data about the cloud-enshrouded planet while putting the spacecraft on course to its final destination. MESSENGER made its closest approach to Venus at 7:08 pm EDT (2308 GMT) Tuesday, passing within about 320 kilometers of the planet's surface. The flyby changed the spacecraft's speed by about 24,000 km/h, and put the spacecraft on a trajectory to reach Mercury in January 2008. During the flyby the spacecraft collected images and other data about the planet; that data will be transmitted back to Earth starting Thursday. MESSENGER's observations were coordinated with a European spacecraft, Venus Express, in orbit around the planet. MESSENGER, launched in 2004, will make three flybys of Mercury in 2008 and 2009 before entering orbit around the innermost planet in 2011 for a year-long mission. The spacecraft will be only the second to visit Mercury, and the first since NASA's Mariner 10 spacecraft made three flybys of the planet in the mid-1970s.
NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft flew past Venus on Tuesday, a flyby that collected data about the cloud-enshrouded planet while putting the spacecraft on course to its final destination. MESSENGER made its closest approach to Venus at 7:08 pm EDT (2308 GMT) Tuesday, passing within about 320 kilometers of the planet's surface. The flyby changed the spacecraft's speed by about 24,000 km/h, and put the spacecraft on a trajectory to reach Mercury in January 2008. During the flyby the spacecraft collected images and other data about the planet; that data will be transmitted back to Earth starting Thursday. MESSENGER's observations were coordinated with a European spacecraft, Venus Express, in orbit around the planet. MESSENGER, launched in 2004, will make three flybys of Mercury in 2008 and 2009 before entering orbit around the innermost planet in 2011 for a year-long mission. The spacecraft will be only the second to visit Mercury, and the first since NASA's Mariner 10 spacecraft made three flybys of the planet in the mid-1970s.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Apex becomes billion-dollar company with $200 million Series D round
Posted: Sun, Sep 14 4:09 AM ET (0809 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, September 18
Russia developing Starlink rival at 'rapid pace,' space chief says
Reuters — 1:56 am ET (0556 GMT) Rocket Lab Looks To Raise $750M In Share Sale
Aviation Week — 1:53 am ET (0553 GMT) Blue Origin hires Christopher Fuller as marketing and comms head
PRWeek — 1:52 am ET (0552 GMT) Weather Causes SpaceX Team to Scrub Wednesday’s Liftoff Attempt From VSFB
Noozhawk — 1:50 am ET (0550 GMT) Update: SpaceX Launch from Vandenberg Rescheduled Due to Weather
Santa Barbara (CA) Edhat — 1:50 am ET (0550 GMT) |
