Indian spacecraft enters lunar orbit
Posted: Sat, Nov 8, 2008, 2:40 PM ET (1940 GMT)
India's first lunar mission successfully entered orbit around the Moon on Saturday. Chandrayaan-1 fired its main engine for 817 seconds at 6:21 am EST (1121 GMT, 4:51 pm Indian time) Saturday, moving the spacecraft from a lunar transfer trajectory into an elliptical orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft is currently in an orbit of 504 by 7,502 kilometers, but will eventually maneuver into a 100-kilometer circular orbit. Chandrayaan-1 was launched October 22 into Earth orbit, and gradually raised its apogee until it moved into a transfer trajectory. The spacecraft, India's first mission beyond Earth orbit, carries a suite of instruments from India, Europe, and the United States, as well as an impactor probe that will be fired towards the surface once the spacecraft is in its final orbit.
India's first lunar mission successfully entered orbit around the Moon on Saturday. Chandrayaan-1 fired its main engine for 817 seconds at 6:21 am EST (1121 GMT, 4:51 pm Indian time) Saturday, moving the spacecraft from a lunar transfer trajectory into an elliptical orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft is currently in an orbit of 504 by 7,502 kilometers, but will eventually maneuver into a 100-kilometer circular orbit. Chandrayaan-1 was launched October 22 into Earth orbit, and gradually raised its apogee until it moved into a transfer trajectory. The spacecraft, India's first mission beyond Earth orbit, carries a suite of instruments from India, Europe, and the United States, as well as an impactor probe that will be fired towards the surface once the spacecraft is in its final orbit.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
SpaceX sets Nov. 18 launch date for sixth Starship test flight
Posted: Sat, Nov 9 9:57 AM ET (1457 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, November 25
Rocket Lab Successfully Launches Two Missions in Less Than 24 Hours
Rocket Lab — 5:15 am ET (1015 GMT) Start thinking about space tourism, Travel Counsellors agents told
Travel Weekly — 5:15 am ET (1015 GMT) Greater transparency will enhance space governance
Australian Strategic Policy Institute — 5:14 am ET (1014 GMT) Rural visionaries and space frontiers: How Terry Kilgore helped transform Virginia into a commercial space hub
Cardinal News — 5:14 am ET (1014 GMT) Colorado Springs named permanent home for 250 Delta 15 Space Force guardians, ahead of possible Space Command fight
Colorado Springs Gazette — 5:14 am ET (1014 GMT) |
