Rosetta achieves rendezvous with comet
Posted: Wed, Aug 6, 2014, 9:47 AM ET (1347 GMT)
ESA's Rosetta spacecraft arrived at its destination on Tuesday, a comet the spacecraft has been chasing for a decade. Rosetta fired its thrusters for six and a half minutes starting at 5:00 am EDT (0900 GMT), allowing the spacecraft to match orbits with comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Rosetta is 100 kilometers from the comet nucleus, and will gradually move closer in the coming weeks. In November, Rosetta will deploy a small lander, named Philae, to touch down on the surface of the comet's nucleus. ESA launched Rosetta in 2004, taking a circuitous trajectory in order to efficiently match orbits with the comet. Rosetta will continue studies of the comet for at least a year, as the comet passes perihelion in its orbit around the Sun.
ESA's Rosetta spacecraft arrived at its destination on Tuesday, a comet the spacecraft has been chasing for a decade. Rosetta fired its thrusters for six and a half minutes starting at 5:00 am EDT (0900 GMT), allowing the spacecraft to match orbits with comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Rosetta is 100 kilometers from the comet nucleus, and will gradually move closer in the coming weeks. In November, Rosetta will deploy a small lander, named Philae, to touch down on the surface of the comet's nucleus. ESA launched Rosetta in 2004, taking a circuitous trajectory in order to efficiently match orbits with the comet. Rosetta will continue studies of the comet for at least a year, as the comet passes perihelion in its orbit around the Sun.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
SpaceX performs two Falcon 9 launches less than an hour apart
Posted: Sun, Aug 16 10:57 AM ET (1457 GMT) Virgin Galactic delays resumption of commercial flights to 2027
Posted: Sun, Aug 16 10:54 AM ET (1454 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Friday, August 21
Musk Touts Starlink for India’s Rural Users Amid Stalled Launch
Bloomberg News — 6:52 am ET (1052 GMT) U.S. Space Forces–Space Outlines Joint and Allied Integration Strategies at Space and Missile Defense Symposium
EINPresswire.com — 6:52 am ET (1052 GMT) Williamson County grants tax incentives for Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin
Austin (TX) American-Statesman — 6:43 am ET (1043 GMT) Rocket Lab’s Bold Move to Acquire Iridium: Analysts Break Down the Strategy
ViaSatellite — 6:43 am ET (1043 GMT) SpaceX, AST Said Seeking Grain Spectrum Valued at $6 Billion
Bloomberg News — 6:39 am ET (1039 GMT) |
