Dawn enters orbit around Ceres
Posted: Sat, Mar 7, 2015, 9:48 AM ET (1448 GMT)
NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres as expected on Friday. Dawn was captured by Ceres' gravity at 7:39 am EST (1239 GMT) Friday, at an altitude of 61,000 kilometers. Dawn will gradually move into its initial science orbit at an altitude of 13,500 kilometers later by mid-April; in later phases of the mission, it will orbit Ceres as close as several hundred kilometers above its surface. Dawn launched in 2007 on a mission to study two of the largest objects in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Dawn orbited the large asteroid Vesta from July 2011 to September 2012 before departing for Ceres, formally designated a dwarf planet by the IAU in 2006.
NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres as expected on Friday. Dawn was captured by Ceres' gravity at 7:39 am EST (1239 GMT) Friday, at an altitude of 61,000 kilometers. Dawn will gradually move into its initial science orbit at an altitude of 13,500 kilometers later by mid-April; in later phases of the mission, it will orbit Ceres as close as several hundred kilometers above its surface. Dawn launched in 2007 on a mission to study two of the largest objects in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Dawn orbited the large asteroid Vesta from July 2011 to September 2012 before departing for Ceres, formally designated a dwarf planet by the IAU in 2006.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Space Force adds Rocket Lab and Stoke Space to NSSL contract
Posted: Sun, Mar 30 9:19 AM ET (1319 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, April 1
Sierra Space Demonstrates Resilient GPS Satellite Technology for National Security-Focused U.S. Space Force Satellite Program
Business Wire — 6:09 am ET (1009 GMT) Man who flew drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base sentenced
KSBY-TV San Luis Obispo, CA — 6:08 am ET (1008 GMT) Blue Origin prepping second New Glenn launch in ‘late spring’
TechCrunch — 6:08 am ET (1008 GMT) FAA concludes Blue Origin, Space X January ‘mishap’ investigations
Flying — 6:08 am ET (1008 GMT) SpaceX launches first crewed spaceflight over Earth's polar regions
France 24 — 6:05 am ET (1005 GMT) |
