Friday, December 02, 2011

Deep Impact Hoping for a Third Mission Extention


NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft fired its on-board rocket motors Thursday, Nov. 24 for just over 2 minutes. This burn was done on hopes that NASA will once again extend the spacecraft's mission one more time. If so, then Deep Impact will again fire its engines sometime next fall.

Since its mission completion in 2005 encounter with comet Tempel 1, Deep Impact has done a flyby of Hartley 2 on Nov. 4, 2010. Its present burn resulted in a delta V of only 19.5 mph but should keep many options open should NASA agree to the mission extension.

Complete Science Daily article here

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