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
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, May 30
What the Blue Origin rocket explosion means for Amazon’s satellite ambitions
CNBC — 4:32 am ET (0832 GMT) Space rally gets reality check with Blue Origin blowup
Bloomberg News — 4:23 am ET (0823 GMT) United Launch Alliance Precisely Delivers Seventh Amazon Leo Mission, Advancing Constellation Toward Commercial Service
United Launch Alliance — 4:22 am ET (0822 GMT) Blue Origin’s Launch Pad Explosion Could Impact Timelines for Commercial Customers, NASA Missions
ViaSatellite — 4:22 am ET (0822 GMT) Blue Origin rocket explosion: What we know about blast in Cape Canaveral
WESH-TV Orlando — 4:21 am ET (0821 GMT) |
