Philae lander released from Rosetta
Posted: Wed, Nov 12, 2014, 8:00 AM ET (1300 GMT)
ESA's Philae lander spacecraft has separated from the Rosetta orbiter en route to a landing on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko later Wednesday. ESA received signals confirming that the small lander, weighing about 100 kilograms, separated from the larger Rosetta spacecraft at 4:03 am EST (0903 GMT); there is a 28-minute delay in the arrival of the signals given the spacecraft's distance from Earth. Philae will slowly descend towards the comet, with a landing planned shortly after 11:00 am EST (1600 GMT). Project managers went ahead with the landing despite a problem with a cold gas propulsion system on the lander designed to prevent any rebound upon landing on the nucleus, given the comet's weak gravity. The lander will have to rely on harpoons to secure itself on the comet's nucleus upon landing.
ESA's Philae lander spacecraft has separated from the Rosetta orbiter en route to a landing on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko later Wednesday. ESA received signals confirming that the small lander, weighing about 100 kilograms, separated from the larger Rosetta spacecraft at 4:03 am EST (0903 GMT); there is a 28-minute delay in the arrival of the signals given the spacecraft's distance from Earth. Philae will slowly descend towards the comet, with a landing planned shortly after 11:00 am EST (1600 GMT). Project managers went ahead with the landing despite a problem with a cold gas propulsion system on the lander designed to prevent any rebound upon landing on the nucleus, given the comet's weak gravity. The lander will have to rely on harpoons to secure itself on the comet's nucleus upon landing.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, February 11
Musk’s Starlink in Crosshairs of Iran, Russia at UN Space Confab
Bloomberg News — 7:23 am ET (1223 GMT) Starlink Expansion Approval Prompts DirecTV Interference Concerns
Aviation Week — 7:23 am ET (1223 GMT) Eutelsat Secures French Export Credit Backing For OneWeb Order
Aviation Week — 7:21 am ET (1221 GMT) Space Force Plans For ‘Enhanced’ Protected Satcom Prototype
Aviation Week — 7:20 am ET (1220 GMT) The Founder of Rocket Lab on Competing with Billionaires to Lead in Space
Harvard Business Review — 7:19 am ET (1219 GMT) |
