Dawn (spacecraft)
Dawn is a space probe launched bi NASA in September 2007 wi the mission o studyin twa o the three kent protoplanets o the asteroid belt, Vesta an Ceres. It is currently in orbit aboot its seicont tairget, the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn is the first spacecraft tae orbit twa extraterrestrial bouks,[6] the first spacecraft tae veesit either Vesta or Ceres, an an aa the first tae visit a dwarf planet, arrivin at Ceres in Mairch 2015, a few months afore New Horizons flew by Pluto in Julie 2015.
 Airtist's renderin o the Dawn spacecraft. | |
| Mission teep | Multi-target orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2007-043A |
| SATCAT no. | 32249 |
| Wabsteix | NASA NASA JPL |
| Mission duration | ~9 years[1] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Orbital Sciences · JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) · UCLA (Varsity o Californie, Los Angeles) |
| BOL mass | 1,240 kg (2,730 lb) (wet)[2] |
| Pouer | 1300 W (Solar array) at 3 AU[2] |
| Stairt o mission | |
| Launch date | 27 September 2007 11:34:00 UTC[3] (17 years, 2 months and 6 days ago) |
| Rocket | Delta II 7925H |
| Launch steid | Cape Canaveral SLC-17B |
| Fleebi o Mars (Gravity assist) | |
| Closest approach | 17 Februar 2009 (15 years, 9 months and 16 days ago) |
| Distance | 549 km (341 mi) |
| 4 Vesta orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 16 Julie 2011 04:47 UTC[4] (13 years, 4 months and 17 days ago) |
| Departit orbit | 5 September 2012 (12 years, 2 months and 28 days ago) |
| 1 Ceres orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 6 Mairch 2015[5] |
 Dawn mission patch | |
Dawn entered Vesta orbit on Julie 16, 2011, an completit a 14-month survey mission afore leavin for Ceres in late 2012.[7][8]
References
eedit- ↑ "GSpace Topics: Dawn". Planetary Society. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
- ↑ a b Rayman, Marc; Fraschetti, Thomas C.; Raymond, Carol A.; Russell, Christopher T. (5 Apryle 2006). "Dawn: A mission in development for exploration of main belt asteroids Vesta and Ceres" (PDF). Acta Astronautica. 58 (11): 605–616. Bibcode:2006AcAau..58..605R. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2006.01.014. Retrieved 14 Apryle 2011.
- ↑ "Dawn Spacecraft Successfully Launched". NASA. 27 September 2007. Archived frae the original on 15 Mey 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
- ↑ "NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Begins Science Orbits of Vesta". NASA. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ↑ Boyle, Alan (6 Mairch 2015). "Dawn Spacecraft Slips Quietly Into Orbit Around Dwarf Planet Ceres". NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Retrieved 11 Mairch 2015.
- ↑ Rayman, Marc (8 Apryle 2015). Now Appearing At a Dwarf Planet Near You: NASA's Dawn Mission to the Asteroid Belt (Speech). Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures. Foothill College, Los Altos, CA.
- ↑ "NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Hits Snag on Trip to 2 Asteroids". Space.com. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
- ↑ "Dawn Gets Extra Time to Explore Vesta". NASA. 18 Apryle 2012. Archived frae the original on 21 Apryle 2012. Retrieved 24 Apryle 2012.