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.

Dawn
Airtist's renderin o the Dawn spacecraft.
Mission teepMulti-target orbiter
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID2007-043A
SATCAT no.32249Edit this on Wikidata
WabsteixNASA
NASA JPL
Mission duration~9 years[1]
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerOrbital Sciences · JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) · UCLA (Varsity o Californie, Los Angeles)
BOL mass1,240 kg (2,730 lb) (wet)[2]
Pouer1300 W (Solar array) at 3 AU[2]
Stairt o mission
Launch date27 September 2007 (2007-09-27) 11:34:00 UTC[3]
(16 years, 6 months and 8 days ago)
RocketDelta II 7925H
Launch steidCape Canaveral SLC-17B
Fleebi o Mars (Gravity assist)
Closest approach17 Februar 2009 (2009-02-17)
(15 years, 1 month and 18 days ago)
Distance549 km (341 mi)
4 Vesta orbiter
Orbital insertion16 Julie 2011 (2011-07-16) 04:47 UTC[4]
(12 years, 8 months and 19 days ago)
Departit orbit5 September 2012 (2012-09-05)
(11 years, 6 months and 30 days ago)
1 Ceres orbiter
Orbital insertion6 Mairch 2015 (2015-03-06)[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

  1. "GSpace Topics: Dawn". Planetary Society. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  2. 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.
  3. "Dawn Spacecraft Successfully Launched". NASA. 27 September 2007. Archived frae the original on 15 Mey 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  4. "NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Begins Science Orbits of Vesta". NASA. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  5. Boyle, Alan (6 Mairch 2015). "Dawn Spacecraft Slips Quietly Into Orbit Around Dwarf Planet Ceres". NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Retrieved 11 Mairch 2015.
  6. 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.
  7. "NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Hits Snag on Trip to 2 Asteroids". Space.com. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  8. "Dawn Gets Extra Time to Explore Vesta". NASA. 18 Apryle 2012. Archived frae the original on 21 Apryle 2012. Retrieved 24 Apryle 2012.