|
|
|
|
|
NASA's Genesis spacecraft on final lap toward home NASA/JPL NEWS RELEASE Posted: May 5, 2004 NASA's Genesis spacecraft flew past Earth on Saturday in a loop that puts it on track for home - and a dramatic mid-air recovery Sept. 8. The Genesis mission was launched in August of 2001 to capture samples from the storehouse of 99-percent of all the material in our solar system - the Sun. The samples of solar wind particles, collected on ultra-pure wafers of gold, sapphire, silicon and diamond, will be returned for analysis by Earth-bound scientists. The samples Genesis will provide will supply scientists with vital information on the composition of the Sun, and will shed light on the origins of our solar system.
The Earth flyby occurred at about 3:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Saturday, May 1, at an altitude of 386,000 kilometers (239,850 miles) above the planet's surface - just beyond the Moon's orbit. At that time, the spacecraft was traveling at a speed relative to Earth of 1.26 kilometers per second (2,800 miles per hour). Helicopter flight crews, navigators and mission engineers are preparing for the return of the spacecraft. The will dispatch a sample return capsule that will re-enter Earth's atmosphere for a planned mid-air capture at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range on Sept. 8. To preserve the delicate particles of the Sun, specially trained helicopter pilots will snag the return capsule from mid-air using custom-designed hooks. The flight crews for the two helicopters assigned for Genesis capture and return are comprised of former military aviators and Hollywood stunt pilots. JPL manages the Genesis mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, the home institute of Genesis's principal investigator Dr. Don Burnett. |
|
|
|
The ultimate Apollo 11 DVD This exceptional chronicle of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission features new digital transfers of film and television coverage unmatched by any other. Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide  Apollo 1 DVD  This tribute DVD features over 4.5 hours of material about the Apollo 1 tragedy and the crewmembers lost in the pad accident.Choose your store:U.S. Freedom 7 DVD  In May 1961 the United States launched astronaut Alan Shepard on a 15-minute suborbital flight to begin America's manned spaceflight program. This DVD contains over 2 1/2 hours of rare material on the flight of Freedom 7. Choose your store:U.S. X-15 DVD set  The X-15 rocket plane pushed the boundaries of aerospace with trips out to mach 6.7 and altitudes of over 350,000 feet. This 3 DVD collection contains over 10 hours of material, the largest ever assembled and will allow you to experience the proud legacy of the X-15. Choose your store:U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE ASTRONOMY NOW | STORE ADVERTISE © 2009 Spaceflight Now Inc. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Expedition 8 commander Mike Foale describes what it is like to land in a Soyuz capsule and reflects on his half-year mission aboard the International Space Station in this post-flight interview. (23min 37sec file)
Activities of the two Mars Exploration Rovers and new images are discussed in this briefing from April 28. (41min 08sec file)
The Soyuz TMA-4 spacecraft carrying the Expedition 9 crew docks to the space station's Zarya control module as seen by a video camera on the capsule. (4min 40sec file)
The next space station crew is safely launched aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome. (3min 32sec file)
The Boeing Delta 2 rocket launches with NASA's Gravity Probe-B spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. (4min 16sec file)