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Deep Impact Navigation System Performance.
- Source :
-
Journal of Spacecraft & Rockets . Jan/Feb2008, Vol. 45 Issue 1, p39-56. 18p. 11 Diagrams, 12 Charts, 7 Graphs. - Publication Year :
- 2008
-
Abstract
- Deep Impact successfully met its primary mission objective on 4 July 2005 when the smart impactor guided itself into the path of Comet 9P/Tempel 1. The mother flyby spacecraft then observed and recorded the breathtaking collision and subsequent plume development. Ground-based navigators targeted the prerelease trajectory using optical navigation image planning and data analysis, trajectory correction maneuver design and evaluation, and orbit determination using both radiometric and optical data. In-flight improvements to the Tempel 1 ephemeris were also a critical part of the overall navigation design and operations success. The achieved navigation accuracy established a new standard for comet encounters, and this difficult task taught several important lessons. This definitive Work provides a mission overview, summarizes the navigation requirements, compares the achieved navigation performance with a baseline design that reflects in-flight updates, and identifies operational procedures that may benefit future comet-bound navigators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00224650
- Volume :
- 45
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Spacecraft & Rockets
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 30765251
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.2514/1.24310