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| After “terrific” launch, TESS nears first major orbit-raising burn | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 23 2018, 12:14 PM (14 Views) | |
| Demagogue | Apr 23 2018, 12:14 PM Post #1 |
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https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/23/after-terrific-launch-tess-nears-first-major-orbit-raising-burn/ NASA’s new planet-hunting TESS observatory completed its first post-launch thruster firing Saturday, setting up for a big boost Wednesday that will send the spacecraft toward the moon for a flyby next month, the next maneuvers in a two-month process to reach the mission’s final science orbit in mid-June. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite fired its thrusters Saturday as it reached apogee, the most distant point in its looping elliptical orbit around Earth, nearly 170,000 miles (around 272,000 kilometers) in altitude. The rocket burn was planned as a checkout of TESS’s hydrazine-fueled propulsion system, and only nudged the satellite’s perigee, or orbital low point, slightly higher than the spacecraft’s initial perigee less than 200 miles (about 300 kilometers) above Earth. TESS launched Wednesday atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. The Falcon 9’s upper stage accomplished two engine firings before deploying the 798-pound (362-kilogram) observatory around 50 minutes after liftoff. The launch placed TESS into a preliminary oval-shaped transfer orbit. The satellite will carefully maneuver into its operational perch over the next two months, with the first major step planned for early Wednesday, when TESS swings back near Earth at its first perigee since launch, according to Robert Lockwood, TESS program manager at Orbital ATK, which built and operates the spacecraft for NASA. Five thrusters mounted at the base of the TESS spacecraft are used for major orbital adjustments, while four spinning reaction wheels inside the satellite keep it properly pointed. The first of three planned “perigee burns” Wednesday will do most of the lifting to place TESS on a trajectory to encounter the moon May 17, passing by at a distance of roughly 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) and using lunar gravity to drastically reshape its orbit around Earth. |
| People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would do them harm. | |
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4:33 AM Jul 11