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Deep Space 1

Deep Space 1
Deep Space 1 clean (PIA04242).png
Artist concept of Deep Space 1
Mission type Technology demonstrator
Operator NASA / JPL
COSPAR ID 1998-061A
SATCAT no. 25508
Website http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/deep-space-1-ds1/
Mission duration Final: 3 years, 1 month, 24 days
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer Orbital Sciences Corporation
Launch mass 486 kg (1,071 lb)
Dry mass 373 kg (822 lb)
Dimensions 2.1 × 11.8 × 2.5 m (6.9 × 38.6 × 8.2 ft)
Power 2,500 watts
Start of mission
Launch date 24 October 1998, 12:08 (1998-10-24UTC12:08) UTC
Rocket Delta II 7326
Launch site Cape Canaveral SLC-17A
End of mission
Disposal Decommissioned
Deactivated 18 December 2001, 20:00 (2001-12-18UTC21) UTC
Flyby of 9969 Braille
Closest approach 29 July 1999, 04:46 UTC
Distance 26 km (16 mi)
Flyby of 19P/Borrelly
Closest approach 22 September 2001, 22:29:33 UTC
Distance 2,171 km (1,349 mi)
Deep Space 1 - ds1logo.png
DS1 mission logo

Deep Space 1 (DS1) was a NASA technology demonstration spacecraft which flew by an asteroid and a comet. It was part of the New Millennium Program, dedicated to testing advanced technologies.

Launched on 24 October 1998, the Deep Space 1 spacecraft carried out a flyby of asteroid 9969 Braille, which was its primary science target. The mission was extended twice to include an encounter with comet 19P/Borrelly and further engineering testing. Problems during its initial stages and with its star tracker led to repeated changes in mission configuration. While the flyby of the asteroid was a partial success, the encounter with the comet retrieved valuable information. Three of twelve technologies on board had to work within a few minutes of separation from the carrier rocket for the mission to continue.

The Deep Space series was continued by the Deep Space 2 probes, which were launched in January 1999 piggybacked on the Mars Polar Lander and were intended to strike the surface of Mars (though contact was lost and the mission failed). Deep Space 1 was the first NASA spacecraft to use ion propulsion rather than the traditional chemical-powered rockets.

The purpose of Deep Space 1 was technology development and validation for future missions; 12 technologies were tested:

The Autonav system, developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, takes images of known bright asteroids. The asteroids in the inner Solar System move in relation to other bodies at a noticeable, predictable speed. Thus a spacecraft can determine its relative position by tracking such asteroids across the star background, which appears fixed over such timescales. Two or more asteroids let the spacecraft triangulate its position; two or more positions in time let the spacecraft determine its trajectory. Existing spacecraft are tracked by their interactions with the transmitters of the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN), in effect an inverse GPS. However, DSN tracking requires many skilled operators, and the DSN is overburdened by its use as a communications network. The use of Autonav reduces mission cost and DSN demands.


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