Sep 27 2007
From The Space Library
NASA successfully launched its Dawn spacecraft aboard a Delta-2 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station]] in Florida at 7:34 a.m. (EDT). Mission Controllers at NASA’s JPL in Pasadena, California, received telemetry data on schedule at 9:44 a.m. (EDT). The data indicated that Dawn had achieved proper orientation in space and that its solar array had succeeded in generating power from the Sun. Dawn’s mission was to travel 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion kilometers) to explore two asteroids located in orbit between Mars and Jupiter—Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015. The International Astronomical Union had reclassified Ceres as a dwarf planet in 2006. In their search for new information about the collection of rocky materials remaining from the formation of the planets, NASA scientists hoped that the US$474 million mission would provide insight into how size, water, and gravity had influenced the development of Earth and its planetary neighbors. NASA scientists intended to use Dawn’s instrument suite to measure the asteroids’ elemental and mineral composition, shape, surface topography, and tectonic history, as well as to search for water-bearing minerals. While studying how Dawn orbits the asteroids, scientists also planned to measure the masses and gravity fields of Vesta and Ceres. Engineers had designed Dawn to use ion propulsion, a unique hyperefficient system using solar power to ionize xenon, generating thrust. Although this method provided less power than conventional engines, ion propulsion could maintain thrust for months at a time.
NASA, “NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Enroute To Shed Light on Asteroid Belt,” news release 07-213, 27 September 2007, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/sep/HQ_07213_Dawn_Final_Release.html (accessed 4 August 2010); NASA, “Dawn Spacecraft Successfully Launched,” news release 07-212, 27 September 2007, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/sep/HQ_07212_Dawn_launched.html (accessed 4 August 2010); Mark K. Matthews, “NASA’s Dawn To Cast Light on Asteroids ‘Frozen in Time’,” Orlando Sentinel (FL), 28 September 2007; Mark Carreau, “NASA’s Launch Starts 3-Billion-Mile Trip to Asteroids,” Houston Chronicle, 28 September 2007.
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