On October 24, 1998, NASA launched the Deep Space 1 spacecraft. Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Deep Space 1 served as a test bed for 12 new technologies, including solar electricity, also known as ion propulsion, for used in future space and interplanetary missions. The spacecraft, the first in NASA’s New Millennium program, flew past the asteroid Braille and comet Borrelly, returning images and scientific data about the two small bodies. The ion drive engine that Deep Space 1 successfully demonstrated allowed the Dawn spacecraft to explore the protoplanet Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres using this technology. The Psyche spacecraft currently on its way to explore the asteroid of the same name, also uses ion propulsion. Future programs such as Gateway will use ion propulsion to enable human exploration of the moon. Deep Space 1 completed its mission on December 18, 2001.
Left: The fully assembled Deep Space 1 spacecraft prepares for launch. Middle: View of the Deep Space 1 spacecraft’s ion drive engine. Right: Deep Space 1’s launch on a Delta II rocket from Launch Pad 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida.
The 12 Deep Space 1 technologies tested include ion propulsion systems; autonomous navigation system; autonomous control system; a beacon system that sends simple tones to Earth to advise spacecraft health controllers; solar array with concentrator lens; integrated camera and imaging spectrometer; integrated ion and electron spectrometer; small space transponders; Ka-band solid-state power amplifier; low power electronics; multifunctional structures testing new packaging technologies; and power activation and switching modules. Scientists are also collecting data on whether ion engine bursts interfere with the spacecraft’s instruments. Ion engines use xenon gas as a propellant and obtain power from the spacecraft’s high-efficiency solar array. Despite providing low overall thrust, it produces greater thrust than any chemical engine.
The Deep Space 1 spacecraft’s primary mission trajectory, including the 1992 KD asteroid flyby, was renamed 9969 Braille.
The launch of Deep Space 1 was carried out aboard a Delta II rocket on October 24, 1998, from Launch Pad 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida. After entering an initial parking orbit around Earth, the rocket’s third stage propelled Deep Space 1 into solar orbit. Initial mission plans included demonstrations of new technology and a flyby of asteroid 1992 KD, renamed 9969 Braille shortly before the spacecraft’s encounter. On November 10, ground controllers ordered the ion engines to begin firing but they only operated for 4.5 minutes. They tried again on November 24 with the spacecraft 3 million miles from Earth, and this time the engine successfully fired, running for the planned 14 days. Over the next six months, the spacecraft successfully tested all 12 of its technology demonstrations, completing its activities in June 1999.
Left: Illustration of Deep Space 1 and the blue exhaust from its ion drive engine. Middle: Blurry image of asteroid 9969 Braille. Right: Highest quality image of comet 19P/Borrelly.
Due to an onboard computer malfunction shortly before the encounter, as well as the inability of the autonomous navigation system to lock on to a darker-than-expected asteroid, the Braille-enabled Deep Space 1 flight on July 29, 1999 instead occurred at a distance of 16 miles. of the plan 790 feet. Therefore, the spacecraft’s returned images did not show any details, while other instruments provided good data. When the spacecraft’s primary mission ended on September 18, 1999, mission managers approved a mission extension to target a flyby of comet 19P/Borrelly. The spacecraft’s star tracker failed on November 11, 1999, endangering the comet. Over the next five months, ground controllers established a new attitude control system that did not rely on star trackers, and flybys were able to resume. Deep Space 1 entered the comet Borrelly’s coma on September 22, 2001, and flew past its nucleus at a distance of 1,350 miles. The spacecraft provided the most detailed images of a comet’s nucleus up to that time. After operating well beyond its expected lifetime and with attitude control fuel running low, ground controllers shut down the spacecraft on December 18, 2001. Its ion drive engines had operated for 16,265 hours, far longer than any previous spacecraft, and produced a total a speed change of three miles per second, the largest achieved by any spacecraft that had its own propulsion system.
Left: Dawn spacecraft image of the dwarf planet Ceres. Middle: Illustration of the Psyche spaceship encountering the asteroid of the same name. Right: Illustration of Habitation Gate and Logistics Post as well as Power and Propulsion Elements using ion drives.
The ion propulsion technology demonstrated by Deep Space 1 has been used in uncrewed interplanetary missions and will be used in future human exploration of the moon. Launched in 2007, the Dawn spacecraft’s ion propulsion system allowed it to explore two worlds between 2011 and 2018, the protoplanet Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres, entering orbit around each world to conduct in-depth studies that would otherwise have been impossible. The Psyche spacecraft, currently on its way to explore the asteroid of the same name, also uses ion propulsion. In the arena of future human space exploration, Gateway, part of the NASA-led Artemis mission to return astronauts to the Moon, will establish a human presence in lunar orbit. Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element plans to use an Advanced Electric Propulsion System to reach lunar orbit and maintain that orbit to enable regular astronaut visits.
2023-10-24 19:29:37
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