[meteorite-list] NASA Announces Deep Impact Future Mission Status

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Jul 20 18:06:45 2005
Message-ID: <200507202205.j6KM5tO22988_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Dolores Beasley/Erica Hupp
Headquarters, Washington July 20, 2005
(Phone: 202/358-1753/1237)

RELEASE: 05-193

NASA ANNOUNCES DEEP IMPACT FUTURE MISSION STATUS

As NASA's Deep Impact flyby spacecraft prepares to execute its
sixth trajectory correction maneuver, program managers at agency
headquarters in Washington are investigating future options.

Today's scheduled burn places the spacecraft on a trajectory to
fly past Earth in late December 2007. The maneuver allows NASA
to preserve options for future use of the spacecraft.

"This maneuver will keep the spacecraft in the vicinity of the
inner planets, thereby making the task of tracking and
communicating with it easier," said NASA's Director of Solar
System Division, Science Mission Directorate, Andy Dantzler.

Dantzler announced today that all investigators interested in
using the Deep Impact Flyby Spacecraft for further science
investigations must submit proposals to the 2005 Discovery
Program Announcement of Opportunity for a Mission of
Opportunity.

"All proposals for use of the Deep Impact spacecraft will be
evaluated for science merit and feasibility along with all
submitted proposal for Missions of Opportunity," he said.
"The spacecraft is being offered as is. Proposers must include
mission management and spacecraft operations in the total
proposed funding."

Further details will be posted by the end of July on the
Discovery Program acquisition site:

http://centauri.larc.nasa.gov/discovery

For information about Deep Impact on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/deepimpact

-end-
Received on Wed 20 Jul 2005 06:05:54 PM PDT