[meteorite-list] MAVEN Successfully Performs First Trajectory Correction Maneuver

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2013 08:51:50 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <201312041651.rB4Gpo2G023178_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html

MAVEN Status Update: Dec. 3, 2013

MAVEN mission controllers performed a successful trajectory correction
maneuver, also known as a TCM. Post-maneuver data review shows that TCM-1
went according to plan. This maneuver removed the planetary protection
bias. The planetary protection bias involves initially "aiming" to miss
Mars, so that the launch vehicle upper stage (which is on a trajectory
very similar to MAVEN's) doesn't accidentally hit the planet. The maneuver
also enabled the team to check out the performance of the Mars Orbit Insertion
thrusters and TCM thrusters. TCM-2 is scheduled for Feb. 26, 2014.

MAVEN is at a distance of 2.9 million miles from Earth. The current velocity
is 74,025 mph as it moves around the sun. MAVEN has already traveled nearly
26 million miles on its journey to Mars.

MAVEN's principal investigator is based University of Colorado Boulder's
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder, Colo. The university
provided science instruments and leads science operations, as well as
education and public outreach, for the mission. NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, Md., manages the project and provided two of the science
instruments for the mission. Lockheed Martin built the spacecraft and
is responsible for mission operations. The University of California at
Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory provided science instruments for
the mission. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., provides
navigation support, Deep Space Network support, and Electra telecommunications
relay hardware and operations.
Received on Wed 04 Dec 2013 11:51:50 AM PST