Giotto (spacecraft)
Halley's comet fly-by space mission / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Giotto was a European robotic spacecraft mission from the European Space Agency. The spacecraft flew by and studied Halley's Comet and in doing so became the first spacecraft to make close up observations of a comet. On 13 March 1986, the spacecraft succeeded in approaching Halley's nucleus at a distance of 596 kilometers. It was named after the Early Italian Renaissance painter Giotto di Bondone. He had observed Halley's Comet in 1301 and was inspired to depict it as the star of Bethlehem in his painting Adoration of the Magi in the Scrovegni Chapel.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2019) |
Quick Facts Operator, COSPAR ID ...
Operator | European Space Agency |
---|---|
COSPAR ID | 1985-056A |
SATCAT no. | 15875 |
Website | Official Site at ESA.int |
Mission duration | 7 years and 1 month (launch to deactivation) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Launch mass | 960 kg[1] |
Power | 196 W |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 11:23:00, 2 July 1985 (UTC) (1985-07-02T11:23:00Z) |
Rocket | Ariane 1 |
Launch site | Guiana Space Centre |
End of mission | |
Deactivated | 23 July 1992 (1992-07-23) |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Heliocentric[2] |
Eccentricity | 0.17334 |
Perihelion altitude | 0.73 AU |
Aphelion altitude | 1.04 AU |
Inclination | 2.09° |
Period | 304.6 days |
Epoch | 10 July 1992, 15:18:43 UTC |
Flyby of Comet Halley | |
Closest approach | 14 March 1986 |
Distance | 596 km (370 mi) |
Flyby of Earth | |
Closest approach | 2 July 1990 |
Distance | 22,730 km (14,120 mi) |
Flyby of Comet Grigg-Skjellerup | |
Closest approach | 10 July 1992 |
Distance | 200 km (120 mi) |
Flyby of Earth | |
Closest approach | 1999 |
Distance | 1,000 km (620 mi) |
Legacy ESA insignia for the Giotto mission |
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