M7+-+6

RIGHT-CLICK on these links to "Open in a new window" //Mass:// 2,100 kilograms (4,600 pounds) at launch; 825 kilograms (about 1,800 pounds) during mission //Science instruments:// Dual cameras, infrared spectrometer and radiometer, ultraviolet spectrometer, photopolarimeter, plasma detector, low-energy charged particle detector, cosmic ray detector, magnetometer, planetary radio astronomy, plasma wave detector In the 1960s, mission designers recognized that a unique opportunity was going to present itself more than a decade later. Starting in the late 1970s, the giant gaseous outer planets -- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune -- would line up in such a way that single spacecraft might hop from one to the next, using the gravity of each one to keep speeding it on its way. Taking advantage of this alignment -- which occurs only once every 175 years -- NASA approved the Voyager Project, designed to send twin spacecraft to the outer solar system. Voyager 2 was launched first from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 20, 1977; Voyager 1 was launched on a faster, shorter trajectory on September 5, 1977. Both spacecraft were delivered to space aboard Titan-Centaur expendable rockets. Voyager 1 made its closest approach to Jupiter on March 5, 1979, and Voyager 2 followed with its closest approach occurring on July 9, 1979. The first spacecraft flew within 277,500 kilometers (172,000 miles) of the planet's cloud tops, and Voyager 2 came within 650,500 kilometers (403,000 miles). The Voyager 1 and 2 Saturn flybys occurred nine months apart, with the closest approaches falling on November 12 and August 25, 1981. Voyager 1 flew within 124,000 kilometers (77,000 miles) of the cloud tops, while Voyager 2 came within 100,800 kilometers (62,600 miles). Voyager 1's flight path at Saturn bent it up and away from the ecliptic, the plane in which most planets orbit the Sun. Voyager 2, meanwhile, continued on for two more planetary encounters. Voyager 2 flew by Uranus on January 24, 1986, coming within 81,500 kilometers (50,600 miles) of the planet's cloud tops. Voyager 2 made a final flyby of Neptune on August 25, 1989, passing within 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles). At the time, the planet was the most distant member of the solar system from the Sun. (Pluto once again became most distant in 1999.) Following their planet flybys, both Voyagers are heading out of the solar system. Flight controllers believe both spacecraft will continue to operate and send back valuable data until at least the year 2020. On February 17, 1998, Voyager 1 passed the Pioneer 10 spacecraft to become the most distant human-made object in space. **Delta II Rocket Coming Together for NASA's GLAST Satellite Launch**
 * Category 6 – Voyager/Outer Planets **
 * Voyager 1 & II || JPL & NASA Currrent ||
 * Galileo || JPL Past ||
 * Cassini-Huygens || JPL & NASA Currrent ||
 * New Horizons || NASA Current ||
 * Pioneer || NASA Current ||
 * Current Missions - Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 **
 * Spacecraft **
 * Overview **

Delta rocket 2 for the GLAST gamma telescope mission NICK THIS IS A WHOLE NEW THING GIVE IT ITS OWNE PAGE **A.C.E**

Mission Summary
The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) is an Explorer mission that was managed by the Office of Space Science Mission and Payload Development Division of the [|National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)]. More on the ACE personnel, including scientific Co-Investigators can be found [|here]. ACE launched on a McDonnell-Douglas Delta II 7920 launch vehicle on August 25, 1997 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Earth is constantly bombarded with a stream of accelerated particles arriving not only from the Sun, but also from interstellar and galactic sources. Study of these energetic particles contributes to our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system as well as the astrophysical processes involved. The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft carrying six high-resolution sensors and three monitoring instruments samples low-energy particles of solar origin and high-energy galactic particles with a collecting power 10 to 1000 times greater than past experiments. ACE orbits the L1 libration point which is a point of Earth-Sun gravitational equilibrium about 1.5 million km from Earth and 148.5 million km from the Sun. From its location at L1 ACE has a prime view of the solar wind, interplanetary magnetic field and higher energy particles accelerated by the Sun, as well as particles accelerated in the heliosphere and the galactic regions beyond. ACE also provides near-real-time 24/7 continuous coverage of solar wind parameters and solar energetic particle intensities (space weather). When reporting space weather ACE provides an advance warning (about one hour) of geomagnetic storms that can overload power grids, disrupt communications on Earth, and present a hazard to astronauts. The spacecraft has enough propellant on board to maintain an orbit at L1 until ~2024. More details of the ACE mission can be found in the ACE Mission Paper, published in Space Science Reviews.

JPL PAST Missions http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/past_missions.cfm JPL CURRENT Missions http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/index.cfm NASA CURRENT Missions http://www.nasa.gov/missions/current/index.html