This is an exciting call which beacons the success of unmanned mission of the Deep Impact space probe elated to comet study. NASA has successfully conducted engine burn of Epoxi spacecraft which is built entirely out of recycled material. The engines were fired on May 28 for 11.3 seconds to fine-tune the probe’s planned June 27 flyby past the Earth. The recent engine burn has changed the spacecraft’s velocity by 0.1 meters per second to take advantage of Earth’s gravity and get a speed boost for Epoxi’s trip to Hartley 2, scheduled for November this year.
The spacecraft was built for NASA by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., located in Boulder Colo. JPL manages Epoxi for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. while the University of Maryland is the Principal Investigator institution.
Via: Space