Publication Date:
2019-07-13
Description:
NASA's Discovery Mission Dawn was launched in September 2007. Dawn will be the first to orbit two asteroids on a single voyage. The solar array for the Dawn mission will provide power under greatly varying illumination and temperature conditions. Dawn's ion propulsion system (IPS) will provide the spacecraft with enough thrust to reach Vesta and Ceres and orbit both. The demanding mission would be impossible without ion propulsion -- a mission only to the asteroid Vesta (and not including Ceres) would require a much more massive spacecraft and, a much larger launch vehicle.
Keywords:
Spacecraft Propulsion and Power
Type:
IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference; Jun 07, 2009 - Jun 12, 2009; Philadelphia, PA; United States
Format:
text
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