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Dawn Spacecraft Runs Out of Hydrazine, Ceases Operations

posted by Fnord666 on Friday November 02 2018, @02:38PM   Printer-friendly
from the that's-two dept.

takyon writes:

NASA's Dawn Mission to Asteroid Belt Comes to End

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has gone silent, ending a historic mission that studied time capsules from the solar system's earliest chapter.

Dawn missed scheduled communications sessions with NASA's Deep Space Network on Wednesday, Oct. 31, and Thursday, Nov. 1. After the flight team eliminated other possible causes for the missed communications, mission managers concluded that the spacecraft finally ran out of hydrazine, the fuel that enables the spacecraft to control its pointing. Dawn can no longer keep its antennae trained on Earth to communicate with mission control or turn its solar panels to the Sun to recharge.

The Dawn spacecraft launched 11 years ago to visit the two largest objects in the main asteroid belt. Currently, it's in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres, where it will remain for decades.

Ceres, Vesta, and Dawn.

Also at Ars Technica, The Verge, and Science News.

Previously: NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Nears the End of its Mission
NASA Retires the Kepler Space Telescope after It Runs Out of Hydrazine

Related:

Pluto and Ceres
After Eight Years, NASA's Dawn Probe Brings Dwarf Planet Ceres Into Closest Focus
NASA's Dawn Orbiter Finds a Mountain on Ceres
Dawn Spies Magnesium Sulphate and Possible Geological Activity on Ceres
Ceres' Cryovolcano Ahuna Mons Formed in the Geologically Recent Past
Ceres's Cryovolcanoes Viscously Relax Into Nothingness
Organic Molecules Found on Ceres
Early Asteroids May Have Been Made of Mud Rather Than Rock
Dawn Mission Extended at Ceres
Ceres May Have Had a Global Surface Ocean in the Past
Bright Areas on Ceres Suggest Geologic Activity
Dawn's Orbit Around Ceres: A New Low
Dawn's Orbit Around Ceres: First Images
Dawn Spacecraft Captures Closest-Ever Images of Ceres' Shiny Occator Crater

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by The Archon V2.0 on Friday November 02 2018, @08:20PM (3 children)

    by The Archon V2.0 (3887) on Friday November 02 2018, @08:20PM (#757051)

    > It's not like using hydrazine near Ceres is going to kill anyone.

    I am reminded of a short story where the characters are forced to fill out EPA paperwork for a mining operation on Io, including a description of procedures in place for minimizing impact on rivers and wildlife.

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  • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by takyon on Friday November 02 2018, @08:24PM (2 children)

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Friday November 02 2018, @08:24PM (#757053) Journal

    Rivers of lava and fire elementals, maybe 🔥🔥🔥

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