The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter completed it's main engine burn Friday afternoon and is now orbiting the red planet. I love to follow these kinds of things at
www.spaceflightnow.com. They usually give live updates to launches, landings, and other important spacecraft happenings. They also inject a lot of enthusiasm into their reporting. Here is a sample from Friday's MRO mission status log:
2124 GMT (4:24 p.m. EST)
MOI IGNITION! Flying backward with the Red Planet looming near, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has ignited its cluster of engines for the 27-minute orbit insertion burn. This engine firing will slow the spacecraft's speed by 2,200 mph, enabling the planet to capture the probe before sailing past.
2216 GMT (5:16 p.m. EST)
CONTACT! Communications have been restarted with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter!
When reading the updates live, I really get caught up in the exitement.
2 comments:
I am sitting here drinking my second 1554. That is an ale brought to us by the New Belgium Brewery of Ft. Collins, Co. This stuff is good and strong. It sure makes reading about the MRO more interesting...and it beats the hell out of being at work.
I think I've spotted a logical fallacy in your comment. There is no way you could possibly make reading about the MRO more interesting. Now that that's cleared up, I've had some of the New Belgium Brewery's beer, and I agree that it is quit refreshing. And it did manage to beat working.
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