NEAR Shoemaker Weekly Report 8 September 2000

MISSION OPERATIONS:
 
NEAR Shoemaker has successfully re-entered a 100 km circular orbit.  This orbit commenced Tuesday, September 5 at 23:00 UTC, when Orbit Correction Maneuver 13 (OCM 13) executed.  According to the mission plan, the spacecraft is scheduled to remain in this orbit until October 12 at 16:21 UTC at which time Orbit Correction Maneuver 14 (OCM 14) initiates a 100 km x 50 km transfer orbit.  In preparation for End of Mission operations, several MSI Star field images were taken immediately before and during execution of OCM 13 to assess spacecraft jitter during propulsive maneuvers.
 
The spacecraft subsystem configuration has not changed during this reporting period.
 
Preparations for the October close flyby are proceeding as planned.
 
Except for the NIS, science activities conducted this week included Eros observations by the full instrument suite: MSI, MAG, XGRS and NLR.  Please consult science timelines for more details.
 
Upcoming Spacecraft Activities:
 
In addition to regular Eros Science and Optical Navigation, the following are operationally significant activities planned for the NEAR Shoemaker mission operation:
 
Oct  12  Eros Orbit Correction Maneuver 14  (100 km x 50 km transfer orbit) Oct  20  Eros Orbit Correction Maneuver 15  (50 km orbit circularization) Oct  25  Eros Orbit Correction Maneuver 16  (50 km x 21 km transfer orbit) Oct  26  Eros Orbit Correction Maneuver 17  (61 km x 200 km transfer orbit) Nov  2  Eros Orbit Correction Maneuver 18  (200 km orbit circularization)