NEAR Shoemaker Weekly Report 13 October 2000
MISSION OPERATIONS:
Since the execution of Orbit Correction Maneuver 13 (OCM 13) on Tuesday, September 5 at 23:00 UTC, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft has been orbiting the asteroid 433 Eros in a nominal 100 km circular orbit. After more than 5 weeks in this orbit, NEAR Shoemaker entered the next orbital phase earlier today, Friday October 13 at 05:45 UTC, when Orbit Correction Maneuver (OCM 14) successfully executed. This maneuver initiated a 100 km x 50 km transfer orbit. According to the mission plan, the spacecraft will remain in this transfer orbit for three and one-half revolutions, after which Orbit Correction Maneuver 15 (OCM 15) will circularize the orbit at 50 km.
The spacecraft subsystem configuration has not changed during this reporting period.
Preparations for the upcoming Close Flyby of Eros on October 25th are proceeding as planned. Because of the uniqueness of this flyby event, a formal review of this activity was deemed prudent. The NEAR Shoemaker Close Flyby Review was conducted this past Wednesday, October 11 at 17:00 UTC. Several actions to strengthen contingency plans were recommended at this review and are being implemented.
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 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 (63 km x 200 km transfer orbit) Nov 3 Eros Orbit Correction Maneuver 18 (200 km orbit circularization)