{"id":9177,"date":"2014-11-05T22:19:43","date_gmt":"2014-11-06T03:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9177"},"modified":"2014-11-06T02:24:11","modified_gmt":"2014-11-06T07:24:11","slug":"rosetta-prepares-orbit-for-deployment-of-lander-on-nov-12th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9177","title":{"rendered":"Rosetta prepares for deployment of lander on Nov. 12th"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0The European Space Agency’s Rosetta<\/a> spacecraft now orbiting\u00a0the Comet 67P\/Churyumov\u2013Gerasimenko will release\u00a0\u00a0its Philae lander\u00a0to touch down on the comet on November 12th at 08:35 UTC (09:35 CET, 03:35 EST) . They have now chosen the name<\/span>\u00a0Agilkia<\/em> for the landing spot:\u00a0Farewell \u2018J\u2019, hello Agilkia – ESA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Rosetta<\/a>Rosetta & Philae at comet 67P. Credit: ESA\u2013C. Carreau\/ATG medialab<\/em><\/p>\n

On October 31st, Rosetta made a maneuver to align itself for the release of the lander : \u00a0Rosetta lined up for lander delivery –\u00a0Rosetta\u00a0blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

the next planed orbit-changing manoeuvres will occur on the 12th at (a) 2 hours before separation and (b) about 40 minutes after (see animation below), in between which Philae will be released.<\/em><\/p>\n

The pre-delivery manoeuvre will shift Rosetta’s trajectory so that the orbiter would be on a path so as to pass over the comet at a distance of 5 km, while the separation will occur at 08:35 UTC on board the spacecraft about 22 km (the confirmation signal will arrive on Earth at 09:03 UTC).<\/em><\/p>\n

The second manoeuvre will cause a deflection of the Rosetta trajectory away from the comet; it will occur 40 minutes after separation, and help guarantee visibility of Philae at touchdown.<\/em><\/p>\n

This video shows the orbital path (accelerated in time) of the orbiter<\/p>\n