Magellan (spacecraft)

Magellan
Magellan with its Star 48B solid rocket motor undergoing final checks at the Kennedy Space Center
Mission typeVenus orbiter
OperatorNASA / JPL
COSPAR ID1989-033B Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.19969
Websitescience.nasa.gov
Mission duration5 years, 5 months and 9 days
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerMartin Marietta
Hughes Aircraft
Launch mass3,445 kg (7,595 lb)[1]
Dry mass1,035 kg (2,282 lb)
Power~1,030 watts
Start of mission
Launch dateMay 4, 1989, 18:47:00 (1989-05-04UTC18:47Z) UTC
RocketSpace Shuttle Atlantis
STS-30 / IUS
Launch siteKennedy LC-39B
End of mission
DisposalDeorbited
Decay dateOctober 13, 1994, 10:05:00 (1994-10-13UTC10:06Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference systemCytherocentric
Semi-major axis10,470 kilometers (6,510 mi)
Eccentricity0.39177
Pericytherion altitude295 kilometers (183 mi)
Apocytherion altitude7,762 kilometers (4,823 mi)
Inclination85.5°
Period3.26 hours
Venus orbiter
Orbital insertionAugust 10, 1990, 17:00:00 UTC

Legacy insignia for the Magellan mission, commemorating the deorbit of the spacecraft in 1994.

The Magellan spacecraft was a 1,035-kilogram (2,282 lb) robotic space probe launched by NASA on May 4, 1989. Its mission objectives were to map the surface of Venus by using synthetic-aperture radar and to measure the planetary gravitational field.[2]

The Magellan probe was the first interplanetary mission to be launched from the Space Shuttle, the first one to use the Inertial Upper Stage booster, and the first spacecraft to test aerobraking as a method for circularizing its orbit. Magellan was the fifth successful NASA mission to Venus, and it ended an eleven-year gap in U.S. interplanetary probe launches.

  1. ^ "Magellan". NASA. Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  2. ^ Warren, Haygen (June 2, 2024). "Magellan data unveils ongoing volcanic activity on the surface of Venus". NASASpaceflight.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2024.