&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Magellan_at_Kennedy_Space_Center.jpg) Magellan with its Star 48B solid rocket motor undergoing final checks at the Kennedy Space Center | |
| Mission type | Venus orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA / JPL |
| COSPAR ID | 1989-033B |
| SATCAT no. | 19969 |
| Website | science.nasa.gov |
| Mission duration | 5 years, 5 months and 9 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Martin Marietta Hughes Aircraft |
| Launch mass | 3,445 kg (7,595 lb)[1] |
| Dry mass | 1,035 kg (2,282 lb) |
| Power | ~1,030 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | May 4, 1989, 18:47:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-30 / IUS |
| Launch site | Kennedy LC-39B |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited |
| Decay date | October 13, 1994, 10:05:00 UTC |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Cytherocentric |
| Semi-major axis | 10,470 kilometers (6,510 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.39177 |
| Pericytherion altitude | 295 kilometers (183 mi) |
| Apocytherion altitude | 7,762 kilometers (4,823 mi) |
| Inclination | 85.5° |
| Period | 3.26 hours |
| Venus orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | August 10, 1990, 17:00:00 UTC |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Mgnlogo3_small.gif) 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.
- ^ "Magellan". NASA. Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
- ^ 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.