Genesis

Overview

Destination: Heliocentric L1
Mission: Planetary Science

Heliocentric L1 Space Launch Complex 17A Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Launch delayed from February 10 and July 30. The Genesis probe flew to the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrangian point and spend two years collecting samples of the solar wind. The collected samples were to be physically returned to Earth in a sample return capsule (air-snatch recovery was planned over Utah) and analysed in ground-based laboratories. On September 8, 2004, the Genesis space probe became the first spacecraft to return from beyond lunar orbit to the Earth's surface. The Genesis Sample Return Capsule separated from the spacecraft on September 8, 66,000 km above the Earth. The capsule successfully re-entered the atmosphere over Oregon at 11 km/s, but a wiring error resulted in the drogue parachute release mortar failing to fire at 33 km altitude. The capsule crashed to earth at 90 m/s in the Dugway Proving Ground at 40 07 40 N 113 30 29 W. Although the vehicle was smashed, some of the samples could be retrieved.

Delta II

Family:
Configuration: 7326-9.5

Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 variants ("Light" and "Heavy"). The rocket flew its final mission ICESat-2 on 15 September 2018, earning the launch vehicle a streak of 100 successful missions in a row, with the last failure being GPS IIR-1 in 1997.

Specifications
  • Stages
    4
  • Length
    38.4 m
  • Diameter
    2.44 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    2.44 m
  • Launch Mass
    155.0 T
  • Thrust
    2500.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Delta II
  • Family
  • Variant
    7326-9.5
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Delta II 7326-9.5
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

McDonnell Douglas

McDonnell Douglas

(MDC)

Successes: 0 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

WIKI

Related News

SpaceNews

Shattered Genesis spacecraft yields scientific discoveries 20 years after crash landing

In September 2004, NASA’s Genesis return sample capsule tumbled from the sky and slammed into the Utah desert in a remote part of the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground, shattering […] The post Shattered Genesis spacecraft yields scientifi…

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