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Space & Planetary Science

Juno Earth Flyby Today

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
October 9, 2013
Filed under , ,

Juno Prepares For Earth Flyby on Wednesday
“The flyby will function as a gravity assist for Juno, with Earth’s gravity accelerating the solar-powered spacecraft’s velocity by 16,330 miles per hour. NASA launched Juno to an area just past Mars, then two main engine burns executed a year ago maneuvered it back around toward Earth. The purpose of using a gravity assist to get Juno on its way to Jupiter is one of cost.”
Flyby info, SwRI
Earth Image from JunoCam

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

3 responses to “Juno Earth Flyby Today”

  1. dogstar29 says:
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    Although the mission will prove impressively that it is possible to operate a probe with photovoltaic power only at the orbit of jupiter, it still isn’t clear that this is more practical than the usual strategy of using an RTG

  2. Tritium3H says:
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    I’m sure others will be able to better comment to this question…but if the J-2X had been finished and certified, would NASA have been able to use a launch vehicle with the J-2X as the final, Earth departure stage, to send the Juno on a direct trajectory to Jupiter?

    • Ben Russell-Gough says:
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      No, because there is not currently a core stage capable of lifting the huge upper stage tanks that J-2X needs to operate effectively.