RADAR DAILY
← IRON AND ICE  |  Home IRON AND ICE

NASA's OSIRIS-REx celebrates perfect departure maneuver from Asteroid Bennu

by Rani Gran for GSFC News Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jun 04, 2021 SPX
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is 328,000 miles, or 528,000 kilometers, away from the asteroid Bennu, having fired its engines on May 10 to initiate a return trip to Earth. The spacecraft is on track to deliver an asteroid sample to Earth on September 24, 2023.

Mission engineers had planned to do a small thruster firing last week to ensure the spacecraft stays on the correct path back to Earth. But, the May 10 departure maneuver was calculated and executed so precisely, the mission team decided not to do a clean-up maneuver last week.

The next possible maneuver adjustment could occur in 2022.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, is Copyright 1995-2026 Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principles for news reporting and research purposes.