NASA Juno Spacecraft: The Fastest To Fly By Earth At 12,000 KPH?
NASA's Juno was the fastest spacecraft to flew by the Earth, with a speed of 12,000kph. According to The Register UK, it mysteriously switched into "safe mode."
The report further stated that the probe cost about $1.1 billion and had enough boost with its speed to prepared for its journey that will last for five years. A Jet Propulsion Lab spokesman mentioned that the NASA Juno is solar powered and presently in safe mode.
"Two way communications have been established. The spacecraft is in a safe stable state receiving power from the solar arrays as expected," the spokesman added. The fault for its switching to safe mode remains unclear.
Project Manager of Juno, Rick Nybakken told Universetoday.com that despite its unexpected switch, the good news is that it remains positive and the team has "full command ability" to it. He further elaborated that the Juno spacecraft hit its target corridor which is about within the 2km of its target point. "We are on our way to Jupiter as planned!" he exclaimed.
The NASA Juno spacecraft was first launched in August 2011 which passed by at exactly 560 km above Earth at 3:21pm EDT in the US on October 9. This flyby became a high-value turn when it comes to its mission as it save about 50% of its fuel that would have been supplied if it did not get the speed boost it had.
For the rest of the journey, the controllers will be at constant monitoring of the spacecraft and along the way implement some instrument tests. Operators were even instructed to send a hi message through radio hams via Morse code.
When the NASA Juno spacecraft is in its expected place surrounding Jupiter, its Waves instrument will be used as tool for the detection of its auroral currents.