The European Space Agency (ESA) Planck satellite conducted a critical mid-course correction to place the satellite on its final trajectory for arrival at L2, the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system, early next month. That correction took several hours, in which Planck main thrusters conducted repeated pulse burns, switching on, then off, for 6 seconds every minute. This pulse-burn technique is necessary because Planck is slowly spinning as it travels through space, rotating at 1 rpm. The thrusters, which…
Plank Satellite Conducts Midcourse Correction
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