Deep Impact releases probe for collision with the comet Temple 1.
The Associated Press reports that the impactor is bearing down on its comet target:
The “impactor” probe separated from the Deep Impact spacecraft early Sunday and began a 500,000-mile suicide dive toward the sunlit section of Tempel 1, a pickle-shaped comet half the size of Manhattan and 83 million miles away from Earth.
[. . .]
“The release went very well,” said project manager Rick Grammier. “Half of the hurdles are over.”
Meanwhile, the mothership fired its thrusters to slightly change course and stake out a front-row seat 5,000 miles from the high-speed collision, which is expected to occur at 1:52 a.m. EDT Monday.
[. . .]
As Tempel 1 closes in at a relative speed of 23,000 mph, the probe should beam back unprecedented pictures of its target in near real-time until it is run over.
California Yankee will be impacting Temple 1 along with the impactor.
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