If you are familiar with the Deep Impact mission, use the table below for quick reference to our mission specifications. If you haven't had a chance to read an overview for Deep Impact, take a look at our Fact Sheet.
| Deep Impact Quick Facts | |
| Mission/Instrument/Task Name: | Deep Impact |
| Objectives: | To study the pristine interior of a comet by excavating a crater more than 25 m deep and 100 m in diameter. |
| Principal Investigator: | Dr. Michael A'Hearn, University of Maryland |
| Project Manager: | Rick Grammier, JPL |
| Major Contractors/Contribution: | JPL - project management, ground systems Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. - all flight hardware |
| Start Date: | 11/01/1999 |
| Launch Date: | 01/12/2005 |
| Launch Vehicle: | Delta II |
| Launch Site: | Eastern test range (Kennedy Space Center, Florida) |
| Mission Events: | Encounter date: 05:44:36 UTC 4 July 2005 (Earth-received time 05:52:02)
Impactor separation at 24 hrs prior to impact Approach solar phase angle: 63° Impactor approach velocity: 10.3 km/s Flyby S/C closest approach: 500 km End of Mission: Data return until 08/2005 (28 days) |
| End of Project Date: | 03/2006 (includes 9 months of data analysis) |
| Launch Mass: | 1020 kg |
| Prime antenna diameter: | 1 meter (parabolic) |
| Communications bandwidths: | x-band for flyby spacecraft (uplink command and downlink telemetry)
s-band for impactor communication to/from the flyby spacecraft |
| Max Data Rate: | 175 kbps |
| Max solar array power: | 620 W at encounter |
| Contact for more info: | Contact Us
Education and Public Outreach - JPL |
