The Dawn spacecraft before launch
The Dawn launching on September 27, 2007
According to NASA this is the first spacecraft that is capable to fly between two space bodies and propels itself faster and further than ever before. The engine will be able to maintain years of energy without failure. The Dawn Spacecraft was built at the Orbital Sciences Corporation in Herndon, VA. This corporation tackles components of the mission such as: navigation operation, computer hardware, and spacecraft design. A Delta 2 rocket carried Dawn to space at 25,501.1 mi/hr. When the asteroid belt is explored Dawn will extend is two 27 ft solar panel arrays. These massive panels provide the spacecraft with over 10 kilowatts of electricity which provide the electrons for Dawn to run its computers, science instruments, and its extraordinary propulsion system. Dawn’s ion engines employ electrical currents, magnetic fields, and Xenon. This high-tech engine changes the gaseous Xenon into a positively charged plasma and accelerates it out the engine at speeds over 78 thousand miles/hr or 21 miles/sec. When Dawn reaches Vesta it will use three complementary science instruments to explore the exterior. These four instruments are: visible spectrometer, infrared spectrometer, gamma-ray neutron spectrometer, and a high speed camera. The gamma-rays and neutrons that escape from Ceres and Vesta will be captured by the spectrometers to figure out what the surfaces consist of and what elements are present. The framing cameras on Dawn will provide visible pictures of what the exteriors of these two bodies actually look like allowing for the mapping of geological provinces. This high spectral and spatial resolution data will give an extremely detailed look of with is on the surface. By working backwards from these photographs scientists will try to examine how the bodies where put together and what happen to each. The gravity science provided from these cameras will allow a look into the body’s evolving interior. With the combination of each instrument a complete picture can be placed together telling how the planets evolved.