The Space Foundation applauds NASA, the Joint Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the entire Deep Impact team on its success today. In the early hours of July 4 Eastern Daylight Time, the Deep Impact spacecraft successfully collided with the comet Tempel 1.
“It’s another big ‘hit’ for NASA,” said Elliot G. Pulham, Space Foundation president and chief executive officer, “and some real fireworks for the science community. Deep Impact should have a long-lasting impact on our understanding of what comets are and how they behave, both important reference points as we expand our exploration of space.”
Launched from Kennedy Space Center on January 12, the Deep Impact spacecrafts – Flyby and Impactor – traveled for six months toward Tempel 1, a mass of rock and ice approximately the size of Washington, D.C. Twenty-four hours before collision, Impactor separated and headed on a crash course toward the comet while Flyby observed the impact and sent data back to Earth. The spacecraft was designed and built by engineers at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., located in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Deep Impact mission, go to www.nasa.gov or www.space.com/deepimpact/.
About the Space Foundation
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, the Space Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that vigorously advances civil, commercial, and national security space endeavors and educational excellence. The Space Foundation has offices in Washington, D.C., and Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Space Foundation annually conducts, along with its partnering organizations, Strategic Space 2005, Oct. 4-6, in Omaha, Neb.; Florida Space 2005, Nov. 15-17 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex, Fla.; and the Foundation’s signature event, the National Space Symposium, April 3-6, 2006, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. For more information, visit www.spacefoundation.org.
Note to editors: Space Foundation spokespersons are available for further comment on the mission. National media may contact Jim Banke, vice president of Florida Operations for the Space Foundation, at 321-698-0591 for comment. Local Colorado media may contact Steve Eisenhart, senior vice president of Policy & Public Affairs for the Space Foundation, at 719-964-7557.
