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nasa.gov
Planetary Science Pioneer Robert Farquhar Dies at 83
Robert Farquhar, a visionary and expert in planetary exploration, spacecraft design, and celestial navigation at NASA, the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel Maryland, and KinetX, Inc., in Tempe, Arizona, died from complications following a respiratory illness at his home in Bu…

Today in Space History. On August 12, 1978, ISEE-3 was launched on a Delta 2914 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, FL.

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This is the day ISEE-3/ICE fans have been waiting 28 years for! The ISEE-3 lunar flyby occurred today. While the flyby did not occur as we had hoped, there are now several active science instruments on board. We are looking forward to these new data from ISEE-3 as it continues on its journey.

Yesterday, Google Creative Labs and the ISEE-3 Reboot Project introduced "A Spacecraft For All: The Journey of the ISEE-3" a Google Chrome Experiment. Check it out!

http://spacecraftforall.com/

Rosetta finally reaches its destination!

After a decade of travel, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is now at Comet 67P/Churymov-Gerasimenko. The Rosetta team put together a cartoon about the history of cometary exploration. Among the spacecraft featured in this short video is ISEE-3/ICE. See if you can find it!

youtube.com
#RosettaAreWeThereYet – Fabulous fables and tales of tails
Long, long ago men and women on Earth gazed in wonder at comets that appeared in the sky. What where these mysterious objects? Rosetta and Philae learn about...
spacecollege.org
Announcing the ISEE-3 Interplanetary Citizen Science Mission - Space College
After a successful reawakening the venerable ISEE-3 spacecraft is about to begin the first interplanetary citizen science mission.

Read about the detective work the ISEE-3 Reboot Project went through to interpret the results of the previous two Trajectory Correction Maneuvers, how they got help from experts, and how that led to the plan they came up with for today.

spacecollege.org
We Are Borg: Crowdsourced ISEE-3 Engineering and the Collective Mind of the Internet - Space College
Dennis Wingo: We are Now Living in a Science Fiction World. In the science fiction universe of Star Trek, set several hundred years in the future, when we are a spacefaring civilization, humanity encounters a species called the Borg. The Borg are a conglomeration of species who are assimilated into…

The ISEE-3 Reboot Project attempted another Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM) today with mixed results.

spacecollege.org
ISEE-3 Status Report 16 July 2014 - Space College
During our interaction with ISEE-3 today we tried a variety of valve and thruster selections using both sides of the propulsion system combined with tank and fuel line heating. Although we met with limited success we did get several instances of thrust (the main intent) and also a change in the Fine…

The ISEE-3 Reboot Project is providing more details on the maneuvers attempted over the last two days.

spacecollege.org
ISEE-3 Status Report 9 July 2014 (afternoon) - Space College
Our troubleshooting today eliminated some suspected causes of propulsion system problems. We do not think any of the valves are malfuctioning. Right now we think there is a chance that the Nitrogen used as a pressurant for the monopropellant Hydrazine propulsion system may have been depleted. That s…

The ISEE-3 Reboot Project attempted a trajectory correction maneuver yesterday and today. The team is still analyzing the results.

spacecollege.org
ISEE-3 Trajectory Correction Maneuver Data - Space College
These charts represent data recorded during our Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM) thruster firings yesterday. Thruster firings were planned to done in groupings - or "segments" - of 63 firings per segment. The first chart is annotated to show the three firing attempts. The first segment was full…

Major milestone achieved!
Thrusters were fired to increase the ISEE-3/ICE spin rate. A necessary first step for the trajectory correction maneuver. It has been about 28 years since any thruster firings have occurred.

spacecollege.org
ISEE-3 Engines Fired For Spin-Up - Space College
Keith's note: We just fired the engines on ISEE-3 to perform a spin-up burn. Preliminary results confirm the burn and a change in rotation. Spin rate was at 19.16rpm it is now at 19.76 rpm. More to follow.

Today NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) successfully obtained data needed to precisely determine the position of ISEE-3/ICE!
More ranging data such as these will be essential for planning the lunar flyby in August.

spacecollege.org
ISEE-3 Status 26 June 2014: DSN Ranging Success - Space College
Just as our DSN window closed today we were able to get 2 way Doppler lock and ranging at 47.5 kHz offset. DSN got the four ranging points needed from ISEE-3. This is the first time since 1999 that DSN has talked to the spacecraft. A follow up session tomorrow should get us a lot more recording tim…

NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) and ISEE-3/ICE were talking to each other today!
Live DSN tracking information available at:
http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html

eyes.nasa.gov
Deep Space Network Now
The real time status of communications with our deep space explorers
nytimes.com
Calling Back a Zombie Ship From the Graveyard of Space
After 36 years in space, the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 appears to be in good working order, and a shoestring group of civilian engineers is trying to bring it back into Earth’s orbit.

NASA's Deep Space Network will be working with the ISEE-3 Reboot Project to refine the spacecraft's position as the team prepares ISEE-3 for the maneuvers needed for its August lunar flyby.

spacecollege.org
ISEE-3 Reboot Project Scheduled for DSN Ranging Activity - Space College
We have received confirmation from NASA that we have been confirmed for time on the DSN (Deep Space Network) for ranging activities with the ISEE-3 spacecraft. This is being done so as to determine the location of ISEE-3 with great precision for navigation purposes. Based on this data we will conduc…

Radio amateurs at Tartu Observatory in Estonia have also detected ISEE-3!
See the Space College ISEE-3 Reboot Project reports.

spacecollege.org
Space College: ISEE-3 Reboot Project Archives
"Using a custom-designed transmitter from Dirk Fischer Elektronik of Germany, the ISEE-3 Reboot Project led by blogger Keith Cowing and businessman Dennis Wingo has established two-way communications with the old heliophysics observatory, Wingo wrote in an online post May 29. The good news is that t…