Note: Only forum leaders may delete posts.
*HTML is ON *UBB Code is ON Smilies Legend
Smilies Legend
[b]Space Cover 530: CONTOUR mission[/b] Space career is full of unsuccessful missions. Sometimes a failed mission is followed by another successful but sometimes a failed mission is a lost forever. Above cover belongs to launch of a Delta rocket with the spacecraft CONTOUR aboard. CONTOUR, which stands for COmet Nucleous TOUR, was a spacecraft designed to observe in space the passage of two comets: Encke in 2003 and Schwassmann-Wachmann-3 in 2006. However, after launch, a solid rocket failed and spacecraft did not reach the scheduled orbit into trajectory towards the comets. Subsequent analyses suggest that spacecraft may be disintegrated. Although Encke comet has a short orbital period of approximately 3,2 years it has only been partially observed by STEREO-A spacecraft in 2007, and Schwassmann-Wachmann-3 comet has an orbital period of approximately 5,3 years, the nearest Earth encounter will not take place until 2022. As astrophilately collects all kind of covers linked with space activity, it is possible today to remember this failed space mission with two covers. Below cover depicts a beautiful pictorial postmark with CONTOUR probe near of a comet. If anyone have other covers for this mission, please share your images here. Thanks.
Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts
Copyright 1999-2024 collectSPACE. All rights reserved.