On Sept. 11, 1985, the International Cometary Explorer, or "ICE" became the first spacecraft to fly by a comet.
Originally launched as the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 in 1978, ICE was one of three spacecraft built for the International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) program, a joint effort by NASA, the European Space Research Organization and the European Space Agency.
The program's purpose was to study space weather, or the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind.
After completing its original mission, the spacecraft did a maneuver to steer it toward comet Giacobini-Zinner. It flew straight through the comet's plasma tail, but it didn't stop there! Six months later, it flew by Halley's comet, too.
Originally launched as the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 in 1978, ICE was one of three spacecraft built for the International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) program, a joint effort by NASA, the European Space Research Organization and the European Space Agency.
The program's purpose was to study space weather, or the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind.
After completing its original mission, the spacecraft did a maneuver to steer it toward comet Giacobini-Zinner. It flew straight through the comet's plasma tail, but it didn't stop there! Six months later, it flew by Halley's comet, too.
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TechTranscript
00:00On this day in space.
00:04In 1985, the International Cometary Explorer, or ICE, became the first
00:08spacecraft to fly by a comet. Originally launched as the International
00:12Sun-Earth Explorer III in 1978, ICE was one of three
00:16spacecraft built for the International Sun-Earth Explorer program, a joint effort by
00:20NASA, the European Space Research Organization, and the European Space Agency.
00:24The program's purpose was to study space weather, or the interaction between the Earth's
00:28magnetic field and the solar wind. After completing its original mission,
00:32the spacecraft did a maneuver to steer it towards Comet Giacobini-Zinner.
00:36It flew straight through the comet's plasma tail, but it didn't stop there. Six months later,
00:40it flew by Halley's comet, too. And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:44music
00:48music