Halley Armada
Encyclopedia
The Halley Armada is the generally accepted and popularly used name of five space probes sent to examine Halley's Comet during its 1986 sojourn through the inner solar system, connected with apparition "1P/1982 U1". The armada consisted of one probe from the European Space Agency
, two probes that were joint projects between the Soviet Union
and France
and two probes from the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
of Japan
. Without the measurements from the other space probes, Giotto's closest distance would have been 4,000 km instead of the 596 km achieved.
Probes involved (in order of closest approach):
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
, two probes that were joint projects between the Soviet Union
Soviet space program
The Soviet space program is the rocketry and space exploration programs conducted by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from the 1930s until its dissolution in 1991...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and two probes from the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
is a Japanese national research organization of astrophysics using rockets, astronomical satellites and interplanetary probes. It is a division of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency .- History :...
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Without the measurements from the other space probes, Giotto's closest distance would have been 4,000 km instead of the 596 km achieved.
Probes involved (in order of closest approach):
- GiottoGiotto missionGiotto was a European robotic spacecraft mission from the European Space Agency, intended to fly by and study Halley's Comet. On 13 March 1986, the mission succeeded in approaching Halley's nucleus at a distance of 596 kilometers....
, the first space probe to get close-up color images of the nucleus of a comet. (ESA) - Vega 1Vega 1Vega 1 is a Soviet space probe part of the Vega program. The spacecraft was a development of the earlier Venera craft...
, which dropped a balloon probe and lander on VenusVenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
before going on to Halley. (USSR/France IntercosmosIntercosmosInterkosmos was a space program of the Soviet Union designed to include members of military forces of allied Warsaw Pact countries in manned and unmanned missions...
) - Vega 2Vega 2Vega 2 is a Soviet space probe part of the Vega program. The spacecraft was a development of the earlier Venera craft. They were designed by Babakin Space Center and constructed as 5VK by Lavochkin at Khimki...
, which dropped a balloon probe and lander on Venus before going on to Halley. (USSR/France Intercosmos) - SuiseiSuisei probeSuisei , originally known as Planet-A, was an unmanned space probe developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science ....
, also known as PLANET-A. Data from Sakigake was used to improve upon Suisei for its dedicated mission to study Halley. (ISAS) - SakigakeSakigakeSakigake , pre-launch codename MS-T5, was Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft, and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the USA or the Soviet Union...
, Japan's first probe to leave the Earth system, mainly a test of interplanetary mission technology. (ISAS)
Other space probes
Other space probes had their instruments examining Halley's Comet:- Pioneer 7 was Launched on August 17, 1966. It was put into heliocentric orbit with a mean distance of 1.1 AU to study the solar magnetic field, the solar wind, and cosmic rays at widely separated points in solar orbit. On 20 March 1986, the spacecraft flew within 12.3 million kilometers of Halley's Comet and monitored the interaction between the cometary hydrogen tail and the solar wind.
- Pioneer Venus OrbiterPioneer Venus projectThe Pioneer mission to Venus consisted of two components, launched separately. Pioneer Venus 1 or Pioneer Venus Orbiter was launched in 1978 and studied the planet for more than a decade after orbital insertion in 1978. Pioneer Venus 2 or Pioneer Venus Multiprobe sent four small probes into the...
in orbit of Venus, was positioned perfectly to take measurements of Halley's Comet during its perihelionApsisAn apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
February 9, 1986. Its UV-spectrometer observed the water loss when Halley's Comet was difficult to observe from the Earth.
- International Cometary ExplorerInternational Cometary ExplorerThe International Cometary Explorer spacecraft was originally known as International Sun/Earth Explorer 3 satellite, launched August 12, 1978. It was part of the ISEE international cooperative program between NASA and ESRO/ESA to study the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the...
, which was repurposed as a cometary probe in 1982 and visited Comet Giacobini-Zinner21P/Giacobini-ZinnerComet Giacobini–Zinner is a periodic comet in our solar system.It was discovered by Michel Giacobini from , who observed the comet in the constellation of Aquarius on December 20, 1900...
in 1985, transited between the Sun and Halley's Comet in late March 1986 and took measurements.
Presumed observations from space
- Any observations of Halley's Comet made by the crew of Soyuz T-15Soyuz T-15- Backup crew :- Mission parameters :* Mass: 6850 kg* Perigee: 331 km* Apogee: 366 km* Inclination: 51.6°* Period: 91.5 minutes- Mission highlights :Soyuz T-15 was the first expedition to Mir....
, which made the first trip to the MirMirMir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...
space stationSpace stationA space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
in March 1986, are unknown.
- Observations of Halley's Comet would have also been made by crews on-board Space ShuttleSpace ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
ChallengerSpace Shuttle ChallengerSpace Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
during missions STS-51-LSTS-51-LSTS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time an ordinary civilian, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Challenger, which lifted off from the Launch Complex 39-B on 28 January...
and STS-61-E. STS-61-E was to carry the ASTRO-1 astronomy platform in its payload bay, but was cancelled after Challenger was destroyed in a launch accidentSpace Shuttle Challenger disasterThe Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
at the beginning of STS-51-L.