Talk:Rosetta (spacecraft)

Gravity assist

from the website i've read that: "To gain enough orbital energy to reach its target, one Mars and three Earth gravity assists will be required" i was wondering, how exactly this is done? gravity assist

Itay2222 09:01, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Hi, first you have to realize that when a spacecraft comes close to a planet (or other heavy object) its trajectory will be changed. That's pretty easy to see. Then you need to remember that due to "Newtons Law" this action has a re-action, which means the trajectory of the planet is changed as well. Since that change is very small it can normally ignored. However, the concept that is requiring these changes is important. It is called a "conservation law." It states that, for instance, the total momentum of the two objects (planet and spacecraft) stays the same during the encounter! The planners of this mission will send Rosetta passing by the planet, so the momentum of the planet is decreased. Thus the momentum of the spacecraft is increased and it gains energy in the process. Awolf002 15:54, 3 Mar 2004 (UTC)

0.05%

I'm sorry, but I'm being bold as apparently I should be. What is otherwise a fantastic article, may have either a mistake or a potential misinterpretation. In the 'major events' section I read:

"The first and most important deep space maneuver was successfully executed and brings the space craft on its correct course, with a reported accuracy of 0.05 %. "

Surely 99.95%, or even and margin of error of 0.05%?

Hi, welcome and yes, be bold! Here is the ESA report where this figure was taken from. You are correct that it should be called "inaccuracy"! I will change the article. Awolf002 15:10, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Flyby of Mars - 2007-Feb-25 01:44:18 - 3650 km - (3396.2 x 3396.2 x 3376.2 km)

Better image? Other improvements?

The "computer model" image used two times in both the head and body of the article isn't very detailed, and really doesn't explain anything at all. What instruments are being carried? What type of solar panels does it use? All the little details are missing. Look at the Cassini page for a much better example of how this should be done. It's a mission a decade in length and this article is tiny. The most obvious to do would be to include an actual photograph of the spacecraft, possible in the assembly room, or maybe one of those really nice graphics they have on the main ESA site. Here's a good one. (10 pages of images of the probe and science results from the Earth flyby and more) [1]

This is what they say about use of the material. "ESA grants permission to users to visit the site, and to download and copy information, images, documents and materials from the website for users' personal non-commercial use." As far as I can tell, Wikipedia is non-commercial, so those 10 pages are useable. This would be the first step to getting this article to featured status before EOM (End of mission):) --Planetary 17:11, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately, that permission is not compatible with GFDL. There was a discussion with ESA some time ago (like 20 months) to gain access to ESA images with similar 'license' as to those made by NASA, but I think nothing has changed. Sorry, we will have to refrain from using them, IMO Awolf002 23:39, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps they can be uploaded with Template:promotional? I think that this case fits perfectly with that template... // Duccio (write me) 08:40, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

I doubt that. Copyrights are asserted by the creator or owner of the artwork, not the 'consumer'. And we can not (re-)interpret their intentions any other way than they are explicitly stated in the ESA web page. Awolf002 19:04, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Just found the page about the ESA image issue. It seems to be a complicated mess, so I'm finding it difficult to undertsand why we can't use Template:ESA-multimedia? There are already 68 images closely or not closely related to Rosetta[2], and a number of better images of the spacecraft then what is currently up. I confess that I've probably overlooked some critical detail, so just feel free to shoot my idea down. :) --Planetary 08:48, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Hi I have created a screenshot using Celestia[3] and added it to the page. It is a much more detailed than the previous image which really looks nothing like Rosetta. I also do have some pictures of the actual spacecraft taken by myself prior to the spacecraft being shipped to Kourou for launch and also have pictures of the full scale engineering model of Rosetta located at ESOC which I can also add if people wish. --IanShazell 02:12, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

You sir, are a genius! Problem solved, or at least that one is.--Planetary 02:23, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Merge 2007 VN84?

Against merger

• I believe this should be kept at a separate page but linked to the Rossetta page as it shows both the sensitivity of the searches and the danger of mis-identification 81.156.167.185 07:14, 14 November 2007 (UTC)John Murrell
• This not an alternate name, but the story of a mistake. It seems to be notable enough to stay separate for now, since many people looking for that story will use that designation. Awolf002 19:08, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
• I'm against the merger as per the two reasons stated above. ;) Very good reasons!EverybodyHatesChris (talk) 20:00, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

For merger

• Although interesting enough for a subsection of Rosetta (spacecraft), 2007 VN₈₄ is ultimately the same object. Merge and set 2007 VN84 as an R from alternate name. — Eoghanacht ^talk 13:59, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

• I suggest to merge and redirect directly to the subsection, so people will find it. --Cspan64 18:48, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

• Merge and protected redirect - the designation has been retired, the redirect will bring searchers to the relevant article, and a mention can certainly be made in the lead if there is concern over confusion for readers. --Ckatz^chat_spy 09:49, 18 November 2007 (UTC)