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G.H. Schwehm (Research and Science Support Dept., ESA-ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands)
Due to the grounding of the Ariane 5 family of launchers after the failure of the new Ariane 5 ECA on 11 December 2002, the launch of the Rosetta mission to comet 46P/ Wirtanen, planned for mid January 2003,had to be postponed. After a detailed assessment of a number of potential new mission options, a mission to comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko was selected. The first launch opportunity will open on 26 February 2004. The launch vehicle will be an Ariane 5 G+. After a journey of nearly 10 years the spacecraft will rendez-vous with the comet in mid 2014 at a heliocentric distance of 4 a.u. The Lander will be deployed at around 3.25 a.u. heliocentric distance after the comet will have been characterised and mapped in great detail. The new mission scenario will be presented together with the potential asteroid targets for a close flyby. Final selection of the asteroids will only be done shortly after launch.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35 #4
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.