A Delta II rocket carrying the Deep Impact spacecraft blasts off from Florida in January 2005.
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy NASA.
Deep Impact Blasts Off
News story originally written on January 14, 2005
A rocket carrying NASA's Deep Impact
spacecraft blasted off on January 12,
2005. Deep Impact will study a comet.
Deep Impact has two parts. One part will fly by the comet. The other part,
called an "impactor", will crash into the comet! The impactor will make a crater
as big as a football stadium on the comet. Scientists want to see what the
insides of a comet are like. The flyby part of Deep Impact will take pictures
before, during, and after the crash.
Deep Impact will get to Comet Temple 1 on the Fourth of July, 2005. The comet
is named after Ernst Tempel, who discovered it in 1867. Comet Temple 1 goes
around the Sun once every 5.5 years.
You might also be interested in:

How did life evolve on Earth? The answer to this question can help us understand our past and prepare for our future. Although evolution provides credible and reliable answers, polls show that many people turn away from science, seeking other explanations with which they are more comfortable.
...more
Not long ago, many people thought that comets were a sign that something bad was about to happen to them. People didn't understand how objects in the sky moved, so the sight of a comet must have been
...more
A rocket carrying NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft blasted off on January 12, 2005. Deep Impact will study a comet. Deep Impact has two parts. One part will fly by the comet. The other part, called an "impactor",
...more
NASA is getting ready to launch a space shuttle for the first time in more than two years. The shuttle Discovery is set to blast off on Wednesday, July 13, 2005. The space shuttle fleet has been grounded
...more
1998 was a very full year when it came to space exploration and history making. In the blast-from-the-past department, John Glenn received another go for a launch aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. After
...more
Something new and exciting is happening at Windows to the Universe! Windows scientists say they discovered twelve new stars, including one that is the second brightest in the night sky! They decided to
...more
The following is Andy Thomas's last letter to those on Earth. The subject -- a view from space...As I have orbited around the Earth, I have spoken to many amateur radio operators as well as television
...more
A memorial service in honor of Alan Shepard is scheduled for August 1st in Houston, Texas. Shepard died Tuesday, July 21, at the age of 74. "Alan Shepard is a true American hero, a pioneer, an original.
...more