Abstract
Doppler and ranging measurements, using the radio signals of the Giotto spacecraft and taken during the encounter with comet Halley, reveal a definite deceleration of the spacecraft due to drag in the cometary atmosphere. The total change in the radial velocity of the spacecraft was measured to be 16.7 cm s−1, occuring over a time interval of ∼100 s and corresponding to a shift in Doppler frequency of 4.7 Hz. Using this velocity change, estimates of the total cometary mass striking the spacecraft range from 0.1 to 1 g.
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Edenhofer, P., Bird, M., Brenkle, J. et al. First results from the Giotto Radio-Science Experiment. Nature 321 (Suppl 6067), 355–357 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/321355a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/321355a0
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