Nov 12, 2019

This week, OSIRIS-REx completed its first full week of Orbital R phase. OCAMS and OVIRS calibrations were run, and NavCam1 collected images for particle monitoring.

During Orbital R, the spacecraft will fly in a terminator orbit within a range of 1.1 to 1.4 km from Bennu’s surface, with an orbital period of approximately 35 hours. The pair of trim burns (M14R and M15R) – tentatively scheduled for November 19th and 21st – were officially waived because the orbit is considered stable. The spacecraft will remain in Orbital R until January, when Recon B flyovers begin. After leaving orbit, the spacecraft will execute its first medium flyby of the prime sample site (TBD).

The Asteroid Science in the Age of Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx workshop also took place this week. The workshop focused on recent science regarding near-Earth asteroids, as well as future research opportunities.