Nov 04, 2019

This week OSIRIS-REx began its transition to the Orbital R mission phase after completing the flyby of candidate site Nightingale – the fourth and final flyover of Reconnaissance A phase.

On October 31, the team executed navigation maneuver M13R, which placed the spacecraft into its fourth orbital phase around asteroid Bennu. During Orbit R (so-called because it is a sub-phase of the mission’s Reconnaissance phase), the spacecraft will fly in a terminator orbit approximately 1.4 km from the asteroid’s surface. This orbit is similar to Orbits A and C.