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Categories: Spacecraft : Dragon
Delta II Rocket and Launch Pad (Deep Impact Mission) (1:400 scale by Dragon 56243-03)
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The USA planned to phase out all expendable launch vehicles (ELV) after the Space Shuttle entered service. However, the Challenger accident of 1986 changed all that, and the Delta program was restarted. Termed Delta II, these rockets have made nearly 150 successful launches since 1989, making it the most reliable system in service. As an ELV, each rocket can only be launched once. Among the Delta II’s missions are the launching of GPS Block II satellites, Kepler telescope, Deep Impact space probe and several Mars missions for NASA. The latter includes the Mars Phoenix lander in 2007.
The Deep Impact Mission is a NASA space probe for studying the composition of the comet interior, by releasing an impactor into the comet and then taking measurement by a flyby probe. The mission was the first to eject material from a comet’s surface, which gained quite large publicity from the media, international scientists and amateur astronomers.
1:400 scale (approx. 11cm / 4.3in high) - made by Dragon.
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