Mercury
Messenger was launched on August 3, 2004, aboard a Boeing Delta II
rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. MESSENGER also
has a backup launch window from May 13-22, 2004.
To become the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, MESSENGER must follow a path through the inner solar system, including one flyby of Earth, two flybys of Venus, and three flybys of Mercury. This impressive journey is returning the first new spacecraft data from Mercury since the Mariner 10 mission over 30 years ago. |