Thank you for visiting the Deep Space 1 mission status information site, the Milky Way galaxy's most authoritative known logged source of information on this technology validation mission. This message was logged in at 8:00 pm Pacific Time on Monday, November 16.

The mission operations team radioed new files to the spacecraft today to permit the autonomous navigation system to start its work with up to date information. The files that the spacecraft had been using were loaded prior to launch. Because launch occurred nearly 8 minutes into the launch window, there was a slight discrepancy. This small correction and other updates were made so that when validation tests of the autonomous navigation system begin, the system will be starting with the correct initial conditions.

The first test of optical navigation is planned for tomorrow. Under control of the autonomous navigation system, the spacecraft will turn to point the camera at different asteroids and stars and take images of them. Because the asteroids are much closer that the stars, the apparent position of an asteroid relative to the more distant stars will allow the spacecraft to estimate where it is in the solar system. This is based on parallax and is the same phenomenon you observe if you hold a finger in front of your face and view it through each eye separately. The apparent position of the finger shifts as you shift from one eye to the other. If you knew the exact location of your finger and of the background objects, you could determine which eye was perceiving the scene. Because the autonomous navigation system knows where the asteroids are and where the more distant stars are, it can determine where it is in the solar system when the picture is taken. Tomorrow's test is a complex one and is expected to provide a great deal of valuable information on the autonomous navigation system.

In preparation for tests of the ion propulsion system later this week, modifications of system's software are being tested on the ground. The changes will give engineers greater resolution in studying currents and voltages when the thruster tries to start. The new software will be tested for several more days and transmitted to the spacecraft near the end of the week. The thruster will be commanded on at the end of the week or the beginning of next week.

Deep Space 1 is now about 10 times as far away as the moon. Each day it recedes from Earth by nearly 150,000 kilometers, or more than 90,000 miles.