Launched on October 24. 1998. aboard a Delta II rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station. Deep Space 1 was the first mission under NASA's
New Millennium Program. which tests new technologies for future space and
Earth-observing missions.
The technologies tested on Deep Space 1 are designed to help make future science
spacecraft smaller. less expensive. more autonomous and capable of more
independent decision-making with less intervention by ground controllers.
The mission exceeded almost all of its technology testing requirements by conducting
more extensive tests than had been planned. In July 1999. Deep Space 1 performed a
fly-by of an asteroid. Braille. delivering more valuable data. Its mission was extended to
include an encounter with Comet Borrelly and further engineering testing.
SEDSat-1 was a secondary payload on the Deep Space 1 mission.
The satellite included cameras for imaging Earth. and amateur radio communication
capabilities.
NASA terminated contact with Deep Space 1 on December 18. 2001. marking the end
of a successful mission.