Word: venusized
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Last week the Mariner II spacecraft was 7,651,352 miles away from the earth and 28.9 million miles this side of Venus, its destination. As Mariner barreled away from the earth at 7,724 miles an hour toward a scheduled approach to Venus on Dec. 14, Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced that it will pass somewhat farther away from Venus than predicted -20,900 miles instead of 9,000 miles. The small rocket that adjusted its course on Sept. 4 seems to have pushed it slightly too hard, increasing its speed by 47 m.p.h. instead...
...Venus probe Mariner II raced through space last week, it slipped past a significant milestone: it effectively escaped from the earth's gravitation and became a satellite of the sun. But far out as it reached, it did not escape from the earth's control. Back on the fast-receding planet, 1,500,000 miles away, the scientists who built the spacecraft could still hear its radio voice, still send it orders...
Agonizing Wait. At Goldstone control center in California's Mojave Desert, the scientists had been composing their message for more than a week. They knew with precision what maneuvers Mariner II must perform if it was to pass within a useful distance of Venus. The question was: Would the faraway spacecraft accept the orders, store them in its electronic memory and execute them properly at the proper time...
...cruise, Project Director Jack James analyzed the data. Sounding almost as if he did not believe it himself, he announced: "Everything worked exactly as planned." According to calculations based on radio measurements of the spacecraft's decreased speed, Mariner II had corrected its course neatly; instead of missing Venus by 233,000 miles, it would pass it on Dec. 14 at the ideal observation distance of 9,000 miles. Some peril of hostile space may yet put Mariner II out of action before it reaches its goal, but already its voyage is a triumph of U.S. technology...
...Mariner II moved on toward Venus, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced that the Soviets have made six attempts to send probes to Mars or Venus. One probe, launched on Feb. 12, 1961, passed somewhere near Venus, but with its radio long dead. The other five tries were unqualified flops...