The Ulysses project
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ESA / NASA documents from the Ulysses Mission /
documents ESA / NASA de la mission Ulysses
ROLE Solar observatory
LAUNCH DATE 6 Oct 1990/STS-41 Discovery
LAUNCHER/LOCATION Shuttle/Kennedy Space Center
LAUNCH MASS 367 kg
PERIHELION 208.4 million km (1.4 AU)
APHELION 809.5 million km (5.4 AU)
ORBIT 6.2 year, solar-polar, heliocentric
NOMINAL MISSION 5 years;
FINAL SHUTDOWN 30 June 2009
(18 years, 8 months, 24 days)
+ First-ever mission to explore space above and below
Sun's poles - Longest-ever ESA-operated mission+
christian calon
art audio
Le projet Ulysse
When I became aware of the Ulysses Mission around the poles of the Sun, Dante’s Choir could be introduced and Athena found her place complementary to Homer’s, in the narrative. Also, Ulysses could now be traced precisely, just like Leopold Bloom wanderings around Dublin. The parallelism of actions enabled me to think in Space as much as in Time, with Penelope being the beacon in the tempest, the solid center around whom all actions take place.
Of course, the special bond I developped with Ulysses over the years, makes me grateful to the ESA/NASA team for having provided regular updates on this long and amazing adventure.
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