EPOXI is already in orbit (not shown) around the Sun. This graphic shows its trajectory starting from the 2009 Earth Flyby. The spacecraft will make its last Earth Flyby on 27 June 2010 before heading to its rendezvous with comet Hartley

Remember the Deep Impact spacecraft that released a probe that smashed into Comet Temple I back on July 4, 2005?  I sure do, I attended a Moody Blues concert and got home in time to watch it.  It was an amazing end to a fine day.

The part of the spacecraft that didn’t hit the comet, the part that contains two cameras, two telescopes and an infrared spectrometer, was recycled thanks in large part to Michael A’Hearn (University of Maryland, Deep Impact team leader and all around good guy).  What is recycled you ask?  Well through careful planning, it means another comet encounter and guess what else?  They set the spacecraft on an altered course with one last flyby of Earth this past Sunday.

The spacecraft came as close as 18,900 miles above the South Atlantic and from that got a gravity assist to increase its speed by a whooping 1.5-Km/sec – that’s 3,470 mph.  The result will be to reshape the spacecrafts orbit just the right amount to have a close encounter with Comet Hartley 2.  We won’t be waiting long either, science data will start to be received this September and the close encounter will occur on November 4, 2010.  Don’t expect an impact this time around though.

What’s in a name?  EPOXI is an extended mission of the Deep Impact spacecraft. Its name is derived from its two tasked science investigations — the Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh) and the Deep Impact Extended Investigation (DIXI).