The Discovery mission with John Glenn is not the only big project NASA launched in late October. A 1,000-pound robotic craft called Deep Space 1 blasted off on October 24. If its experimental equipment works, the spacecraft will be a model for other simple unmanned missions in the next century.
The key experiment onboard is its power source. The ion-propulsion engine uses solar and electrical energy so efficiently that it can keep going on one-tenth the fuel a regular chemical rocket would use.
Deep Space 1 gathers energy from the sun with a new solar "wing" design. It guides itself by taking pictures of the path ahead and plotting its own course, based on the locations of stars and asteroids in the images. The independent little craft phones home with important data rather than waiting for its ground crew to request information.
"Everything is going well," said deputy mission manager Marc Rayman the day after the launch. Deep Space 1 should settle into orbit soon and get set for a close encounter with an asteroid next July.