description ISEE-3 / ICE Overview
NASA spacecraft launched in 1978 as the first stationed at a Sun-Earth Lagrange point; repurposed as ICE, it flew through comet Giacobini-Zinner's tail in 1985.
insights Why this score
ISEE-3 / ICE ranks #32 of 101 in the Spacecraft ranking, behind Gemini 12, ahead of Vanguard 1.
First L1 spacecraft and successful comet encounter after repurposing, admired for innovative trajectory use.
help ISEE-3 / ICE FAQ
What was the original mission of the ISEE-3 spacecraft?
ISEE-3 (International Sun Earth Explorer 3) was launched by NASA in 1978 to study the solar wind. It was the first spacecraft ever to be placed in a halo orbit at the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point.
Why was ISEE-3 renamed ICE?
In 1982, NASA repurposed the satellite to study comets and officially renamed it the International Cometary Explorer (ICE). This mission change involved complex orbital maneuvers to direct the aging spacecraft toward a new target.
Which comet did the ICE spacecraft fly through?
In September 1985, ICE successfully flew through the plasma tail of Comet Giacobini-Zinner. This historic flyby marked the first time a spacecraft had ever directly encountered a comet.
Did NASA ever try to revive the ISEE-3/ICE spacecraft?
Yes, in 2014, a private group of scientists and engineers called the ISEE-3 Reboot Project successfully reestablished contact with the probe. They successfully fired its thrusters for the first time in decades, though later efforts to put it back into a stable Earth orbit ultimately failed.
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