End of Mission
On 1997-05-05, NASA ended the ICE mission, and ordered the probe shut down, with only a carrier signal left operating.
The ISEE-3/ICE downlink bit rate was nominally 2048 bit/s during the early part of the mission, and 1024 bit/s during the Giacobini-Zinner comet encounter. The bit rate then successively dropped to 512 bit/s (on 1985-12-09), 256 bit/s (on 1987-01-05), 128 bit/s (on 1989-01-24) and finally to 64 bit/s (on 1991-12-27).
As of January 1990, ICE was in a 355-day heliocentric orbit with an aphelion of 1.03 AU, a perihelion of 0.93 AU and an inclination of 0.1 degree. It may be possible to capture the spacecraft in 2014, when it again makes a close approach to Earth. If the craft is recovered, it has already been donated by NASA to the Smithsonian Institution.
Read more about this topic: International Cometary Explorer
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