News Major Engine Burn Completed At noon, EST, January 3, the NEAR mission team conducted a 24-minute, large bipropellant engine burn, to increase the spacecraft's speed for a rendezvous with Eros in February 2000.
Preliminary indications are that the burn was successful.
NASA's Deep Space Network, which is tracking the NEAR spacecraft, is expected to confirm the accuracy of the burn early Monday morning, January 4. This burn is expected to take place in one to two weeks. Periodic trajectory correction maneuvers will be executed by the Mission Operations Center as deemed necessary to keep the spacecraft on course during its yearlong journey to the asteroid.