Nasa fires projectile at comet
03/07/2005 09:16  - (SA)  

Shuttle launch set for July Discovery still grounded Three more tasks for Nasa Make 'space' for SA

Washington - A US spacecraft travelling far in the solar system successfully fired early on Sunday a projectile that will collide with a comet as part of a unique experiment to study its core, US space officials said.

The projectile, the size of an oil drum, was fired at 05:07 (GMT) by US spacecraft Deep Impact that had undertaken a 173-day, 431km journey to get closer to the comet as large as half of Manhattan Island.

The gas-spewing rock is hurtling through the solar system at approximately 37 100km/h.

- SAPA

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