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Mission record

Galileo

Also known as Galileo Orbiter, Galileo Probe, Jupiter Orbiter Probe, JOP, JOPO

NASA · Launched

Explore trajectory

Completed · Success

NASA mission, with participation by the Federal Republic of Germany, comprising a Jupiter orbiter and an atmospheric entry probe deployed from Space Shuttle Atlantis in October 1989. Flying a Venus-Earth-Earth gravity-assist trajectory, it made the first close flybys of asteroids (951 Gaspra and 243 Ida), observed the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts on Jupiter, delivered the first probe into a giant planet's atmosphere on 7 December 1995, and orbited Jupiter until it was deliberately steered into the planet on 21 September 2003 to avoid contaminating Europa.

Destinations
Launch vehicle
Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-34) with Inertial Upper Stage
Launch site
Kennedy Space Center, Florida (Launch Pad 39B)
Countries
United States, Germany
Mission types
Orbiter, Atmospheric probe, Flyby

Chronology

Mission timeline

  1. Deployment

    Galileo and Inertial Upper Stage deployed from Atlantis

    Six hours and 20 minutes into the STS-34 mission, mission specialist Shannon Lucid deployed Galileo and its upper stage, weighing a combined 38,483 pounds; the IUS burn took place one hour after deployment.

    Earth

  2. Launch

    Launch aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-34)

    Atlantis lifted off Launch Pad 39B at 12:53 p.m. EDT on Oct. 18, 1989.

    Earth

  3. Gravity assist

    Venus gravity-assist flyby

    First leg of the Venus-Earth-Earth Gravity Assist (VEEGA) trajectory; NASA gives the flyby altitude as about 16,000 km (10,000 mi).

    Venus

  4. Gravity assist

    First Earth gravity-assist flyby

    Closest approach at an altitude of 960 km (597 mi) per NASA; Galileo also made the first multispectral study of the Moon around this encounter.

    Earth

  5. Flyby

    Flyby of asteroid 951 Gaspra

    First close flyby and imaging of an asteroid. NASA gives the miss distance as 1,601 km (1,000 mi).

    951 Gaspra

  6. Gravity assist

    Second Earth gravity-assist flyby

    Closest approach at an altitude of 303 km (188 mi) per NASA, completing the VEEGA trajectory and sending Galileo on to Jupiter.

    Earth

  7. Flyby

    Flyby of asteroid 243 Ida

    Flyby at 2,400 km (1,400 mi); Galileo images revealed Dactyl, the first known satellite of an asteroid.

    243 Ida

  8. Milestone

    Direct observation of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts on Jupiter

    While still en route, Galileo had the only direct view of the comet fragment impacts into Jupiter - the first direct observation of a comet colliding with a planet.

    Jupiter

  9. Deployment

    Atmospheric probe released from the orbiter

    The probe was released from the orbiter 147 days before atmospheric entry. NSSDCA gives the release as 13 July 1995 at 05:30 UTC; NASA's quick facts list July 12, 1995 in US local time.

  10. Orbit insertion

    Jupiter orbit insertion

    First spacecraft to enter orbit around Jupiter. The orbiter reached its closest point to Jupiter at 21:53:44 UTC and ignited its main engine for a 49-minute orbit-insertion burn at 7:27 p.m. EST on 7 December 1995. Recorded at day precision, matching NASA's stated arrival date.

    Jupiter

  11. Flyby

    Io flyby on Jupiter arrival day

    The orbiter passed Io at about 892 km on arrival day; no imaging or spectral data were collected during this pass.

  12. Other

    Galileo Probe enters Jupiter's atmosphere

    The entry interface and radio reception are distinct: the archived common timing note gives entry at22:04:43.752UTC, minor-frame zero at22:07:30.965UTC and receiver lock at22:08:30.693UTC. Parachute events require the separate flight sequence; entry is not the start of received data.

    Jupiter

  13. Milestone

    Primary mission completed

    The primary orbital mission was completed in December 1997; the mission was then extended three times, from 1997 to 2003.

    Jupiter

  14. Impact

    Deliberate impact into Jupiter's atmosphere

    The orbiter was intentionally targeted to impact Jupiter to eliminate any chance of contaminating Europa or other Jovian satellites. Atmospheric entry took place at 18:57 UT approximately 1/4 degree south of the equator, at about 48.2 km/s.

    Jupiter

  15. Mission end

    Last signal received at Earth, ending the mission

    The last signal from Galileo was received at Earth at 19:43:14 UT on 21 September 2003.

    Jupiter

Mission architecture

Vehicles

Trajectory record

Time-dependent navigation trajectory

Source states place the model at the selected time. Reconstructed flight, estimates, predictions and historical mission plans are identified by interval; gaps remain visible.

J2000 · Sun-centered display · positions interpolated between source states

Coverage: October 19, 1989 to September 21, 2003

Source records and sampling assumptions are retained with the repository data. Model attitude and surface appearance are illustrative.

  • Galileo atmospheric probe: Reconstructed · July 13, 1995 to December 7, 1995
  • Galileo: Reconstructed · October 19, 1989 to September 21, 2003

Provenance

Sources

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through October 11, 2026