On this day in space! Sept. 4, 1962: NASA's Mariner 2 spacecrafts performs the 1st-ever maneuver in deep space so it could reach Venus
On Sept. 4, 1962, NASA's Mariner 2 spacecraft performed the first-ever rocket maneuver in deep space as it did a quick mid-course correction on its way to Venus. Here's why it mattered.
On September 4, 1962, NASA's Mariner 2 spacecraft carried out the first-ever rocket maneuver in deep space, making a mid-course correction en route to Venus. The spacecraft had launched just eight days earlier and required the maneuver to ensure its trajectory would lead it to Venus. The Atlas-Agena rocket that launched Mariner 2 did not have the necessary precision to achieve the correct trajectory in a single maneuver.
Approximately 1.5 million miles (2.4 million kilometers) from Earth, the spacecraft fired its engines to steer itself in the right direction. This five-commanded maneuver, implemented by mission control, involved rolling, pitching, turning, and burning the rocket motor. One hundred days later, Mariner 2 successfully flew by Venus and became the first spacecraft to accomplish a successful flyby of another planet.
While mid-course corrections in deep space are now commonplace, they were far from routine in 1962 when reaching another planet with a probe was still a distant dream.
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