The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is in orbit!

Just came out of the Mars shadow, and telemetry says the orbiter is on orbit. Go NASA!

Some fun factoids:

• The insertion burn required a delta-V of about 1000 meters/second, or about 2200 MPH.
• The radio antenna is the largest sent to another planet, which will greatly increase the amount of data that can be sent from Mars.
• The MRO was designed as a telecom sat for other Mars missions, such as landers. The Mars Global Surveyor does some of that, but the MRO was designed from the ground up for this role.
• The MRO has the most detailed optical camera ever flown to another planet. Resolution up to "kitchen table" size. Good stuff.
  

Tags: nasa, mars