Deep Space 1 Mission

Deep Space 1 was a NASA technology demonstration mission that flew by an asteroid and a comet as part of the New Millennium Program, which was dedicated to testing advanced technologies. Launched on October 24, 1998, the spacecraft flew past the asteroid 9969 Braille, its primary science target, and the mission was extended twice to include an encounter with the comet 19P/Borrelly and further engineering tests. The asteroid flyby was only a partial success, while the comet encounter returned valuable data. Deep Space 1 was the first NASA spacecraft to use ion propulsion rather than traditional chemical rockets.