Spacecraft

Magellan

Space Probe

Citation Formats

General Reference

Space and Astronomy Atlas. "Magellan." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://space.interactiveatlas.org/spacecraft/magellan-spacecraft.

APA Style

Space and Astronomy Atlas. (n.d.). Magellan. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://space.interactiveatlas.org/spacecraft/magellan-spacecraft

BibTeX

@misc{spaceandastronomyatlas-magellan,
  author = {Space and Astronomy Atlas},
  title = {Magellan},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://space.interactiveatlas.org/spacecraft/magellan-spacecraft},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Magellan was a 1,035-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on May 4, 1989, to map the surface of Venus using synthetic-aperture radar and measure the planet's gravitational field. It was the first interplanetary mission launched from the Space Shuttle and the first to test aerobraking as a method of orbital circularization. The spacecraft was built by the Martin Marietta Company, with Hughes Aircraft Company designing and building its radar.

Facts

Launch Date

1989-05-04 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Operated By

NASA

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)

Sources

1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)

Wikimedia FoundationMagellan (spacecraft) article, lead section

Quote, Magellan (spacecraft) article, lead section

The Magellan spacecraft was a 1,035-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on May 4, 1989.

1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)

Wikimedia FoundationMagellan (spacecraft) article, infobox

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