From the ArcaMax Publishing, Science & Technology Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/technology/s-345158-476226
PARIS (UPI) -- The Ulysses observatory, a U.S.-European mission, has
won an international award for the scientific productivity of the
spacecraft, now orbiting the sun.
The European Space Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration will receive the 2008 International SpaceOps Award for
Outstanding Achievement from the International Committee on Technical
Interchange for Space Mission Operations and Ground Data Systems, also
known as the SpaceOps Committee.
The award will be presented during the SpaceOps 2008 Conference next
week in Heidelberg, Germany.
The Ulysses spacecraft was launched in 1990 on a planned five-year
mission; keeping the hugely successful spacecraft operating for more
than 17 years has presented operations engineers on the ground with a
series of unique challenges, the ESA said.
According to the SpaceOps Secretariat, the achievement award is
presented for "outstanding efforts in overcoming space operations and
support challenges, and recognizes those teams or individuals whose
exceptional contributions were critical to the success of a space
mission."
The spacecraft was built in Europe, while NASA provided the
radioisotope thermoelectric generator power source and the launch on
board space shuttle Discovery in 1990. The scientific payload was
provided by both U.S. and European investigators.