The Post Position Draw of the entries for the Kentucky Derby was held Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at the Churchill Downs Racetrack clubhouse.[8] American Pharoah was installed as the 5-2 morning line favorite.[9] The day after the draw, Todd Pletcher scratched Stanford, stating that the horse was "fine," but they were not pleased with the draw and had been "on the fence" about running in the Derby.[10] On May 1, El Kabeir was scratched due to a possible hoof problem,[11] however the also-eligible Tale of Verve did not get a chance to run since the scratch was made after the cutoff time that allows also-eligible runners to gain a start in the race.[11] Early on race day International Star was also scratched after having problems with his left-front foot.[12]
Overall, the 2015 field was considered "the deepest and most talented in decades". Trainer Bob Baffert had the top two favorites: American Pharoah and Dortmund. [13] Dortmund, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, was an undefeated 6–0 entering the race, a feat matched by 1977 winner Seattle Slew and 2004 winner Smarty Jones. American Pharoah was 4–1, having placed fifth in his debut before running off four straight victories, including an eight-length win in the Arkansas Derby.[13] Baffert described the experience as like being "on pins and needles all week long," as reporters and fans expected one of his two horses to win.[13] Other notable horses in the field included the undefeated Florida Derby champion Materiality; Frosted, who beat a loaded Wood Memorial field; Mubtaahij, who had won four of the five races he entered in Dubai; and Sunland Derby winner Firing Line, who had lost to Dortmund twice, but both times by very narrow margins.[13]
Race description[edit] The weather on race day, May 2, 2015, was warm. A record setting 170,513 fans watched the race live at Churchill Downs.[4] The 2015 race also set a record for money wagered with $137.9 million bet from all sources on the Derby and $194.3 million for the entire day of racing.[5] Eighteen horses started the race which was the eleventh on the racecard.[1]
Dortmund was the first out of the gate, followed closely by Firing Line and then American Pharoah.[1] In the early stages of the Kentucky Derby, Dortmund and Firing Line traded the lead several times. Carpe Diem and American Pharoah were also at the front of the pack, just behind the leaders.[6] Dortmund took the inside position and held it throughout the race.[13] As the horses came around the final turn, it was a three horse race. Dortmund held the lead and inside position, but Firing Line, running more toward the middle of the track, passed Dortmund.[13] American Pharoah, ridden by Victor Espinoza, took the final turn five horses wide, but had the lead by a head in the homestretch.[1] From there, American Pharoah increased his lead, winning the race with a time of 2:03.02. Firing Line finished second, one length back; Dortmund took third, three lengths off the lead. Frosted and Danzig Moon rounded out the top five.[14]
It was second straight Derby win for Espinoza, who rode California Chrome to victory in 2014, and Espinoza's third overall. "I feel like the luckiest Mexican on Earth," he declared after the race.[6] For trainer Bob Baffert, it was his fourth Derby victory, but his first since 2002. Espinoza and Baffert teamed up to win the 2002 Kentucky Derby with War Emblem. For owner Ahmed Zayat, it was his first Derby victory, and the end of a streak of heartbreaking finishes. His horses had placed second in three of the previous six Kentucky Derbies, including American Pharoah's sire, Pioneerof The Nile who was second in 2009.[15] Additionally, Zayat's 2010 entry, Eskendereya, was the morning line favorite, but had to scratch with a career-ending leg injury. "I'm speechless," Zayat said. "No more seconds ... This is one special horse ... This is a dream come true."[14] Zayat collected $1.4 million for the win out of the $2.2 million total purse.[16] American Pharoah became the first two-year-old champion to go on to win the Derby since Street Sense in 2007.[15]
The MESSENGER mission was designed to study the characteristics and environment of Mercury from orbit. Specifically, the scientific objectives of the mission were:[26][27] to characterize the chemical composition of Mercury's surface. to study the planet's geologic history. to elucidate the nature of the global magnetic field (magnetosphere). to determine the size and state of the core. to determine the volatile inventory at the poles. to study the nature of Mercury's exosphere.
Spacecraft design[edit]
The MESSENGER spacecraft was designed and built at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Science operations were managed by Sean Solomon as principal investigator, and mission operations were also conducted at JHU/APL.[28] The MESSENGER bus measured 1.85 meters (73 in) tall, 1.42 m (56 in) wide, and 1.27 m (50 in) deep. The bus was primarily constructed with four graphite fiber / cyanate ester composite panels that supported the propellant tanks, the large velocity adjust (LVA) thruster, attitude monitors and correction thrusters, the antennas, the instrument pallet, and a large ceramic-cloth sunshade, measuring 2.5 m (8.2 ft) tall and 2 m (6.6 ft) wide, for passive thermal control.[28] At launch, the spacecraft weighed approximately 1,100 kilograms (2,400 lb) with its full load of propellant.[29] MESSENGER's total mission cost, including the cost of the spacecraft's construction, was estimated at under US$450 million.[30]
Attitude control and propulsion[edit]
Main propulsion was provided by the 645 N, 317 sec.Isp bipropellant (hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide) large velocity assist (LVA) thruster. The model used was the LEROS 1b, developed and manufactured at AMPAC‐ISP’s Westcott works, in the United Kingdom. The spacecraft was designed to carry 607.8 kilograms (1,340 lb) of propellant and helium pressurizer for the LVA.[28]
Four 22 N (4.9 lbf) monopropellant thrusters provided spacecraft steering during main thruster burns, and twelve 4.4 N (1.0 lbf) monopropellant thrusters were used for attitude control. For precision attitude control, a reaction wheel attitude control system was also included.[28] Information for attitude control was provided by star trackers, an inertial measurement unit and six sun sensors.[28]
Communications[edit]
The probe included two small deep space transponders for communications with the Deep Space Network and three kinds of antennas: a high gain phased array whose main beam could be electronically steered in one plane, a medium-gain “fan-beam” antenna and a low gain horn with a broad pattern. The high gain antenna was used as transmit-only at 8.4 GHz, the medium-gain and low gain antennas transmit at 8.4 GHz and receive at 7.2 GHz, and all three antennas operate with right-hand circularly polarized (RHCP) radiation. One of each of these antennas was mounted on the front of the probe facing the Sun, and one of each was mounted to the back of the probe facing away from the Sun.[31]
Power[edit]
The space probe was powered by a two-panel gallium arsenide/germanium solar array providing an average of 450 watts while in Mercury orbit. Each panel was rotatable and included optical solar reflectors to balance the temperature of the array. Power was stored in a common-pressure-vessel, 23-ampere-hour nickel–hydrogen battery, with 11 vessels and two cells per vessel.[28]
Computer and software[edit]
The spacecraft's onboard computer system was contained in an Integrated Electronics Module (IEM), a device that combined core avionics into a single box. The computer featured two radiation-hardened IBM RAD6000s, a 25 megahertz main processor, and a 10 MHz fault protection processor. For redundancy, the spacecraft carried a pair of identical IEMs. For data storage, the spacecraft carried two solid-state recorders able to store up to one gigabyte each. The IBM RAD6000 main processor collected, compressed, and stored data from MESSENGER's instruments for later playback to Earth.[28]
MESSENGER used a software suite called SciBox to simulate its orbit and instruments, in order to "choreograph the complicated process of maximizing the scientific return from the mission and minimizing conflicts between instrument observations, while at the same time meeting all spacecraft constraints on pointing, data downlink rates, and onboard data storage capacity."[32]
MESSENGER's formal data collection mission began on April 4, 2011.[16]The primary mission was completed on March 17, 2012, having collected close to 100,000 images.[17] MESSENGER achieved 100% mapping of Mercury on March 6, 2013, and completed its first year-long extended mission on March 17, 2013.[2] MESSENGER‍ ' s second extended mission lasted for over two years, but as its low orbit degraded, it required reboosts to avoid impact. It conducted its final reboost burns on October 24, 2014, and January 21, 2015, before crashing into Mercury on April 30, 2015.[13][18][19]
During its stay in Mercury orbit, MESSENGER's instruments yielded significant data, including a characterization of Mercury's magnetic field[20] and the discovery of water ice at the planet's north pole,[21][22] which had long been suspected on the basis of Earth-based radar data.[23]
Mission background[edit]
Previous missions[edit]
In 1973, Mariner 10 was launched by NASA to make multiple flyby encounters of Venus and Mercury. Mariner 10 provided the first detailed data of Mercury, mapping 40-45% of the surface.[24] Mariner 10's final flyby of Mercury occurred on March 16, 1975. No subsequent close-range observations of the planet would take place for more than 30 years.
Proposals for the mission[edit]
In 1998, a study detailed a proposed mission to send an orbiting spacecraft to Mercury, as the planet was at that point the least-explored of the inner planets. In the years following the Mariner 10 mission, subsequent mission proposals to revisit Mercury had appeared too costly, requiring large quantities of propellant and a heavy lift launch vehicle. Moreover, inserting a spacecraft into orbit around Mercury is difficult, because a probe approaching on a direct path from Earth would be accelerated by the Sun's gravity and pass Mercury far too quickly to orbit it. However, using a trajectory designed by Chen-wan Yen in 1985, the study showed it was possible to seek a Discovery-class mission by using multiple, consecutive gravity assist, 'swingby' maneuvers around Venus and Mercury, in combination with minor propulsive trajectory corrections, to gradually slow the spacecraft and thereby minimize propellant needs.[25]