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BepiColombo spacecraft separation confirmed after two-hour radio wait

The European Space Agency said the pair still had 3.3 million km left before reaching Mercury, with orbiting expected in November.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Asia

Two Mercury-bound spacecraft that make up the BepiColombo mission separated from their cruiser as planned, but mission controllers had to wait about two hours for confirmation via radio signals, according to the Associated Press via SCMP Economy.

The separation operation was broadcast from the European Space Agency’s control center in Germany, more than 200 million km away.

BepiColombo is designed to enter orbit around Mercury in November and then split from each other in December to map and study the planet from different altitudes.

As of Thursday, the spacecraft were still 3.3 million km from their destination.

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