Page "Deep Space 1" Paragraph 2

Launched on 24 October 1998, the Deep Space mission carried out a flyby of asteroid 9969 Braille, which was selected as the mission's science target.

Its mission was extended twice to include an encounter with Comet Borrelly and further engineering testing.

Problems during its initial stages and with its star tracker led to repeated changes in mission configuration.

While the flyby of the asteroid was a partial success, the encounter with the comet retrieved valuable information.

Three of twelve technologies on board had to work within a few minutes of separation from the carrier rocket for the mission to continue.