Scale model of Giotto satellite

Model of Giotto satellite possibly 1:10 scale. Giotto was the European Space Agency's first deep space mission and an incredibly significant one. It launched on an Ariane 1 rocket on 2 July 1985 from Kourou, French Guiana. It intercepted two comets - Halley (1986) and Grigg-Skjellerup (1992). The mission had a number of firsts: the first spacecraft to image a comet nucleus (Halley) and found the first evidence of organic material on a comet; the first deep-space mission to change orbit by returning to Earth from deep space for a gravity-assist manoeuvre; and at the time made the closest comet fly-by of any spacecraft (200 kilometres from Comet Grigg-Skjellerup). This record was over taken by NASA's Stardust-NExTmission in February 2011 when it came within 181km of Comet Tempel.

Giotto studied the interaction between the solar wind, the interplanetary magnetic field and the comet itself. This was a rare opportunity to explore Halley as the comet would disappear for another 75 years if this chance was missed. Interestingly, it is said that Margaret Thatcher's disappointment in the images of Halley coming back from the probe and supposedly hastened her fading enthusiasm for the UK space sector.

The image quality was perhaps partly down to the fact that the spacecraft and Halley's comet were hurtling towards each other at a combined speed of 245,000 km/hr - which is the equivalent to crossing the Atlantic Ocean in 11 minutes. This speed also meant that .1 gram dust particle would be able to penetrate 8 cm of solid aluminium. The protective dust shield was very important and consisted of two protective sheets. At the front was a sheet of aluminium 1mm thick, which would vaporise all but the largest of the incoming dust particles.

Giotto was built in Bristol by British Aerospace and was based on their GEOS Earth-orbiting research satellites. The scientific instruments onboard were built in Germany, United Kingdom, France, Ireland and Switzerland.