PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011

                     MAGELLAN STATUS REPORT
                          June 28, 1993

     The Magellan Transition Experiment to circularize the
spacecraft's orbit by lowering it into the top of the Venusian
atmosphere to create drag is going very well, project officials
said today.

     As of last Friday, June 25, the spacecraft had made 260
atmospheric drag passes and the apoapsis, or furthest point from
the planet, had been lowered below 5,300 kilometers (3,286 miles)
from its original orbital apoapsis of 8,540 kilometers (5,294
miles).

     The spacecraft's closest point to the planet, or periapsis,
is being maintained at between 138 and 140 kilometers altitude 
(about 86 to 88 miles).

     The spacecraft also is being maintained in a specific
corridor on its closest passes to the planet. Plans were being
made to execute a corridor orbit trim maneuver Thursday
to slightly raise the altitude at periapsis and maintain a steady
course during the upcoming July 4th holiday weekend.

     It is expected the orbit will be sufficiently changed by
early August so that only fine-tuning the orbit will be needed to
achieve the desired, nearly circular orbit required for high-
resolution gravity studies of Venus.

     This is the first time a spacecraft's orbit has been changed
at another planet by "aerobraking," or using the planet's
atmosphere to create drag.

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