Editing Galileo project (section)

===Orbiter===
[[File:Animation of Galileo trajectory around Jupiter.gif|thumb|right|Animation of ''Galileo''{{'s}} trajectory around Jupiter from August 1, 1995, to September 30, 2003<br/>{{legend2|magenta|''Galileo''}}{{·}}{{legend2|Lime|[[Jupiter]]}}{{·}}{{legend2|OrangeRed|Io}}{{·}}{{legend2|RoyalBlue|Europa}}{{·}}{{legend2|Gold|[[Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede]]}}{{·}}{{legend2|Cyan|[[Callisto (moon)|Callisto]]}} |alt=refer to caption]]
With the probe data collected, the ''Galileo'' orbiter's next task was to slow down in order to avoid heading off into the outer solar system. A burn sequence commencing at 00:27 UTC on December 8 and lasting 49 minutes reduced the spacecraft's speed by {{convert|600|m/s|sp=us}} and it entered a [[parking orbit]] with an [[orbital period]] of 198 days. The ''Galileo'' orbiter thus became the first artificial satellite of Jupiter.{{sfn|Meltzer|2007|pp=208–209}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Galileo&Display=ReadMore |title=Solar System Exploration – Galileo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006010150/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Galileo&Display=ReadMore |archive-date=October 6, 2012 |publisher=NASA |url-status=dead |access-date=April 24, 2012}}</ref> Most of its initial orbit was occupied transmitting the data from the probe back to Earth. When the orbiter reached its [[apojove]] on March 26, 1996, the main engine was fired again to increase the orbit from four times the radius of Jupiter to ten times. By this time the orbiter had received half the radiation allowed for in the mission plan, and the higher orbit was to conserve the instruments for as long as possible by limiting the radiation exposure.{{sfn|Meltzer|2007|pp=208–209}}

The spacecraft traveled around Jupiter in elongated [[ellipse]]s, each orbit lasting about two months. The differing distances from Jupiter afforded by these orbits allowed ''Galileo'' to sample different parts of the planet's extensive [[magnetosphere]]. The orbits were designed for close-up flybys of Jupiter's largest moons. A naming scheme was devised for the orbits: a code with the first letter of the moon being encountered on that orbit (or "J" if none was encountered) plus the orbit number.{{sfn|Meltzer|2007|pp=232–233}}