Jupiter to several seconds, and short bursts (or S-bursts) that had a duration of less than a hundredth of a second. Scientists discovered that there were three forms of radio signals transmitted from Jupiter. Since 1973 a number of automated spacecraft have visited Jupiter, most notably the "Pioneer 10" space probe, the first spacecraft to get close enough to Jupiter to send back revelations about the properties and phenomena of the Solar System's largest planet. Flights to other planets within the Solar System are accomplished at a cost in energy, which is described by the net change in velocity of the
Breakaway (Space: 1999) built by the nations of Earth as a centre for space research and exploration. Gerald Simmonds, chief executive of the World Space Commission, calls to impress upon Koenig that nothing must delay his first assignment: the launch of the manned deep-space probe to the planet Meta. A viral infection plaguing the Meta Probe astronauts and other operatives on the Moon must not be an obstacle. After Simmonds signs off, Koenig's ship passes the , a space station in lunar orbit; as he watches, the Meta probe ship docks with the station. Meta is a rogue planet currently passing through the