Behind the scenes during a comet encounter

The contributions of NSSDC and SPAN to the September 11, 1985 ICE-Comet Giacobini-Zinner encounter are outlined. The NSSDC is a centralized archive and distribution center for data obtained from NASA space and earth science flight investigations while SPAN is a mission-independent computer-to-computer network used to gain electronic access to NASA facilities, coinvestigators, and data for many scientists. The ICE encounter revealed the value of SPAN and NSSDC in providing rapid access to important science data.