| Mission | Date/Time | Event |
| giotto | 1985.07.02.11.23.16 | Launch on Ariane 1 rocket from Kourou into 199×36,000 parking orbit |
| giotto | 1985.07.03.19.23.17 | Mage solid rocket booster ignites for 55secs, sending Giotto into a heliocentric orbit with a Halley miss distance of 120,000km. |
| giotto | 1985.07.04.07.30.00 | Motor nozzle cover closed |
| giotto | 1985.07.06.10.02.00 | Main antenna despin |
| giotto | 1985.08.10.12.00.00 | Camera switched on. First instrument to be switched on |
| giotto | 1985.08.26.12.00.00 | Trajectory correction manever: 7.4m/sec. Halley miss distance now less than 4,000km |
| giotto | 1985.10.13.12.00.00 | All instruments operative |
| giotto | 1985.10.18.12.00.00 | Giotto takes image of Earth from 20 million km away showing Australia and Antarctica |
| giotto | 1986.02.12.12.00.00 | Trajectory correction maneuver: delta-v 0.566m/sec. Duration of burn: 7min 23sec. Miss distance now 850km +/- 70km. |
| giotto | 1986.03.10.20.00.00 | Final 8 hour dress rehearsal |
| giotto | 1986.03.11.12.00.00 | Mission managers decide on a closest approach distance of 500km +/- 40km |
| giotto | 1986.03.12.12.00.00 | Trajectory correction maneuver: duration 32 minutes. Reducing miss distance to 605km +/- 8km |
| giotto | 1986.03.12.21.00.00 | First detection hydrogen ions (7,800,000 km) |
| giotto | 1986.03.12.22.00.00 | Some images received. Then bulldozer dug up landline at Parkes causing contact with spacecraft to be lost for some time. |
| giotto | 1986.03.13.19.40.00 | Crossing of bowshock (1,064,000 km) |
| giotto | 1986.03.13.19.43.00 | Camera switched on. |
| giotto | 1986.03.13.20.15.00 | Start of formal 4-hour close encounter |
| giotto | 1986.03.13.20.55.00 | First image returned |
| giotto | 1986.03.13.22.01.00 | First dust impact of ~12 000?in total (290,000 km) |
| giotto | 1986.03.13.23.58.00 | Giotto penetrates contact surface (20,100km) |
| giotto | 1986.03.13.23.59.44 | First particle (of 11) to penetrate front shield and impact on back shield. |
| giotto | 1986.03.14.00.02.35 | Dust impact on front shield peaks. Giotto possibly penetrating a jet of particles. |
| giotto | 1986.03.14.00.02.44 | Last image (1,372km) |
| giotto | 1986.03.14.00.02.48 | Spacecraft sent spinning by impact of large (1 gram) particle 8 seconds prior to closest approach, resulting in?loss of signal on?Earth. 600 to 700 grams of spacecraft structure torn away. |
| giotto | 1986.03.14.00.02.55 | Loss of signal due to earlier dust impact |
| giotto | 1986.03.14.00.03.02 | Closest approach to nucleus of Halley (605 km) |
| giotto | 1986.03.14.00.35.00 | Spacecraft stabilised, continuous contact with Earth restored |
| giotto | 1986.03.14.00.52.15 | Detection of last dust impact |
| giotto | 1986.03.14.02.15.00 | End of formal 4-hour close encounter |
| giotto | 1986.03.15.02.00.00 | Instruments turned off |
| giotto | 1986.03.19.12.00.00 | Trajectory correction maneuver: delta-v 63.6m/sec, burn time 4hr 30min |
| giotto | 1986.03.20.12.00.00 | Trajectory correction maneuver: delta-v 46.3m/sec, burn time 4hr 10min |
| giotto | 1986.03.21.12.00.00 | Trajectory correction maneuver: delta-v 2.6m/sec, burn time 16min. Giotto on course for Earth flyby in 1990. |
| giotto | 1986.04.02.12.00.00 | Spacecraft?enters hibernation |
| giotto | 1990.02.24.12.00.00 | Spacecraft reactivated |
| giotto | 1990.07.02.12.00.00 | Earth flyby; observations of Earths magnetic field and energetic particle environment (22,730 km) |
| giotto | 1991.02.24.12.00.00 | Spacecraft?enters hibernation |
| giotto | 1992.05.08.12.00.00 | Spacecraft reactivated |
| giotto | 1992.07.10.12.00.00 | First sign of entering the dust coma (17,000 km) |
| giotto | 1992.07.10.12.00.00 | Detection of first cometary ions (440,000 km) |
| giotto | 1992.07.10.15.30.00 | Closest approach to Grigg-Skjellerup (100 km) |
| giotto | 1992.07.23.12.00.00 | Mission End |
| giotto | 1999.01.01.12.00.00 | Second Earth flyby (spacecraft switched off) |