[meteorite-list] Stardust Successfully Performs Maneuver For Earth Return

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Jan 5 21:08:48 2006
Message-ID: <200601060207.k0627Cn08318_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2006-003

DC Agle (818) 393-9011
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena Calif.

Merrilee Fellows (818) 393-0754
Dwayne Brown (202) 358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington

2006-003

Stardust Mission Status Report
January 05, 2006

Ten days before its historic return to Earth with the first-ever samples
from a comet, NASA's Stardust spacecraft successfully performed its 18th
flight path adjustment. This second-to-last scheduled maneuver puts the
spacecraft on the right path to rendezvous with Earth on Jan. 15
(Universal Time), when it will release its sample return capsule.

At 1800 Universal Time (10:00 am Pacific Time) on Thursday, Jan. 5,
Stardust fired all eight of its 4.4 newton (1-pound) thrusters for a
total of 107 seconds, changing the comet sampler's speed by 2.4 meters
per second (about 5.4 miles per hour). The maneuver required 385 grams
(0.85 pounds) of hydrazine monopropellant to complete. A final
trajectory correction maneuver is scheduled prior to release of the
sample return capsule.

"It was a textbook maneuver," said Ed Hirst, Stardust deputy mission
manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "After
sifting through all the post-burn data, I expect we will find ourselves
right on the money."

In the early morning hours of January 15, 2006, the Stardust mission
returns to Earth after a 4.63 billion kilometer (2.88 billion mile)
round-trip journey carrying a precious cargo of cometary and
interstellar dust particles. Scientists believe Stardust's cargo will
help provide answers to fundamental questions about the origins of the
solar system.

Scientists believe in-depth terrestrial analysis of cometary samples
will reveal much not just about comets but about the earliest history of
the solar system. Locked within the cometary particles is unique
chemical and physical information that could be the record of the
formation of the planets and the materials from which they were made.

Extensive information on the Stardust mission is available from the
Stardust site at www.nasa.gov/stardust .

JPL manages the Stardust mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and
operates the spacecraft. JPL is a division of the California Institute
of Technology. NASA's Johnson Space Center contributed to Stardust
payload development, and the Johnson Space Center will curate the sample
and support analysis and sample allocation.

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home .
Received on Thu 05 Jan 2006 09:07:12 PM PST