[meteorite-list] Hayabusa 2 Update - December 5, 2014

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2014 16:51:18 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <201412070051.sB70pIU9018891_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2014/12/20141205_hayabusa2.html

Asteroid Explorer "Hayabusa2"
Completion of Critical Operation Phase

December 5, 2014 (JST)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed the completion
of a sequence of the important operations for the Asteroid Exploration
"Hayabusa2" mission including the deployment of the horn part of the sampler
that captures samples from the asteroid's surface, the release of the
locks for the launch that ratchet the gimbal that controls the direction
of the ion engine, and functional verification of the three-axis stabilization
controls and the ground precision orbit determination system. With this
confirmation, the critical operation phase* of the Hayabusa2 was completed.

The sampler horn deployment was confirmed by images taken by the onboard
small monitor camera that was manufactured and loaded onto the Hayabusa2
thanks to donations for the Hayabusa2 mission from many of you. We would
like to express our deepest gratitude to all of you again.
(Please refer to the attachment for the images.)

The explorer is now in a stable condition.

The explorer will move to the initial functional verification operation
phase to verify the function of the satellite onboard instruments for
about three months.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all parties and personnel
concerned for their support and cooperation with the Hayabusa2 launch
and tracking control operations. In addition, we would also like to ask
for your continued cooperation and support for the long-term Hayabusa2
space exploration mission.

*1 Critical operation phase
The critical operation phase is a period from the separation from the
launch vehicle till the establishment of the stable operation in space
including the deployment of the solar array paddles and verification of
the attitude control system and tracking and control facility functions.
Received on Sat 06 Dec 2014 07:51:18 PM PST