Stardust mission status |
30th January, 2006
Launched 7th February, 1999
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NASA's Stardust spacecraft successfully shot into a clear blue sky atop a Delta II rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Station at 4:04:15 p.m. EST (1:04:15 p.m. PST) today to become the first U.S. mission destined for a comet, and the first-ever spacecraft sent to bring a sample of a comet sample back to Earth.
The Stardust team reported that the spacecraft was in excellent health and that its power and temperature levels are normal. The spacecraft is in communication with NASA's Deep Space Network, and is controlled through the mission operations area at Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colo., and monitored at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., where the mission is managed.
Sixty-six seconds after liftoff, the four solid rocket motors on the Delta were discarded and the first stage continued to burn until it shut down and fell away about 4 minutes, 30 seconds into the mission. A few seconds later, the Delta's second stage ignited and burned for about 5 minutes, cutting off at 9 minutes, 55 seconds into the mission. Almost immediately after the second-stage ignition, the fairing or nose-cone enclosure around the Stardust spacecraft was jettisoned.
After coasting for about 11 minutes, the second-stage engine restarted and burned for about 2 minutes. The third stage separated from the second stage 24 minutes, 27 seconds into the mission; the Star 37 third stage ignited 25 minutes, 4 seconds into the mission, burning for about 2 minutes. At 27 minutes, 19 seconds into the mission -- or 4:31:34 p.m. EST -- the Stardust spacecraft separated from the Delta's third stage, stopping its spinning by firing onboard thrusters. About 4 minutes after separation, Stardust's solar arrays began to unfold and pointed toward the Sun. The spacecraft's signal was successfully acquired by the NASA Deep Space Network complex in Canberra, Australia, 51 minutes after launch at 4:55 p.m. EST.
Mission Status:
30th January, 2006
Stardust Mission Status Report
NASA's Stardust spacecraft was placed into hibernation mode yesterday. Stardust successfully returned to Earth samples of a comet via its sample return capsule on Jan. 15. The spacecraft has logged almost seven years of flight.
"We sang our spacecraft to sleep today with a melody of digital ones and zeros," said Tom Duxbury, Stardust project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena , Calif. "Stardust has performed flawlessly these last seven years and 2.88 billion miles and deserves a rest for a while, like the rest of the team.”
The "song" was actually a series of commands that was sent up to the spacecraft yesterday, Jan. 29 at 4 p.m. Pacific time ( 7 p.m. Eastern time). The commands deactivated all but a few essential systems, such as Stardust's solar arrays and receive antenna – which will remain powered on. This long-term hibernation state could allow for almost indefinite (tens of years) out-of-contact operations while maintaining the spacecraft health.
"Placing Stardust in hibernation gives us options to possibly reuse it in the future," said Dr. Tom Morgan, Stardust Program Executive at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "The mission has already been a great success, but if at all possible we may want to add even more scientific dividends to this remarkable mission's record of achievement."
The Stardust spacecraft is currently in an orbit that travels from a little closer to the Sun than that of the Earth to well beyond the orbit of Mars. It will next fly past Earth on January 14, 2009 , at a distance of about 1 million kilometers (621,300 miles).
NASA's Stardust sample return mission successfully concluded its prime mission on Jan. 15, 1006, when its sample return capsule carrying cometary and interstellar particles successfully touched down at 2:10 a.m. Pacific time (3:10 a.m. Mountain time) in the desert salt flats of the Utah Test and Training Range.
Stardust scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston are currently analyzing what could be considered a treasure-trove of cometary and interstellar dust samples that exceeded their grandest expectations. Scientists believe these precious samples will help provide answers to fundamental questions about comets and the origins of the solar system.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena , Calif. , manages the Stardust mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver , developed and operated the spacecraft.
Letter from Astronomer and comet expert, Fred Whipple to the Stardust Team