spacetoday.net: Switch problem linked to Genesis crash

Posted: Fri, Oct 15, 2004, 2:07 PM ET (1807 GMT)
Genesis capsule crash site (NASA)

A switch that was not properly oriented may have caused the crash of Genesis sample return capsule last month, investigators said Thursday. In a statement officials said that a "gravity switch" device, designed to trigger the deployment of a drogue chute once the capsule's deceleration dropped below a certain level, was installed upside-down and thus never operated properly. Investigators said the switch was installed according to design, but that the design itself had the switch in the wrong orientation. Investigators said the switch problem was the "proximate" cause of the September 8 failure, but that work would continue to understand what factors contributed to the design flaw, and if other aspects of the spacecraft design prevented the parachutes from deploying. The failure caused the capsule to hit the desert floor in Utah at over 300 km/h, severely damaging the spacecraft. Work continues to salvage some of the solar wind samples the capsule carried.