Thruster problem puts Hayabusa return in jeopardy
Posted: Wed, Nov 30, 2005, 7:19 AM ET (1219 GMT)
A problem with the thrusters on Japan's Hayabusa asteroid spacecraft appears more serious than previously thought and could prevent the spacecraft from returning any samples it collected to Earth. Project officials said that one of two sets of thrusters is suffering from a propellant leak, while the other is suffering from a different problem, and may be frozen. Hayabusa needs to use the thrusters to depart from the vicinity of the asteroid Itokawa and enter a trajectory that brings it back to Earth in mid-2007. Hayabusa has suffered a number of technical problems during its mission, but managed to overcome them last weekend and successfully touch down on the surface of the asteroid and collect samples for return to Earth. Engineers have until mid-December to correct the thruster problem and allow the spacecraft to return to Earth in 2007.
A problem with the thrusters on Japan's Hayabusa asteroid spacecraft appears more serious than previously thought and could prevent the spacecraft from returning any samples it collected to Earth. Project officials said that one of two sets of thrusters is suffering from a propellant leak, while the other is suffering from a different problem, and may be frozen. Hayabusa needs to use the thrusters to depart from the vicinity of the asteroid Itokawa and enter a trajectory that brings it back to Earth in mid-2007. Hayabusa has suffered a number of technical problems during its mission, but managed to overcome them last weekend and successfully touch down on the surface of the asteroid and collect samples for return to Earth. Engineers have until mid-December to correct the thruster problem and allow the spacecraft to return to Earth in 2007.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, August 5
Sputnik x Poké Ball: ESA and Pokémon team for World Space Week
collectSPACE — 7:45 am ET (1145 GMT) Rocketing Cloud and Starlink Demand Boosts SpaceX Revenue 92%
Wall Street Journal — 7:44 am ET (1144 GMT) Alper Gezeravci was promoted from colonel to brigadier general.
Haberler — 7:40 am ET (1140 GMT) Space Force awards $615M in deals for second batch of aircraft-tracking satellites
Defensescoop — 7:39 am ET (1139 GMT) SpaceX’s AI Splurge Puts Damper on Debut Earnings After IPO
Bloomberg News — 7:35 am ET (1135 GMT) |
