Hayabusa return delayed
Posted: Wed, Dec 14, 2005, 8:23 AM ET (1323 GMT)
Japan's Hayabusa space probe will delay its return to Earth by three years because of ongoing thruster problems with the spacecraft. Hayabusa, still in the vicinity of the asteroid Itokawa, needs to fire its main engine by mid-December in order to enter a trajectory that will bring the spacecraft back to Earth in mid-2007. However, continued thruster problems have hampered normal operations, and JAXA officials said Wednesday that they are rescheduling the spacecraft's return. That change will keep the spacecraft from returning to Earth until mid-2010, assuming that spacecraft operations return to normal. Hayabusa is designed to return to Earth carrying samples of the asteroid's surface, but project officials said last week there is no guarantee the spacecraft collected any, because a pellet used to kick up samples from the surface apparently did not fire.
Japan's Hayabusa space probe will delay its return to Earth by three years because of ongoing thruster problems with the spacecraft. Hayabusa, still in the vicinity of the asteroid Itokawa, needs to fire its main engine by mid-December in order to enter a trajectory that will bring the spacecraft back to Earth in mid-2007. However, continued thruster problems have hampered normal operations, and JAXA officials said Wednesday that they are rescheduling the spacecraft's return. That change will keep the spacecraft from returning to Earth until mid-2010, assuming that spacecraft operations return to normal. Hayabusa is designed to return to Earth carrying samples of the asteroid's surface, but project officials said last week there is no guarantee the spacecraft collected any, because a pellet used to kick up samples from the surface apparently did not fire.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, October 4
Starship’s successful launch to low Earth orbit is a big deal
The Hill — 12:29 am ET (0429 GMT) Cowen Defends SpaceX De-Annexation Deal as a ‘Historic Opportunity’ for Brownsville’s Water Future
Rio Grande Guardian — 12:28 am ET (0428 GMT) Oman space conference 2026 opens in Muscat
Muscat (Oman) Daily — 12:28 am ET (0428 GMT) France eyes commercial rocket launch from Al Duqm
Oman Observer — 12:24 am ET (0424 GMT) India tests 5.56-km quantum link, ISRO eyes secure communication from space
India Today — 12:23 am ET (0423 GMT) |
