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1st Qrtr > 2nd Qrtr > 3rd Qrtr > 4th Qrtr > |
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Mission Status 2010
Kevin V. Gilliland Stardust Spacecraft Team
March 3, 2010
All subsystems are nominal. Stardust’s most recent pass was Monday. In the next week, four more passes are scheduled. Testing of software and memory configuration is underway. In May, the team plans to command to the spacecraft’s B side and the tests will assure we will have a redundant capability for Encounter. Background sequence SN034 is active, and SN035 is in development.
February 26, 2010
All subsystems are nominal.
Stardust made contact today, which is our sixth contact period since the time-of-arrival adjustment maneuver on February 17. The Navigation team is collecting data from these contact periods in order to determine the precise change in trajectory due to the maneuver. We will continue with 3 to 5 passes per week for the next few weeks.
Control of spacecraft orientation using the string 2 thrusters continues to be smooth and efficient. Fuel consumption is below 3 grams per day. Spacecraft Test Engineers have begun working on configuring software and data memory required for the 2011 encounter. The configuration is required to execute an encounter sequence from either of the flight computers. Stardust is now more than 237,000,000 miles from Earth. We have just passed our maximum Earth range.
Background sequence SN034 is active, and SN035 is in development.
February 22, 2010
All subsystems are nominal. Stardust’s most recent pass was Saturday, and another pass is scheduled for later today.
Last week the spacecraft successfully executed TCM-28. The trajectory correction was designed to set our Tempel-1 arrival time. Stardust will fly within 125 miles of Tempel-1 on February 15, 2011, 04:42 UTC. The burn performance closely followed the prediction of Propulsion engineering. During the burn, the spacecraft’s solar array was off the Sun, and all spacecraft power was supplied by the battery. Background sequences will provide three to five contacts per week through March.
February 10, 2010
All subsystems are nominal. Stardust’s most recent pass was Monday. The next pass is tomorrow, February 11. Daily passes resume Monday, February 15 in support of TCM-28. The maneuver will execute Wednesday, February 17, at 22:00 UTC. The maneuver design is complete, and uplink products are ready for review and test. Once the maneuver executes, Stardust will be on course to fly within 125 miles of Tempel-1 on February 15, 2011, 04:42 UTC. Today, Stardust is more than 413,000,000 miles from the comet. In preparation for the maneuver, Electrical Power Subsystem Engineering is exercising the battery by commanding discharge cycles. Normally, our orientation provides Sun on the solar array and the battery is not needed. For next week’s maneuver, the spacecraft will be off Sun, and using battery power.
