News JAXA-Hayabusa mission news.

[Notebook]

Current Status of the Asteroid Explorer HAYABUSA
- Firing ion engine and starting second phase orbit maneuver
to return to Earth -

February 4, 2009 (JST)
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is doing its best to operate
the Asteroid Explore "HAYAUBSA" to return it to Earth in June 2010.
After leaving the orbit around the asteroid "ITOKAWA," the ion engine
of the HAYABUSA was cut off on Oct. 18, 2007 (Japan Standard Time, JST)
to complete the first phase orbit maneuvering for returning to the
Earth. Since then, the HAYABUSA has been in a coast flight, but today
we reignited the ion engine for a powered flight at 11:35 a.m. (JST)
after activating its reaction wheel and establishing the three axis
attitude control. We will continue to gradually accelerate the
HAYABUSA until around March 2010 to carry out the second phase orbit
maneuvering for returning it to the Earth.
From April to June 2010, we will guide the HAYABUSA, which will have
reached much closer to the Earth by then, to further come near to the
earth's orbit with higher accuracy, and plan to carry out the re-entry
of its capsule into the atmosphere in June 2010.
The total accumulated operation time of the ion engine reached 31,000
hours, and the total engine generation for orbit maneuver(*1) was
1,700 meters per second (m/s) to date. The HAYABUSA still has enough
thrust power and propellant. Some 400 m/s more of engine generation
for orbit maneuvering is necessary for returning to the Earth.
We are continuing to pay careful attention to our onboard equipment
and are doing our utmost to operate the HAYABUSA with the greatest
care.

(*1) engine generation for orbit maneuver: volume of acceleration by
an ion engine


This page URL:
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/02/20090204_hayabusa_e.html
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Publisher : Public Affairs Department
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Marunouchi Kitaguchi Building,
1-6-5, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8260
Japan
TEL:+81-3-6266-6400

JAXA WEB SITE :
http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html

N..

 

[SiberianTiger]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0911/09hayabusa/

Hopes are fading for the return of the Hayabusa space probe after another of its ion thrusters failed last week, leaving just one already-damaged engine to guide the hard-luck spacecraft back to Earth, potentially with the first precious samples of an asteroid.

Following the details, there's one thing worthy of memorizing:

During a failed sampling attempt in November 2005, Hayabusa made an unplanned landing and spent up to a half-hour on Itokawa, becoming the first spacecraft to take off from an asteroid.

 

[Notebook]

Thats one unlucky spacecraft.

N.

 

[Notebook]

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*** JAXA MAIL SERVICE ***
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
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Restoration of Asteroid Explorer, HAYABUSA's Return Cruise

November 19, 2009 (JST)
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been studying
measures to deal with the anomaly detected in one of the ion engines
aboard the Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA" as reported on November 9,
2009. As a result, the project team has come up with a recovery
operation plan, and the project decided to resume the operations,
while carefully watching the status of the ion engines.

JAXA has been studying the characteristics of the neutralizers and the
ion sources. During the study, enough thrust is found available for
the rest of the cruise, when the neutralizer of the engine-A is
combined with the ion source of the engine-B.

While the operation still needs monitored carefully, the project team
has concluded the spacecraft can maintain the current return cruise
schedule back to the earth around June of 2010, if the new engines
configuration continues to work as planned.

The project team will attentively monitor the return cruise, and JAXA
will inform you of any update whenever available.

The new configuration of the HAYABUSA ion engines-A & B
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/11/20091119_hayabusa_e.html#pict

 

[tblaxland]

That is great news. I'd love to see what, if anything, this spacecraft brings back with it.

 

[Notebook]

Yes, good for Jaxa, the deserve some good luck with this. Should make a good Disney animation. Plucky spacecraft makes it home, overcoming much adversity with help of friends...then gets eaten by giant whale(alternative endings are available).

N.

 

[tl8]

Yes, good for Jaxa, the deserve some good luck with this. Should make a good Disney animation. Plucky spacecraft makes it home, overcoming much adversity with help of friends...then gets eaten by giant whale(alternative endings are available).

N.

I would say a crocodile eating it is much more likely, due to the fact that whales don't really like the desert in Australia. Then again neither is a croc, maybe a snake?

 

[Artlav]

I wonder why is it the first time i heard about such an interesting mission.
Are there any pictures from the asteroid available?

 

[SiberianTiger]

I wonder why is it the first time i heard about such an interesting mission.
Are there any pictures from the asteroid available?

click

 

[Ghostrider]

Yes, good for Jaxa, the deserve some good luck with this. Should make a good Disney animation.

It's a Japanese probe so it would make for Anime stuff: either turns into a giant robot or irradiates a bunch of schoolgirls who transform into catpeople/mermaids/pop idols/whatever and do the Starlight Honeymoon Spiral Heartache Attack or whatever.

 

[Artlav]

Best of what i found:
http://www.newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=1594&start=60

 

[BrianJ]

More (good) news from JAXA.....
http://www.jspec.jaxa.jp/e/activity/hayabusa.html

If the ion engine keeps going for another 7 weeks it'll be on course for home :thumbup:

 

[tblaxland]

If the ion engine keeps going for another 7 weeks it'll be on course for home :thumbup:

It looks like they made it, according to news out today from Jaxa :banana:: http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/enterp/missions/hayabusa/today.shtml#tri

It looks like the target trajectory still misses the Earth by some distance but according to Jaxa, the final targeting of Earth's limb is not done until 42 days before re-entry.

 

[Notebook]

Getting closer:
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/04/20100421_hayabusa_e.html

N.

 

[Andy44]

Australia, Ha! Doesn't matter where they launch from or where they go, they always wind up in Australia, the satellite magnet, someday. Australia is to satellites what trailer parks are to tornadoes! :lol:

 

[tblaxland]

Australia, Ha! Doesn't matter where they launch from or where they go, they always wind up in Australia, the satellite magnet, someday. Australia is to satellites what trailer parks are to tornadoes! :lol:

That big 'ol desert is hard to miss . Anyway, this is probably the biggest space event down here in some time, so I am quite excited.

Regarding this:

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would like to announce that it was issued the Authorized Return of Overseas Launch Space Object (AROLSO) for the Sample Recovery Capsule aboard the Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA" from the Space Licensing and Safety Office (SLASO) of the Australian Government on Friday, April 16th.

I was wondering why the TCM to target Woomera was held of until so late. I guess they needed to make sure the paperwork came through. I wonder what they would have done if they didn't get approval?

 

[Notebook]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayabusa

The original decision to sample two different sites on the asteroid was changed when one of the sites, Woomera Desert, was found to be too rocky for a safe landing.

Hope they haven't confused the two...

N.

 

[SiberianTiger]

I was wondering why the TCM to target Woomera was held of until so late. I guess they needed to make sure the paperwork came through. I wonder what they would have done if they didn't get approval?

What if they don't? The Australians will shoot it down? :hunter:

 

[tl8]

No, but the Americans might.

The Japanese also want to avoid a littering fine

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Spaceflight Now: "More challenges await Japan's asteroid mission".