Space Travel News  
Hayabusa Mission Struggles On

The spacecraft plans to start the actual return cruise in the beginning to the middle of April, 2007. Though the operation of the Hayabusa is still a challenge with full of difficulty, the project will make its best effort taking an aim at returning it to the earth in June, 2010.
by Staff Writers
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Apr 17, 2007
As already reported, the spacecraft Hayabusa had been out of communication due to the leakage of the RCS (Reaction Control System) propellant for 7 weeks since Dec 9th, 2005, until the communication was resumed in Jan, 2006. The operations carried out since then included the baking of the spacecraft, slow recharging of the lithium-ion battery, the closure of the capsule lid, the attitude control and spin management tests with the new attitude control strategy via Xe cold-gas thrusters taking the advantage of the solar radiation pressure torque, and the test operations of the ion engines;

A new trouble in an electric heater circuitry at the RCS occurred in Nov, 2006. It was conceived related and due to the RCS propellant leakage incident in 2005. Since the potential RCS propellant was anticipated frozen, the baking operation was again performed to vaporize the potentially-frozen material in order to avoid abrupt vaporization that might cause the attitude tumbled. Small perturbation disturbance in the spin motion was detected actually during this baking operation, but it was within an admissible range and not critical. The project team identified the baking and out-gassing operation was successfully performed.

Four cells among the 11 lithium-ion battery cells were not functional caused by the short-circuit phenomenon occurred during the out-of-communication period in Dec, 2005, while no solar power was available owing to the tumbled spacecraft motion. The battery power was indispensable for inserting the sample-catcher into the recovery capsule, and also for the lid-closure operation that includes the latching and sealing of the lid.

The seven healthy battery cells, thus, had been slowly recharged at a minimum current, until the recharging operation was successfully completed in Sept, 2006. Simultaneously in parallel to this operation, the ground simulation tests using a similarly and artificially-built short-circuited cell to the onboard battery cells were carried out in order to evaluate the operational safety associated with the sample-catcher insertion operation. After the safety was securely confirmed, the sample-catcher was actually transferred into the recovery capsule, and latched and sealed successfully on Jan 17th to 18th, 2007.

The spacecraft has been undergoing the new attitude control scheme on orbit since Feb, 2007. The new scheme takes it into account that two of the three reaction wheels are lost and not available and the chemical thrusters propellant is completely lost.

The attitude control and spin management maneuver are performed via Xe cold-gas thrusters and the solar radiation pressure was made good use of to make the ion engines thrust vector aligned to the intended acceleration direction. Under the new attitude control scheme, the ion engines have been successfully ignited and operated in the preparation tests so far done toward the return cruise.

The spacecraft plans to start the actual return cruise in the beginning to the middle of April, 2007. Though the operation of the Hayabusa is still a challenge with full of difficulty, the project will make its best effort taking an aim at returning it to the earth in June, 2010.

Related Links
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
News About Space Exploration Programs
The Iron and Ice Of Our Solar System
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Unique Observations Of Comet Mcnaught Reveal Sprinkling Nucleus
Paris, France (ESO) Feb 26, 2007
Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, has been delighting those who have seen it with the unaided eye as a spectacular display in the evening sky. Pushing ESO's New Technology Telescope to its limits, a team of European astronomers have obtained the first, and possibly unique, detailed observations of this object.







  • Boeing Submits Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage Production Proposal
  • KSC Hosts Private Jet Suborbital Pathfinder Flights
  • SpaceX Completes Primary Structure Of The Falcon 9 First Stage Tank
  • Orbital To Provide Abort Test Booster For NASA Testing

  • Indian Space Agency Set For First Commercial Launch Of Foreign Satellite
  • Russia To Launch Four US Satellites In May
  • PSLV-C8 To Be Launched On April 23
  • ILS Proton Successfully Launches Anik F3 Satellite

  • NASA to launch Shuttle Atlantis as early as June
  • Shuttle Assessments And Repair Work Ongoing
  • NASA Assigns Crew For Shuttle Mission To Install Japanese Lab
  • Shuttle Atlantis Grounded by Fuel Tank Damage

  • ISS Ready For Crew Change Over
  • NASA Extends Contract With Russian Federal Space Agency
  • The Race From Space
  • Expedition 15 Crew To Launch From Baikonur

  • Facing Tanning Booth Cancer Risk
  • Earth Magnetic Field A Hazard For Lunar Astronauts
  • Merlin Secures NASA SEWP IV Contract With Potential Value Of Over USD 5 Billion
  • Bill Gates Eyes Flight To Space

  • China Launches Ocean Monitoring Satellite
  • China To Pursue Space Instead Of Socialism
  • China Outlines Space Program Till 2010
  • China To Launch New Direct Broadcast Satellite To Replace SinoSat-2

  • Top Robotics Teams To Rack And Roll Atlanta Georgia Dome
  • Assistive Robot Adapts To People And New Places
  • Flexible Electronics Could Find Applications As Sensors And Artificial Muscles
  • Machine Shop Keeps Robots Rolling

  • A Close Up Look At Martian Rocks From The Comfort Of Your Couch
  • Investigating The Dark Streak Of Victoria Crater
  • Report Reveals Likely Causes Of Mars Spacecraft Loss
  • Through A Telescope Darkly

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement