Hayabusa capsule has landed (w/ Video)
Sun Jun 13, 2010 at 18:12 UTC
Hayabusa separated the capsule at 10:51 (UTC) and reentered the atmosphere at 13:51 (UTC) on June 13th, 2010.
Hayabusa was launched on May 9th, 2003 by M-V rocket and operated for approximately seven years. During its operation, JAXA was able to achieve the difficult mission including Hayabusa's sample capture attempt after its touchdown on the asteroid named Itokawa, and Hayabusa's return to the earth overcoming many hardships. JAXA would like to appreciate every support to JAXA leading this mission to a great success.
The Hayabusa capsule has just returned to Woomera, Australia. As the next step, JAXA will move forward to the capsule recovery.
After the Hayabusa capsule reentry, JAXA searched for the capsule by a helicopter and discovered it at the expected landing area in Woomera Prohibited Area, Australia at 14:56 (UTC) on June 13th, 2010.
JAXA will start retrieving it on first light in Australia on June 14th, 2010.
| Source: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) | |
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