Stardust on final approach for Sunday landing
Thu Jan 12, 2006 at 21:41 UTC
NASA's Stardust mission return capsule will land Sunday at approximately 10:12 UTC on the Utah Test and Training Range. Stardust is completing a 2.88 billion mile round-trip odyssey to capture and return cometary and interstellar dust particles to Earth.
The spacecraft performs its last maneuver to put it on the correct path to enter the atmosphere on Saturday at 04:53 UTC. The speed of the capsule, as it enters the atmosphere at 28,860 mph, will be the fastest ever of any human-made object, surpassing the record set in May 1969 by the returning Apollo 10 command module.
The spacecraft performs its last maneuver to put it on the correct path to enter the atmosphere on Saturday at 04:53 UTC. The speed of the capsule, as it enters the atmosphere at 28,860 mph, will be the fastest ever of any human-made object, surpassing the record set in May 1969 by the returning Apollo 10 command module.
The capsule will release a parachute at approximately 105,000 feet and descend to the salt flats. Weather permitting, it will be recovered by helicopter teams and taken to a clean room at the Michael Army Airfield, Dugway Proving Ground for initial processing.
JPL News Release
