[meteorite-list] STARDUST Update - October 25, 2002

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:07:04 2004
Message-ID: <200210252033.NAA19170_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

                    STARDUST Status Report
                      October 25, 2002

Stardust is being prepared to conduct a series of engineering tests as it
passes near asteroid 5535 Annefrank on November 2. The spacecraft is
operating in good health and continuing to collect interstellar dust. The
flight team had one period of radio contact with the spacecraft this week
through JPL's Deep Space Network.

The mission's Spacecraft Test Laboratory is testing software that
Stardust will use during its flyby of the asteroid. The software will be
transmitted to the spacecraft beginning October 29. Stardust will pass
within about 3,000 kilometers of asteroid Annefrank at 04:50 Nov. 2
(Universal Time). The asteroid is estimated to be about 4 kilometers
across, based on its apparent brightness.

For more information on the Stardust mission -- the first ever comet
sample return mission -- please visit the Stardust home page:

http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov
Received on Fri 25 Oct 2002 04:33:55 PM PDT