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Hayabusa (The Falcon) released the re-entry capsule three hours prior to re-entry, at 3:51 AM Phoenix time (6:51 AM EDT, 10:51 AM UTC, and 19:51 JST). It is now 6:00 AM in Phoenix, and I will be following the live video feed listed below.
NASA’s DC-8 aircraft, which captured the Stardust images and videos, is now in pursuit of the Hayabusa capsule. |
 Stardust Re-entry Fireball 2006 Image Credit: Dr. Mike Taylor, Utah State University |
Previous NSS Phoenix blog entries about Hayabusa can be found at Hayabusa Re-Entry and Hayabusa – Here She Comes – The Little Spacecraft that Could.
Additional Sources:
- The Lime Team blog on board the NASA DC-8
- U-Stream video from Glendambo Australia
- Live Video from NASA
- The forum at NASASpaceFlight
- Space Conquest forum in France
So now we wait for news. The U-Stream video feed is live.
The JAXA control center reports that the re-entry capsule is now within 30,000 km of re-entry
Earlier tonight, Hayabusa was captured by the Subaru Telescope at 170,000 km from the Earth. The spacecraft is the small dot in the blue circle. Everything else is blurred due to tracking the spacecraft.
Image Credit: Subaru Telescope
At 6:27 AM Phoenix time, everything appears nominal. We are 24 minutes from re-entry.
Ten minutes to re-entry
Five minutes, and we should start receiving video from the NASA DC-8 flying over Woomera.
The Ustream video feed:
Image Credit: UStream video
We do have a report from Japan that a fireball has been seen.
UStream has the fireball. Both re-entry capsule and the Hayabusa spacecraft. The UStreamreplay is here.
Image Credit: UStream video
Image Credit: UStream video
At 7:11 AM Phoenix time (20 minutes after start of re-entry, we are waiting for word from the ground of the parachute deployment and landing, which should occur about now.
We have confirmation of telemetry from the capsule.
In the meantime, here is another image from the re-entry
Image Credit: UStream video
Twitter: “Helicopters will track beacon to locate capsule, mark its GPS coords. Then they will wait for daylight to go retrieve it.”
Congratulations to JAXA on an incredible mission. Considering the obstacles that have been overcome so far, the capsule will contain material from the asteroid Itokawa.
And here is eye-candy for all you that have followed the saga. Visible in the time lapse image is the re-entry capsule in front, and the Hayabusa spacecraft trailing it. The spacecraft and capsule enter at lower left. The top trace is the disintegrating spacecraft and the lower, longer trace is the re-entry capsule. [ed note: the original image was published reversed left to right]
Time Lapse image of the re-entry capsule and the Hayabusa spacecraft.
Image Credit: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp
This image is from the NASA DC-8 mission tracking the hyper-velocity re-entry of Hayabusa. The capsule is the bright dot to the right and below the spaceraft as it disintegrates in the atmosphere over Woomera Australia.
Disintegration of Hayabusa on Re-entry
Image Credit: archive.nserc.und.edu
YouTube has a low resolution video of the re-entry. Amazing, nonetheless.
Ames Research Center has now released their video of the re-entry. This is high resolution.
AT 9:00 AM Phoenix time, JAXA announced that is had located the capsule. The search for the heat shield, which separated from the capsule after re-entry is ongoing.
The Asteroid Explorer “HAYABUSA” successfully separated its capsule at 7:51 p.m. on June 13 (Japan Standard Time, the following times and dates are all JST,) and re-entered the atmosphere to complete its mission operation at 10:51 p.m. After the landing, a helicopter searched for the capsule in the Woomera Prohibited Area, and at around 11:56 p.m. on the 13th, its location was confirmed.
At 3:00 PM Phoenix time, the sun is just rising in Western Australia. Operations to retrieve the Hayabusa capsule, and continue the search for the heat shield, should be getting under way.
National Space Society of Phoenix 