MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109.  TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Contact:  Mary Beth Murrill

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                         November 12, 1998

STARDUST ARRIVES AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER FOR LAUNCH PREPARATIONS

NASA's Stardust spacecraft, designed to fly to a comet, collect a sample and return it to Earth, has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center, FL, to begin pre-launch processing.

Time Lapse Movie STARDUST Spacecraft At Kennedy Space Center November 12, 1998

STARDUST Spacecraft MPEG Movie - 1.5 MB

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Launch aboard a Delta 7426 rocket is currently targeted for February 6, 1999 from Cape Canaveral Air Station.

Stardust will be the first spacecraft ever to bring cometary material back to Earth for analysis by scientists worldwide. Comets are believed to contain the original building blocks of the planets and perhaps those of life itself. Early in Earth's history, comets laden with water ice slammed into the planet, maybe providing the source of our oceans. When Stardust returns its pristine comet samples, scientists will be able to examine for the first time the key ingredients of the original recipe that created the planets.

The spacecraft was shipped from Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, CO, aboard a C-17 aircraft and landed at Kennedy Space Center this morning. Stardust is being built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. The principal investigator of the mission is space particle scientist Dr. Donald Brownlee of the University of Washington. Dr. Kenneth Atkins of JPL is the project manager.

No copyright protection is asserted for this photography. If a recognizable person appears in this photograph, use for commercial purposes may infringe a right of privacy or publicity. It may not be used to state or imply the endorsement by NASA employees of a commercial product, process or service, or used in any other manner that might mislead. Accordingly, it is requested that if this photograph is used in advertising and other commercial promotion, layout and copy be submitted to NASA prior to release. PHOTO CREDIT: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration Clicking on any of the thumbnail images below will bring up a higher resolution version of that image. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- After arrival at the Shuttle Landing Facility on a Boeing C-17 in the early morning hours, the crated Stardust spacecraft is unloaded from the aircraft. Built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics near Denver, Colo., for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and NASA, the spacecraft Stardust will use a unique medium called aerogel to capture comet particles and interstellar dust for later analysis. Stardust will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket targeted for Feb. 6, 1999. The collected samples will return to Earth in a re-entry capsule to be jettisoned from Stardust as it swings by Earth in January 2006.
Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1621 High Resolution JPEG - 1.9 MB	Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1622 High Resolution JPEG - 1.4 MB
Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1623 High Resolution JPEG - 973K	Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1624 High Resolution JPEG - 987K
More Photos Below

Stardust's main objective is to collect and bring to Earth particles flying off the nucleus of Comet Wild-2 in January 2004. It will also bring back samples of interstellar dust including the recently discovered dust streaming into the solar system from other stars. The spacecraft will send back pictures of Wild-2, count the comet particles striking the spacecraft, and produce real-time analyses of the composition of the material coming off the comet.

A unique substance called aerogel is the medium that will be used to catch and preserve comet samples. When Stardust swings by Earth in January 2006, the samples encased in a reentry capsule will be jettisoned and parachute to a pre-selected site in the Utah desert.

The length of the Stardust main bus is 1.7 meters (5.5 feet), about the size of an average office desk. The spacecraft weighs 385 kilograms (849 pounds). Among the processing activities to be performed are installation and testing of the solar arrays, final installation and testing of some spacecraft instruments followed by an overall spacecraft functional test. The spacecraft can then be fueled and mated to the Star 37 solid propellant upper-stage booster.

Meanwhile, at Launch Complex 17, the Delta II rocket will be undergoing erection and pre-launch checkout by Boeing. The first stage is scheduled to be installed into the launcher on January 5, 1999. Four solid-rocket boosters will be attached around the base of the first stage the next day. The second stage will be mated atop the first stage on January 8, and the spacecraft fairing will be hoisted into the clean room of the pad's mobile service tower January 11.

Stardust will be transported to Complex 17 on January 28 for hoisting aboard the Delta rocket on Pad A and mating to the second stage. After the spacecraft undergoes state of health checks, the fairing can be placed around it three days later. Launch is currently targeted for February 6 at 4:08 p.m. EST. The 20-day launch opportunity ends February 25.

Stardust is the fourth under NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost science missions, following Lunar Prospector, Mars Pathfinder and the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR). The goal of NASA's Discovery Program is to launch many smaller missions with shorter development time that perform focused science at lower cost.

JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA.

No copyright protection is asserted for this photography. If a recognizable person appears in this photograph, use for commercial purposes may infringe a right of privacy or publicity. It may not be used to state or imply the endorsement by NASA employees of a commercial product, process or service, or used in any other manner that might mislead. Accordingly, it is requested that if this photograph is used in advertising and other commercial promotion, layout and copy be submitted to NASA prior to release. PHOTO CREDIT: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration Clicking on any of the thumbnail images below will bring up a higher resolution version of that image.
Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1630 In the Payload Hazardous Service Facility, workers lift the cover that protected the Stardust spacecraft during its journey to KSC. High Resolution JPEG - 1.3 MB	Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1631 The Stardust spacecraft sits wrapped in plastic covering. High Resolution JPEG - 1.5 MB
Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1632 A worker secures the Stardust spacecraft to a workstand. High Resolution JPEG - 1.3 MB	Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1633 Workers lower the Stardust spacecraft onto a workstand. High Resolution JPEG - 1.3 MB
Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1634 Workers move the Stardust spacecraft on its workstand from the air lock to the high bay. High Resolution JPEG - 1.6 MB	Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1635 Workers check the placement of the Stardust spacecraft's workstand in the high bay. High Resolution JPEG - 1.7 MB
Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1636 Workers begin removing the protective plastic covering of the Stardust spacecraft. High Resolution JPEG - 2.1 MB	Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1637 Workers begin checking the Stardust spacecraft after removing its protective cover. High Resolution JPEG - 1.5 MB
Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1638 A worker looks over the re-entry capsule on top of the Stardust spacecraft. High Resolution JPEG - 1.6 MB	Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1639 The Stardust spacecraft sits in the Payload Hazardous Service Facility waiting to undergo installation and testing of the solar arrays, plus final installation and testing of spacecraft instruments followed by an overall spacecraft functional test. At the top is the re-entry capsule. High Resolution JPEG - 1.4 MB
Photo Number: KSC-98PC-1640 The Stardust spacecraft sits in the Payload Hazardous Service Facility. High Resolution JPEG - 1.7 MB

NOTE TO EDITORS: Images to accompany this release are available on the web at:

http://www.ast.lmco.com/frameset.shtml?top=Media_Gallery,content=gallery_stardust