STARDUST Status Report

March 3, 2000

There were five Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking passes during the past week. All subsystems onboard the spacecraft are performing normally. Commands were successfully sent and executed to return the spacecraft to All-Stellar mode and to power off the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The flight sequence SC015 command files were transmitted to the spacecraft and began execution last Sunday.

The Aerogel Grid collection angle was successfully increased by 4.1 degrees towards the full open position. This was the first bi-weekly update to the collection angle. The update is necessary to ensure the grid remains perpendicular to the interstellar dust flow.

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