STARDUST Status Report

August 11, 2000

There were two Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking passes during the past week. All subsystems onboard the spacecraft are performing normally.

The Navigation Camera (NAVCAM) Charge Couple Device (CCD) heater test will now proceed as planned. The NAVCAM designer had expressed concern that the CCD could have incurred radiation damage during the large solar flare on July 12, 2000. An image was taken on August 8, and the results were assessed the next day. After considerable discussion, and post-discussion analysis, it could not actually be determined if there was a dark current increase. With that, there was still unanimous agreement to proceed with the CCD Heater test. Comparisons with other CCD's, particularly of Galileo and Cassini, were included in the assessment.

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