Stardust Status Report

October 12, 2001

There were two Deep Space Network tracking passes in the past week and all subsystems are performing normally.

Commands were successfully sent to the spacecraft to record power data every fifteen minutes. The power subsystem engineers are updating their power model to better predict the power usage next April, when Stardust reaches 2.7 AU from the Sun. Presently, the recorded data provides limited telemetry since a complete snapshot of the spacecraft power measurements occurs only every four hours. By recording the data every fifteen minutes over the next week, the power subsystem engineers will be able to obtain a more accurate picture of the spacecraft loads and thus update their model to provide better power predictions at the 2.7 AU distance.

The Stardust and JPL Solar System websites highlighted a spotlight article focusing on the recent milestone where Stardust became the farthest ever spacecraft from the Sun using only solar power. Stardust will continue to extend this record daily for the next six months.

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