STARDUST Status Report

March 6, 1998

Ken Atkins
STARDUST Project Manager

The Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) activities continued to make progress. The Telecom subsystem interface tests with the system were completed; work proceeded on commanding with the ground support equipment, and testing of compatibility with the Deep Space Network (DSN) was initiated.

The assembly of the flight Sample Return Capsule (SRC) is nearing completion. The avionics package was installed. And ballast was added to increase the entry stability margin. This brings the capsule to 45 kg.

The Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU ) chassis seal review and assessment of the torque of the connector screws was completed. This resulted in agreement to proceed with installation of electronics for the leak test.
A redesign of the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) interface to the Cometary and Interstellar Dust Analyzer (CIDA) was completed. The CIDA electronic simulator box arrives today from Germany to support validatation testing.

Thermal vacuum testing of the spacecraft test battery was completed indicating acceptable temperature gradients. Random vibration with control on the test battery was also completed and qualified the composite bulkheads.

In other news, Ambient temperature solar array deployment tests were completed on the qualification unit. Electromagnetic testing was completed on the Power Control Assembly (PCA). Random vibration and 2 axes of shock testing of the flight computer has been completed. And the Block Dictionary and Flight Rules and Constraints were published.

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/