STARDUST Status Report

May 15, 1998

Ken Atkins
STARDUST Project Manager

Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) activities: ATLO this past week involved harness modifications to achieve a compatible timing interface and grounding for the Navigation Camera scan-mirror motor, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU #2) installation, Attitude Control System interface testing and spacecraft functional testing.

The formal ATLO Pre-Environmental Test Review was conducted. The Board concluded that STARDUST is ready to proceed to its environmental test.

Aerogel: The ATLO Test Unit (ATU) aerogel trays were installed in the Sample Return Capsule (SRC). The installation procedure was practiced in the SRC Structural/Thermal Model. JPL aerogel team members participated in the aerogel collector inspection and installation.

Outreach: After the film "Deep Impact" opening and the announcement of the new round of name collections, the STARDUST home page jumped to a peak of 64,239 hits on May 11, and has been averaging 51,600 hits per day for the week. About 86,000 names have already been collected. There is a link to the Stardust name collection form from the Deep Impact homepage at:

http://www.deepimpactmovie.com

STARDUST was also the highlighted feature on the Space Day home page at: http://www.spaceday.com/thisweek/index.htm

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