STARDUST Status Report

August 28, 1998

Ken Atkins
STARDUST Project Manager

The ATLO team completed the electromagnetic (EM) testing, stray voltage testing, and solar array deployment shock tests. No radiated emissions problems were observed in the EM tests. That means the electrical system will be "quiet" without static causing problems with other things on board. The solar array test was to exercise the components that allow the arrays to unfold automatically in space. Everything worked fine! After the testing, the solar arrays were removed and the spacecraft moved to its handling fixture to start preparations for system thermal vacuum test (STV). That's the picture on the webcam at this writing. The flight system remains very healthy with no functional problems going into environmental test.

Launch Vehicle: You may have seen on the news that the inaugural flight of the Delta III rocket failed on August 26. Boeing has initiated a failure investigation. STARDUST is not manifested to ride on the Delta III. We're slated for the Delta II, a rocket system with more than one hundred successful launchings. However, even though STARDUST is manifested on the Delta II launch vehicle, Boeing and NASA must consider and review everything about the Delta II in the context of this failure to ensure exoneration of all Delta II elements before allowing continuation of the Delta II launch schedule. Seven Delta II launches are scheduled ahead of STARDUST.

A new STARDUST fact sheet was added to the Web Site at: