Stardust Assembly, Test and Launch Status

STARDUST Spacecraft Assembly, Test and Launch Status Report

Jan 26, 1999. On Monday Jan 25th, the final weighing of the spacecraft was done to provide accurate information for the launch vehicle to get it into the proper orbit. Today the spacecraft was mounted on the third stage of the rocket.
January 18th, 1999. The loading and testing of the propellant for the STARDUST Spacecraft is complete. This week on the 20th the Multilayer Insulation shoule be complete. Final torqueing of the explosive bolts used to separate the Solar Arrays when they are deployed in space will be done on January 21st. On January 25-26th the STARDUST Spacecraft will be mated to the 3rd stage of the rocket, and the entire launch vehicle will be erected on January 28th.
For thw week of January 11, 1999, the final test of the solar cells was completed and the closeout of the Solar Arrays was done. The installation of the explosive separation nuts was completed and on Friday, Jan 13th, the fuel was loaded into the spacecraft. On Monday Jan 18th the flight software will be loaded into the spacecraft computer.
January 6, 1999. Over the past several weeks numerous small items were completed, checks made and tests performed to prepare the STARDUST Spacecraft for launch. On January 7th a major readiness review called the President's Review will take place.
System Performance Test 4 (STP4) was completed on December 21st, 1998. Still ahead are a Fault Protection Sequence Test and the Final Illumination Test for the Solar Array. The latter test will verify the performance of each individual solar cell.
As of the week ending December 11, 1989 STARDUST spacecraft engineers completed installation of additional thermal equipment including heaters and thermostats. These items were added as a result of knowledge gained following analysis of the results of the Thermal Vac Test which took place at the end of September. The Spacecraft has now been reassembled and retested and portions of the MLI insulation have been installed. The completion of the MLI installation will be done in January after final work on capsule is done, but most of the exterior thermal insulation is already installed and closed out. We are now starting two weeks of testing for System Performance 4 (SPT4).
Upon arrival at the Kennedy Space Center, the STARDUST spacecraft was taken to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where it was unpacked and configured for continued testing and checkout. Arriving with it were many of the Lockheed Martin STARDUST spacecraft engineering team who will remain on location at the Kennedy Space Center until launch.
As of October 28th, the live camera has been temporarily disconnected since equipment is now being shipped to Kennedy Space Center. Meanwhile the STARDUST Spacecraft is being configured and undergoing pack and ship preparations. The next live images to appear on the home page will be from the staging area at Kennedy Space Center where cameras will be in place to view the arrival of the Spacecraft on November 12th.
A total of 1553 individual requirements for the STARDUST Spacecraft design are being tracked. These requirements are being verified through a combination of test, analysis and inspection. From the start of construction, through test and up through final closeout before launch, a total of 520 verification events cover all requirements. Of these, 480 events have been completed as of November 3, 1998, leaving more 40 to go.
On October 29th the STARDUST Spacecraft passed the Preship Review and was given approval to ship. The Spacecraft is scheduled to be shipped on November 11 from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colorado to Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will be integrated with the Delta II rocket.
On October 21, 1998, the Mass Properties and Spin Balance Test was completed, the final task to be done before packing and shipping the STARDUST Spacecraft to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Measurement of the spacecraft mass and center of gravity was almost perfectly on target. The mass came within 1 kilogram of the design specification with the fuel tank fully fueled, and the center of gravity fell within 1 millimeter of the CG design location.
As of October 15th the Fault Protection Test was done thus completing all functional testing that will be done in Denver.
As of October 14th, the post-envronnmental System Performance Test (SPT3) was completed. A fourth System Performance Test will be performed at Kennedy Space Center. The installation of the flight aerogel was begun on October 13th and finished on October 14th. Installation was performed in an ultra-clean chamber to prevent contamination from Earth dust.
For the week of October 2, 1998 STARDUST was moved back to the Multifunction Test Facility to beginning the post-environmental System Performance Tests (SPT3). Propulsion leak testing has been completed and flight software Build 3.4 has been loaded. On October 1st the Flight Aerogel Tray Set was delivered.
The Environmental Performance Test was completed on September 24th several days ahead of schedule. This test subjected the spacecraft to the conditions it will encounter in outer space. An evaluation of the spacecraft power consumption showed that it draws less power than the design estimates.
As of September 9th the Payload Adapter Fit Check was completed. The Payload Adapter is the mounting device that attaches the spacecraft to the top of the rocket.
On August 27th a key test of the deployment of the solar array was successfully completed. The solar array will provide power for the spacecraft on its long journey.
Several important tests have been completed successfully as of Aug 26th. The Frequency Survey test subjected the spacecraft to mechanical vibration over a wide range of frequencies to check the mechanical structure for modes and resonances that might cause a problem. None were found. The Pyro Shock test simulated the shock the spacecraft will receive from the explosive bolts that separate the spacecraft from the upper stage of the rocket. The results were all within predicted parameters. The EMC/EMI tests are also now completed. These actually consist of three tests, EMC or electromagnetic compatibility tests are a check to see if the spacecraft is susceptible to any signals or transmissions that might come from outside sources such as might occur at the Cape or be received in flight; similarly, a self-compatibility test was done to determine if signals or transmissions produced by the spacecraft itself will interfere with other parts of its operation; and EMI, electromagnetic interference tests were done as a check to see if the spacecraft is broadcasting any unwanted or spurious signals. All tests were passed.
As of this writing the Sample Return Capsule now sports a sign saying "Utah or Bust".
As of August 5th, the pre-environmental alignment tests were complete and Pre-Environmental Performance tests are continuing in the RAL Highbay. Over the next several days IPA will be loaded into the propellant tank in preparation for the Frequency Survey and Acoustic Tests. IPA (Isopropal Alcohol) is a safe fuel simulant used in place of hydrazine during spacecraft testing.
On July 18, the Spacecraft was moved to the Reverbrant Acoustic Laboratory (RAL) highbay to begin a series of Pre-Environmental Performance Tests.
On July 15th Spin Balancing was done and weighing was completed on July 18th in the Multifunction Test Facility. The actual weight of the spacecraft came within 0.2 kg of the current best estimate.
July 11th marks the end of the Construction phase for the STARDUST Spacecraft and the beginning of the Test phase.
With the completion of the construction of the STARDUST Spacecraft on July 11th, the craft was moved to the Multifunction Test Facility in the Environmental Test Facility building to undergo a variety of tests. The Environmental Test Facility contains the Multifunction Test Facility, the Reverberant Acoustics Laboratory, and the Thermal Vacuum Test Chambers. After completing all tests at the Environmental Test Facility the STARDUST Spacecraft will be taken by truck to Buckley Air Force Base in Denver and loaded onto a C17 aircraft and flown to Cape Kennedy.
On June 30th the parachute was installed and sealed inside the Sample Return Capsule.
As of June 29th the periscope for the Navigation Camera was installed and the four sides of the spacecraft were reassembeled.
Closeup of the Spacecraft was done on June 28th.
On June 25th, the first of three Spacecraft Performance Tests (SPT1) was completed. Both the A and B sides of the Spacecraft were tested and everything worked very well.
On June 24th the first test images were taken to exercise the Nav Camera and all associated spacecraft electronics.
On May 28th the Sample Return Capsule was integrated and the three panels were folded to their flight position, to begin the total assembly of the spacecraft structure.
As of May 21st the science instruments had all been delivered, installed and tested. This includes the CIDA (Cometary and Interstellar Dust Analyzer) instrument and sensor, the DFM (Dust Flux Monitor) instrument, and the Navigation Camera.
As of May 19th the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) assembly was complete, the non-flight aerogel was installed, and thermal-vacuum testing of the SRC was completed.
The initial Aliveness Test and the first full Bus Functional Test of all spacecraft systems hardware was completed on May 18th.
During the period from January 1998 to May 1998, construction of various components of the STARDUST Spacecraft took place with some components being build in separate locations. Among these, the Sample Return Capsule was build at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Below are milestones for that period with those more recently completed listed first.
Final installation of flight avionics boxes onto the main spacecraft was completed.
The spacecraft's structural panels were completed and the wiring harnesses installed.
Interface Testing wascompleted between the C&DH (Communications and Data Handling) system, EPS (Electrical Power System) and ACS (Attitude Control System) subsystems.
All flight telecommunications "black boxes" were installed and tested.
As of March 13th, the Deep Space Network compatibility testing was completed.
All propulsion components were assembled (welding, etc.) and installed. The hydrazine tank, a large cylindrical unit with hemisperical end caps, is prominent in many of the views in the videos of STARDUST construction activity.
Assembly of the Whipple Shields, including the Launch Adapter which is integral with the main shield was completed (in another location).
Construction of the STARDUST Spacecraft began January 6th, 1998 at the Lockheed Martin Plant in Denver Colorado.

STARDUST Webmaster Tom Meyer, meyert@colorado.edu
Last Update Wednesday, 07-Jun-2000 13:51:16 PDT