MISSION PLAN - PDS Small Bodies Node

7.0 Earth Return Phase (ER-90 to ER+1 day)
7.1 Overview
This phase of the mission begins 90 days before Earth Return (ER) and ends when the
Sample Return Capsule (SRC) is transferred to the ground handling team. Earth
approach contains three TCM’s and a final divert maneuver, performed after SRC
separation, to prevent the spacecraft from following the SRC into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Prior to separation, the spacecraft will be placed at the separation attitude and the SRC
will be spun up using a spin release mechanism. This will provide the spin stabilization
that the SRC requires for successful atmospheric entry. Immediately following release,
the SRC may be imaged using the imaging camera. Although these images will have
minimal OPNAV value, they are considered of high Public Information value. If launch
occurs on the first day of the STARDUST launch period, Earth Return will occur on 15
January 2006 09:58:07 ET.
The definition of the Return Phase is established to encompass all activity with direct
influence on achieving the goal of landing the SRC at Utah. The first targeting maneuver
for the return occurs at 60 days from return. DSN tracking increases in frequency to
support the design of this maneuver at 88 days.
The planned landing site is the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The SRC landing
at UTTR, in this case - a posigrade entry, occurs at about 3 AM local time. Following
touchdown, the SRC will be recovered by helicopter or ground vehicles and will be
transported to a staging area at UTTR for the retrieval of the sample canister. The
canister will then be transported to the Planetary Materials Curatorial Facility at Johnson
Space Center.
The spacecraft approach trajectory for this phase is shown in Figure 7.1-1. Subphases are
defined in Table 7.1-1. A trajectory data set containing the following parameters can be
found in Appendix 9.5:
Earth-Probe Range Moon-Probe Range Sun-Earth-Probe Angle
Sun-Moon-Probe Angle Sun-Probe-Earth Angle Sun-Probe-Moon Angle
Table 7.1-1 Earth Return Phase Subphase Definition
Mission Phase Sub-Phases Time Duration
Earth Return
(ER-90 to ER+1d)
Approach
TCM 17 (ER-60 d)
TCM 18 (ER-13 d)
TCM 19 (ER-1 d)
SRC release
S/C divert (TCM 20)
L+2445 - 2536d
L+2521 - 2535d
L+2475d
L+2522d
L+2534d
ER-4h
ER-3h
91d
14d
-
-
-
-
-
83