HAYABUSA's ion engines achieved 20,000 hour & unit Space Operation

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ^ | December 9, 2004 | Hitoshi Kuninaka

[snowsislander]

The microwave discharge ion engines onboard HAYABUSA asteroid explorer have marked space operation of twenty thousands hour and unit as the accumulated operational time on December 9th.

HAYABUSA spacecraft, which was launched on May 2003, succeeded the Earth swing-by on May this year and continues to transfer into the asteroid using the acceleration by the ion engines.

They generated 1,300m/s delta-V consuming 20kg propellant up to now. After September the space maneuver using three ion engines was throttled down in order to adapt power reduction of the solar array panels due to enlargement of solar distance.

Furthermore one of three engines was turned off in the middle of October.

The spacecraft stays in deep space 1.3 astronautical unit apart from Earth.

The communication time lag exceeds twenty minutes, which is the time duration between sending commands and confirming answers on Earth. The telemetry bit rate is also gradually falling, so that the operation team feels helpless.

HAYABUSA spacecraft, which is executing the maneuver operation diligently and automatically in the lonely deep space, is sturdy and dependable rather than us.

Hitoshi Kuninaka

[snowsislander]

I think that the Hayabusa is the boldest ongoing expedition in space: its ion engines are taking it to rendezvous with the asteroid Itokawa where it will take samples under its own autonomy (the Asteroid Belt being too far to try to have it guided by humans on Earth) via "bullets" fired into the asteroid's surface -- and then return these samples to Earth.

The speed with which it is going to the Asteroid Belt and back is simply remarkable; this mission is to be finished by summer of 2007.

Of course, there are so many things that could go wrong that it is unlikely to actually make it through the whole mission. But the MUSES-C/Hayabusa mission has already marked many successes, including the one that this article mentions.

Probably the best web page in English for the mission is here.

[Buzwardo]

Wow! Wicked cool!

[battlecry]

And I thought you were talking about the motorcycle.

[Colorado Doug]

I wish my @$#** General Electric microwave could have lasted that well.

[martin_fierro]

HAYABUSA's ion engines achieved 20,000 hour & unit Space Operation

Call me when it's available in a V-twin. < |:)~

[NY.SS-Bar9]

TerrorBusa

[snowsislander]

Sorry, this is the only artwork that I could find (more of a gullwing than a V-twin. ;-)

[RckyRaCoCo]

Heh, my 1 year old panasonic blew up yesterday...argggh

[Noumenon]

[blackie]

I love my Suzuki V-Twin: