In this nighttime photo, NASA’s Stardust sample return capsule sits on the sand at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range Jan. 15 after its journey back to Earth. Stardust re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a higher speed than any spacecraft in history—29,000 mph. The capsule contains cometary and interstellar samples gathered by the Stardust spacecraft. Image courtesy of NASA.

Aerospace Plays Role in
Stardust Recovery

TEST AND TRAINING RANGE, Utah (1/15/06) -- After a seven-year journey that took NASA's Stardust Mission spacecraft to a rendezvous with comet Wild 2, the tennis racket-sized collector mitt safely tucked into the spacecraft's capsule successfully arrived back on Earth on Sunday, Jan. 15, with the first dust ever collected from a comet.

Aerospace, through its contract with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, played a key role in the Stardust Recovery Independent Recovery Team (IRT). During the last three months, Michael Jones of The Aerospace Corporation's Western Range Directorate, Space Launch Operations, has been supporting the JPL Stardust mission as a member of the IRT.

The IRT reviewed the recovery procedure and provided comments after witnessing a recovery exercise at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah, in October 2005.

In December 2005, the IRT also monitored the canister drop test, which was the final recovery team exercise.

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