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Stardust Entry: Landing and Population Hazards in Mission Planning and OperationsThe 385 kg Stardust mission was launched on Feb 7, 1999 on a mission to collect samples from the tail of comet Wild 2 and from interplanetary space. Stardust returned to Earth in the early morning of January 15, 2006. The sample return capsule landed in the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) southwest of Salt Lake City. Because Stardust was landing on Earth, hazard analysis was required by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, UTTR, and the Stardust Project to ensure the safe return of the landing capsule along with the safety of people, ground assets, and aircraft. This paper focuses on the requirements affecting safe return of the capsule and safety of people on the ground by investigating parameters such as probability of impacting on UTTR, casualty expectation, and probability of casualty. This paper introduces the methods for the calculation of these requirements and shows how they affected mission planning, site selection, and mission operations. By analyzing these requirements before and during entry it allowed for the selection of a robust landing point that met all of the requirements during the actual landing event.
Document ID
20070022844
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Desai, P. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Wawrzyniak, G. (Purdue Univ. West Lafayette, IN, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
August 21, 2006
Subject Category
Space Transportation And Safety
Report/Patent Number
AIAA Paper 2006-6412
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference and Exhibit
Location: Keystone, CO
Country: United States
Start Date: August 21, 2007
End Date: August 24, 2007
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Astronautical Society
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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