spacetoday.net: Thruster problem puts Hayabusa return in jeopardy

Posted: Wed, Nov 30, 2005, 7:19 AM ET (1219 GMT)
Hayabusa spacecraft illus. (JAXA)

A problem with the thrusters on Japan's Hayabusa asteroid spacecraft appears more serious than previously thought and could prevent the spacecraft from returning any samples it collected to Earth. Project officials said that one of two sets of thrusters is suffering from a propellant leak, while the other is suffering from a different problem, and may be frozen. Hayabusa needs to use the thrusters to depart from the vicinity of the asteroid Itokawa and enter a trajectory that brings it back to Earth in mid-2007. Hayabusa has suffered a number of technical problems during its mission, but managed to overcome them last weekend and successfully touch down on the surface of the asteroid and collect samples for return to Earth. Engineers have until mid-December to correct the thruster problem and allow the spacecraft to return to Earth in 2007.