Comet Hunting Craft Closes on Target

JayBonci writes "According to a CNN article (also ScienceDaily), NASA's comet-hunting craft as part of the Stardust mission has sighted the comet early. This will make it easier to complete their plan of bringing a sample of the dust left behind by the comet's icy tail back home to earth. The mission homepage is here."

The silly thing of it is...

[Dr. Smeegee]

I had this image of a ufo zeroing in on a Super Target.

Bruce Willis

[AtariAmarok]

Is Bruce Willis aboard this thing, accompanied by a bunch of riggers and wearing the ugliest corduroy space suits in all sci fi dom?

that's alot of excitement

[theMerovingian]

for something that looks like this. [nasa.gov]

Re:that's alot of excitement

[RobertB-DC]

for something that looks like this.

Actually, the NASA scientists are all in a tizzy over twelve little pixels [nasa.gov]. If they actually got to see the whole potato [nasa.gov], I think they'd break out the sour cream.

ISS?

[moosesocks]

Wouldn't it be easier for the spacecraft to dock with the ISS, and return the samples to earth via. the next Soyuez capsule? It seems silly to need to build a craft capable of re-entry when it doesn't need to...

Re:ISS?

[aridhol]

Maybe, but Earth is a bigger target.

Now way

[AtariAmarok]

"...and return the samples to earth via. the next Soyuez capsule..."

Yeah, and what do you do once the comet samples get mixed in with the congealed foodstuffs that up most of the Russian space program rations? Once those babies get jumbled together, you'll have a hell of a time telling them apart.

Best solution to this problem comes from our pal Yakov: replace all the food rations with more vodka. Then you'll always be able to find space samples!

Re:ISS?

[isaac]

Wouldn't it be easier for the spacecraft to dock with the ISS, and return the samples to earth via. the next Soyuez capsule? It seems silly to need to build a craft capable of re-entry when it doesn't need to...

I'm certain it's considerably easier to build a capsule with an ablative heat shield capable of reentry than to build a craft with enough maneuvering fuel to match the orbit of ISS for a complicated recovery of the sort you propose.

With this design, the craft doesn't have to match orbits with a very small and very fast target - it just has to hit Utah. The latter is considerably easier, especially as there aren't any squishy humans inside who can't tolerate deceleration forces greater than a few dozen G.

-Isaac

Re:ISS?

[Anonymous Coward]

With this design, the craft doesn't have to match orbits with a very small and very fast target - it just has to hit Utah. The latter is considerably easier, especially as there aren't any squishy humans inside who can't tolerate deceleration forces greater than a few dozen G.

Okay, who is going to hack just a minor correction to orbital parameters to make it hit SCO HQ on re-entry?

Re:ISS?

[snake_dad]

Plus: Stardust was designed to be light. That is also the reason for the several gravity assists during the mission: it allowed for a lighter spacecraft and thus a smaller launcher.

Maybe something could be done with aerobraking, but I guess that too would take a very long time to match orbits.

Re:ISS?

[Cujo]

That's it exactly. The amount of delta-velocity we're talking about here is thousands of meters per second, sothe mass fraction of the fuel would be >> 50%. Also, the ISS isn't very maneuverable, so anything that wants to rendezvous with it needs a pretty good terminal guidance system, which is expensive. Stardust is a Discovery mission, so doesn't have or need those kinds of big ticket items.

Re:ISS?

[DoraLives]

Wouldn't it be easier for the spacecraft to dock with the ISS

No.

YES!!! give me a nice interstellar virus

[Zorton]

Cool maybe we can culture some weirdness outa it. Some sorta plastic eatting virus that could set us all back into the 50's or so. Or perhaps something that eats silicon. Imagine the amazing self deflating breast implants.

-=This message brought to you by zorton=-
Lameness in vt100 comptable terms
since 1994

Re:YES!!! give me a nice interstellar virus

[SB9876]

OK, I'm gonna be a nitpicker here but this is buggin' me :

1: viruses don't eat *anything*, they're really not even alive. Bacteria eat stuff, not viruses.
2: Silicon is what sand and computer chips are made of. Silicone is what boob implants and bathtub caulk is made of. Silicon != silicone!!!!!1!! ARRRGH!!!