STARDUST ARRIVES AT KSC FOR LAUNCH PREPARATIONS

NASA's Stardust spacecraft, designed to fly through a comet's coma, the cloud that surrounds the nucleus of a comet, has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center to begin prelaunch processing. Launch aboard a Boeing Delta 7426 rocket is currently targeted for Feb. 6, 1999 from Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Station.

Stardust will be the first spacecraft ever to bring cometary material back to Earth for analysis by scientists worldwide. Comets are believed to contain the original building blocks of the planets and perhaps of life itself. Early in Earth's history, comets laden with water ice slammed into the planet, maybe providing the source of our oceans. When Stardust returns its pristine comet samples, scientists will be able to examine for the first time the key ingredients of the original recipe that created the planets.

Stardust is to collect particles flying off the nucleus of comet Wild 2 in January, 2004. It will also bring back samples of interstellar dust including the recently discovered dust streaming into the solar system from other stars. The spacecraft will send back pictures of Wild 2, count the bullet-like comet particles striking the spacecraft, and produce real-time analyses of the composition of the material coming off the comet. A unique substance called aerogel is the medium that will be used to catch and preserve comet samples. When Stardust swings by Earth in January 2006, the samples encased in a re-entry capsule will be jettisoned and parachute to a pre-selected site in the Utah desert.

The length of the Stardust main bus is 5.5 feet (1.7 meters), about the size of an average office desk. The spacecraft weighs 849 pounds (385 kilograms). It is being processed in NASA's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) located in the KSC Industrial Area. Among the processing activities to be performed are installation and testing of the solar arrays, final installation and testing of some spacecraft instruments followed by an overall spacecraft functional test. The spacecraft can then be fueled and mated to the Star 37 solid propellant upper stage booster.

Meanwhile, at Complex 17, the Delta II rocket will be undergoing erection and prelaunch checkout by Boeing. The first stage is scheduled to be installed into the launcher on Jan. 5, 1999. Four solid rocket boosters will be attached around the base of the first stage the next day. The second stage will be mated atop the first stage on Jan. 8, and the spacecraft fairing will be hoisted into the cleanroom of the pad's mobile service tower Jan. 11.

Stardust will be transported to Complex 17 on Jan. 28 for hoisting aboard the Delta rocket on Pad A and mating to the second stage. After the spacecraft undergoes state of health checks, the fairing can be placed around it three days later. Launch is currently targeted for Feb. 6 at 4:08 p.m. EST. The 20-day launch opportunity ends Feb. 25.

Stardust is built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Co., under a NASA contract managed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Ca. It is the fourth NASA Discovery mission to be chosen following Mars Pathfinder, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR), and the Lunar Prospector. The goal of NASA's Discovery Program is to launch many smaller missions with shorter development time that perform focused science at lower cost.