On June 13th, the Japanese spacecraft, Hayabusu, re-entered the earth's atmosphere and exploded, giving an unbelieveable lightshow high above the Australian outback, where a science team from NASA, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and other agency members had a front row seat (see video). The spacecraft returned from a 1.25 billion mile journey from the comet Itokawa carrying a sample return canister containing material from the moving asteroid.
The spacecraft's explosion was expected. The intention of the observation of the re-entry was to study how well the heat shield protected the sample return canister upon re-entry to earth. When watching the video, you'll see a small pinpoint of light shooting forward after the explosion occurs. The pinpoint is the canister, which scientists say held comet samples. Okay, we have plenty of questions about this situation. PLENTY! Must do research... [Gawker]
The spacecraft's explosion was expected. The intention of the observation of the re-entry was to study how well the heat shield protected the sample return canister upon re-entry to earth. When watching the video, you'll see a small pinpoint of light shooting forward after the explosion occurs. The pinpoint is the canister, which scientists say held comet samples. Okay, we have plenty of questions about this situation. PLENTY! Must do research... [Gawker]
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