Sightings2010

Hayabusa probe breaks up in a fireball over Woomera as its capsule lands

When: 13 Jun 2010
Where: Woomera, Australia
Sources: 2 public sources

The Hayabusa reentry over South Australia, filmed from a NASA observation aircraft NASA/Ames Research Center; cropped for clean upload by User:Huntster, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Japan's Hayabusa asteroid probe returned to Earth over South Australia; its sample capsule entered at about 13:51 GMT and was recovered in the Woomera Prohibited Area, while the mothership broke apart in a long fireball filmed from NASA's DC-8 airborne observatory.

Sources

OfficialNASA Helps in Upcoming Asteroid Mission Homecoming (opens in a new tab)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory / 2010-06-08
PressCapsule plunges to Earth after historic visit to asteroid (opens in a new tab)Spaceflight Now (Stephen Clark) / 2010-06-13

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