position:rosetta spacecraft operations manager

ESA Hangout : Preparing for #Rosetta’s grand finale
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/09/15/esa-hangout-preparing-for-rosettas-grand-finale

ESA’s #rosetta spacecraft is set to complete its incredible mission in a controlled descent to the surface of Comet 67P/C-G on 30 September. Join mission experts on 19 September, 1200 GMT / 1400 CEST to discuss Rosetta’s final days and hours of operation, including expectations for the images and other scientific data that will be collected as the spacecraft gets closer and closer to the surface. We’ll also discuss the exciting discovery of Philae that was made earlier this month. Watch it live here: ▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9lIPUjFe40

Guests: Andrea Accomazzo, Flight #Operations director Sylvain Lodiot, Rosetta spacecraft operations manager Claire Vallet or Richard Moissl (TBC), Rosetta #Science ground segment liaison scientist Laurence O’Rourke, Rosetta downlink #science operations (...)

#media ##CometLanding #trajectory

#Rosetta safe mode 5 km from #comet
▻http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2016/05/30/rosetta-safe-mode-5-km-from-comet

Over the weekend, #rosetta experienced a ‘safe mode’ event 5 km from the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Contact with the spacecraft has since been recovered and the mission teams are working to resume normal #Operations. “We lost contact with the spacecraft on Saturday evening for nearly 24 hours,” says Patrick Martin, ESA’s Rosetta mission manager. “Preliminary analysis by our flight dynamics team suggests that the star trackers locked on to a false star – that is, they were confused by comet #dust close to the comet, as has been experienced before in the mission.” This led to spacecraft pointing errors, which triggered the safe mode. Unfortunately the star trackers then got hung in a particular sub mode requiring specific action from Earth to recover the spacecraft. “It was an (...)

#Comets #Estrack/DSN #esoc #estrack #trajectory