Asteroid Explorer “HAYABUSA” Contingency Operation

Abstract

The asteroid explorer “HAYABUSA” went through several accidents, such as (1) first RW (Reaction Wheel) fail, (2) second RW fail, (3) communication link lost believed to be caused by leakage of RCS propellant and (4) RCS (Reaction Control System) fail. We, operation team, adjusted the spacecraft timely and effectively to cope with these situations and managed to operate the spacecraft. In this paper, the methods to cope with the situation mentioned above are described.