2024 年 67 巻 6 号 p. 340-349
This paper outlines the operation result of the reentry terminal guidance phase of the asteroid explorer Hayabusa2. Hayabusa2 successfully returned to Earth after 12 months of the return interplanetary cruise using the ion engine. The last 2 months of the return cruise required accurate trajectory control. In this phase, called the reentry terminal guidance phase, a series of precise trajectory correction maneuvers were performed to accurately guide the spacecraft to fly along a reentry corridor so that the sample return capsule could land within a designated zone in the Woomera desert, Australia. In this paper, the design methodology and operation result of the reentry terminal guidance, focusing on the trajectory guidance aspect, were discussed. The entire reentry terminal guidance operation was successful, and the sample return capsule was precisely guided and landed on the Woomera desert on December 6, 2020, contributing to the perfect success of the Hayabusa2’s asteroid sample-return challenge.
