Chapter 24 - Hayabusa2 sample-return capsule: System description and re-entry flight

Abstract

The asteroid explorer Hayabusa2 successfully accomplished its in-the-vicinity scientific exploration on the asteroid Ryugu by the end of 2019. After 1year of interplanetary transfer return orbit, the spacecraft (S/C) returned to the earth at the end of 2020. After successive TCMs (trajectory correction maneuvers) were carried out, the sample-return capsule (SRC) was separated from the S/C and entered the earth's atmosphere with a velocity of about 12km/s. Passing through a severe aerodynamic heating corridor, the SRC jettisoned both the forebody and the aftbody heatshields and deployed a parachute at an altitude of about 10km. Simultaneously along with the deployment of the parachute, the SRC started to transmit a beacon signal, based on which the ground direction-finding stations (DFSs) localized the SRC. This chapter summarizes and reports the system description of the Hayabusa2 SRC, its instrumentation, and the onboard subsystems concerned with both return and recovery. The re-entry flight and the recovery of the SRC are outlined with data obtained from the return and recovery operation.