SCI

Spacecraft nº:

Japanese spacecraft nº: 207A

Launch data:

Spacecraft data: Prime manufacturer  Kagoshima University (Japan) Platform   Operator   Mass at launch  14 kg vehicle with a 5 kg explosive Dry Mass   kg Basic shape   Dimension (m)   Equipment   Solar array   Stabilization   Propulsion   DC power

This artist′s concept shows Hayabusa2 deploying the Small Carry-on Impactor, SCI (left), and then hiding behind Ryugu (right) as the device explodes, shooting a copper plate into the surface. The DCAM3 camera system watches in the foreground.

Description:

Mission details:

• At 0400 UTC on Apr 4, 2019 Haybusa 2 began another descent from its 20 km home point towards the surface of Ryugu. At an altitude of 500m, at 0156 UTC Apr 5, it ejected the SCI (Small Carry-On Impactor), a 14 kg vehicle with a 5 kg explosive shaped charge and a 2 kg copper mass. Hayabusa-2 then performed an avoidance burn to head off several km to the side of the asteroid, over the horizon from the SCI location.
  At 0236 UTC the SCI detonated, propelling the copper payload into the asteroid with the intention of creating a new crater.
• Early in this retreat, at 0214 UTC, it ejected the DCAM-3 camera package. DCAM-3 imaged this operation and relayed the data to the main spacecraft.
  Hayabusa-2 will image Ryugu from a safe distance and search for the resulting crater, before returning to its 20 km home point on around Apr 20. The plan is to then make a further descent to sample the freshly exposed material in the new crater.