[meteorite-list] NASA's Genesis Mishap Board & Researchers Both Report Progress

[Ron Baalke]

Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington            Oct. 14, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1727) 

RELEASE: 04-345

NASA'S GENESIS MISHAP BOARD & RESEARCHERS BOTH REPORT 
PROGRESS

     As scientists begin to unpack more than 3,000 containers 
of samples of the sun brought to Earth by NASA's Genesis 
mission, the Mishap Investigation Board (MIB) has identified 
a likely direct cause of the failure of Genesis' parachute 
system to open. 

The parachute system failed to deploy when Genesis returned 
to Earth September 8, 2004. The MIB, analyzing the Genesis 
capsule at a facility near Denver, said the likely cause was 
a design error that involves the orientation of gravity-
switch devices. The switches sense the braking caused by the 
high-speed entry into the atmosphere, and then initiate the 
timing sequence leading to deployment of the craft's drogue 
parachute and parafoil.

"This single cause has not yet been fully confirmed, nor has 
it been determined whether it is the only problem within the 
Genesis system," said Dr. Michael G. Ryschkewitsch, the MIB 
chair. "The Board is working to confirm this proximate cause, 
to determine why this error happened, why it was not caught 
by the test program and an extensive set of in-process and 
after-the-fact reviews of the Genesis system."

Meanwhile, scientists unpacking samples at NASA's Johnson 
Space Center (JSC), Houston, curation facility remain upbeat 
in their assessment of the prospects for obtaining useful 
science from the recovered samples.

The facility counted more than 3,000 tracking numbers for the 
containers that hold pieces of wafers from the five collector 
panels. The panels secured samples of atoms and ions from the 
solar wind that were collected during Genesis' nearly three-
year mission in deep space. Some of the containers hold as 
many as 96 pieces of the wafers. The team has been preparing 
the samples for study since the science payload and recovered 
samples arrived at JSC October 4.

Planning is under way for preliminary examination of the 
samples to prepare for allocation to the science community. 
The samples eventually will be moved to the JSC Genesis clean 
room where they will be cleaned, examined and then 
distributed to scientists, promising researchers years of 
study into the origins and evolution of the solar system.

"We cheered the news from the science team about the recovery 
of a significant amount of the precious samples of the sun," 
said Dr. Ghassem Asrar, deputy associate administrator for 
the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, 
Washington. "Despite the hard landing, Genesis was able to 
deliver. However, we await the final report of the Mishap 
Board to understand what caused the malfunction, and to hear 
the Board's recommendations for how we can avoid such a 
problem in the future," he added.

The recovered remains of the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) are 
undergoing engineering inspections and tests at the Waterton, 
Colo., facility of Lockheed Martin Astronautics (LMA). The 
Genesis spacecraft and SRC were built at Waterton. Lockheed 
Martin is supporting the MIB both to examine the recovered 
hardware and in assembling documentation relevant to the 
development of the space system. 

"Both Lockheed Martin and JPL have been providing every 
possible support to our investigation. All of the people from 
both organizations who were involved in the Genesis project 
have been extremely professional and cooperative in helping 
the Board do its work," said Dr. Ryschkewitsch.

The safety critical pyrotechnic devices and the damaged 
lithium sulfur dioxide battery have been secured to allow 
safe operations. The battery has been transported to the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena (JPL), Calif., to begin 
detailed evaluation.

The MIB is evaluating the recovered hardware, pertinent 
documentation, impact site recovery activities and 
interviewing people from development teams. The MIB is using 
a fault tree as its guide. A fault tree is a formal method 
for determining, organizing and evaluating possible direct 
causes for a mishap and to trace them to root causes.

The Board's charter is to examine every possible cause and to 
determine whether it was related to the mishap. The Board 
expects to complete its work by late November.

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, 
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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