Genesis Mishap Investigation Board Status Report #1

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004...is_status.html

Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1727)

Sept. 20, 2004
RELEASE : 04-306

Genesis Mishap Investigation Board Status Report #1

The NASA Genesis Mishap Investigation Board (MIB) arrived at Dugway
Proving Ground (DPG), Utah, September 10, to take charge of the
investigation. The Genesis Sample Return Capsule (SRC) impacted the
ground after its drogue and parafoil systems failed to deploy during
re-entry September 8. Dr. Michael Ryschkewitsch is the leader of the MIB.

Thanks to excellent work by the Genesis Project Team, functioning as an
initial response team, the wreckage of the SRC and its contents of
scientific samples were recovered from the dry lakebed. The science team
continues work securing and curating the recovered sample materials,
working independently from the activities of the MIB.

Since the initial recovery of the hardware, an inventory was made of the
impact crater, both by visual examination and metal detector, to ensure
no significant wreckage remains. The recovery team finished its work and
turned the impact crater site back over to DPG.

The team finalized plans for preparing and transporting the SRC wreckage
to Lockheed Martin Space Systems' facilities in Denver, where the
spacecraft was built and tested.

The MIB determined all the science-specific hardware is not relevant to
the Board's work in determining the causes of the mishap. That hardware
was released to the Project's Science and Curation Team for continued
processing. At the request of the Board, NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and Lockheed Martin have begun the process
of sorting and assembling the Genesis records and data.

News and information about Genesis is available on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/genesis
&
http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov


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