STARDUST Update - September 12, 2003

Stardust Status Report
September 12, 2003

There was one Deep Space Network (DSN) tracking pass in the past week.
Telemetry relayed from the spacecraft indicates it is healthy and all
subsystems continue to operate normally.

The start of the formal Spacecraft Test Lab (STL) testing of the
Comet Wild 2 encounter sequence has begun.

The STARDUST Mission Design Manager participated with the Genesis
project in the annual landing planning and review meeting at the Utah
Test and Training Range (UTTR). Since Genesis will land in one year,
STARDUST is working closely with Genesis to gain flight experience
and capitalize on their lessons learned.

The STARDUST Camera Science Lead made a presentation to the Caltech Alumni
Association on STARDUST at the invitation of the Caltech Associates
Office. The Spacecraft Systems Engineer and DSN Lead briefed the
station personnel at Canberra on the Comet Wild 2 encounter and also
made presentation on STARDUST at the Canberra Questacon Museum and the
Sydney Powerhouse Museum, drawing hundreds of participants.

Information on the present position and orbits of the Stardust spacecraft
and comet Wild 2 may be found on the "Where Is Stardust Right Now?" web
page located at:

http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/scnow.html

For more information on the Stardust mission -- the first ever comet
sample-return mission -- please visit the Stardust home page:

http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov .