We watched the reentry and recovery of the capsule on NASA-tv Sunday morning and were thrilled to see how well it went. The whole mission was an engineering triumph for NASA, the U of A, and the rest of the team members. They were able to launch the spacecraft and rendezvous with the asteroid Bennu 3 years later and to establish an orbit around it. A recovery vehicle landed and vacuumed up a sample and returned it to the spacecraft. Then there was a long ride back to earth and at the precise moment the capsule with the sample was jettisoned and proceeded to reenter earths atmosphere with the shield reaching 5,000 degrees but the sample was protected and kept cool. The parachutes were deployed and and the capsule slowed from 27,000 mph down to 11 mph for a soft landing on the preselected spot. Wow, what technology we have developed. The spacecraft is now on its way to a rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis in 2029.
Jim Killackey
Oracle
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
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