Tom Duxbury
Tom Duxbury
comet spacecraft tools
This spacecraft is a comet explorer. It has the tools to do a lot more.
billion deserves digital last melody performed rest sang seven sleep spacecraft stardust today
We sang our spacecraft to sleep today with a melody of digital ones and zeros. Stardust has performed flawlessly these last seven years and 2.88 billion miles, and deserves a rest for a while, like the rest of the team.
five flew origin solar spacecraft time took
We took a spacecraft and flew it five years. But in these five years, we went back to the origin of time - to the origin of our solar system.
acts both goes perfectly spacecraft totally
We are totally prepared, both for if everything goes perfectly and if the spacecraft acts up a little bit.
hole middle opened
It was like a hole just opened up in the middle of the sky.
answers child holding left parents profound questions return returns solar
We feel like parents awaiting the return of a child who left us young and innocent, who now returns holding answers to the most profound questions of our solar system.
desert floor piece
This thing went like clockwork. To see that thing in one piece on the floor of the desert is very moving.
likes seen showing views
These are showing us views of another world - a world we've never seen the likes of.
early earth few next played project returning role science solar unfold
The science that's going to come out of this, that's going to tell us about the early formation of our solar system, the role that comets have played in the formation of Earth and ourselves, that will unfold over the next few years. The science that this project is returning will be unprecedented.
finish pit
This is not the finish line. This is just the intermediate pit stop.
desert early flight floor morning operations picked planning realized return seven ten
Ten years of planning and seven years of flight operations were realized early this morning when we successfully picked up our return capsule off of the desert floor in Utah.
surprising
It was a long 10 years and when it was over it was surprising it was over.
community delivered material project science since solar stardust
The Stardust project has delivered to the international science community material that has been unaltered since the formation of our solar system.
drop home knew saw
When we saw that drop chute open, we knew we were home safe.