Mission record
Stardust
Also known as Stardust/NExT, New Exploration of Tempel 1, NExT
NASA · Launched
Explore trajectoryCompleted · Success
NASA's Stardust returned samples from comet P/Wild 2, flew past asteroid 5535 Annefrank, and later revisited Comet Tempel 1 as Stardust/NExT.
- Destinations
- Launch vehicle
- Delta II 7426
- Launch site
- Cape Canaveral, United States
- Countries
- United States
- Mission types
- Sample return, Flyby
Chronology
Mission timeline
Mission end
Stardust/NExT was decommissioned and placed in safe mode
Mission architecture
Vehicles
Stardust · Spacecraft
Destinations: 5535 Annefrank, 81P/Wild 2, 9P/Tempel 1
Stardust sample return capsule · Return capsule · landed
Destinations: Earth
Trajectory record
Time-dependent navigation trajectory
Source states place the model at the selected time. Reconstructed flight, estimates, predictions and historical mission plans are identified by interval; gaps remain visible.
Source records and sampling assumptions are retained with the repository data. Model attitude and surface appearance are illustrative.
- Stardust return capsule: Predicted · January 15, 2006 to January 15, 2006
- Stardust / NExT: Reconstructed · February 7, 1999 to December 31, 2035
Provenance
Sources
Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.
Data verified through September 12, 2026
- Stardust/NExT - NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog — NSSDCAMission page · Supports: mission claims · destination/body context · event claims
- NASA's Comet Tale Draws to a Successful Close in Utah Desert — JPLMission page · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Stardust / Stardust NExT — NASAMission page · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Stardust Annefrank planetary constants kernel — NAIFSpice · Supports: destination/body context
- Planet Sizes and Locations in Our Solar System — NASAOther · Supports: destination/body context