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Report for Period 5 June to 20 June 2010

This report covers two weeks of Rosetta mission operations. The navigation campaign for the upcoming flyby of asteroid Lutetia on 10 July 2010 is ongoing. Radiometric data and optical images are regularly processed to assess the spacecraft's trajectory relative to that of the asteroid. Several slots are reserved in the weeks leading up to the flyby for possible trajectory correction manoeuvres (TCMs). The first of these slots was on 18 June, three weeks before closest approach, and has been used to adjust Rosetta's trajectory.

Report for Period 22 May to 4 June 2010

This report covers two weeks of Rosetta mission operations. The navigation campaign for the upcoming flyby of asteroid Lutetia on 10 July 2010 is well underway. In addition to the ESA New Norcia ground station, the spacecraft as of now is also regularly tracked by NASA DSN ground stations. Rosetta's on-board cameras have also started to visually track asteroid Lutetia in an optical navigation campaign, with the first set of observations completed on 31 May.

Report for Period 8 May to 21 May 2010

This report covers two weeks of Rosetta mission operations. The final activities of the active payload check-out 12 (PC12) were successfully conducted according to plan. The last spacecraft activities in preparation of the Lutetia flyby campaign were also completed.

Report for Period 1 May to 7 May 2010

The reporting period covers the third week of the active payload check-out 12 (PC12) for Rosetta. All the planned PC12 activities were successfully conducted according to plan.

Report for Period 24 April to 30 April 2010

The reporting period covers the second week of the active payload check-out 12 (PC12) for Rosetta. All the planned PC12 activities were successfully conducted according to plan.

Report for Period 17 April to 23 April 2010

The reporting period covers one week of Rosetta mission operations and saw the start of the spacecraft check-out 11 and the active payload check-out 12 (PC12).

Report for Period 27 March to 16 April 2010

The reporting period covers three weeks of Rosetta mission operations. Few instrument tests were performed in preparation of the active payload check-out (PC12), which will start in the next reporting period. The MIRO instrument was activated on 6 April for a validation of new on-board control procedures (OBCP) that apply a software patch. The ultra-stable oscillator (USO) of the Radio Science Investigation (RSI) was un-muted for a short period of time on 14 April.

Report for Period 27 February to 26 March 2010

The reporting period covers four weeks of Rosetta mission operations. These were dedicated to further payload maintenance activities and a rehearsal of the flyby of asteroid Lutetia. The rehearsal of the asteroid flyby dynamics went very smoothly and gives good confidence in the spacecraft behaviour for the actual flyby in July 2010.

The reporting period covers two weeks of Rosetta mission operations. This period was dedicated to further payload maintenance activities in preparation of the upcoming mission phases and the 12th payload check-out, which is planned for April-May 2010. The RTOF, the time of flight sensor, one of the three sensors of ROSINA, the neutral and ion mass spectrometer, has shown significant improvements during these tests. The solar generator of the Philae lander was successfully tested on 24 February by exposing it to the Sun for nearly 1 hour.

Report for Period 30 January to 12 February 2010

After the successful test of the deep space hibernation mode (DSHM), which was covered in the previous reporting period, spacecraft maintenance activities have resumed as planned. Reaction wheel B was re-lubricated on DoY 034, with a run-in phase that lasted till DoY 042. It was subsequently added in the control loop of the spacecraft's attitude & orbit control system, which now operates on all four reaction wheels again. During the reporting period several payload tests were also conducted in preparation of the 12th payload check-out, which is planned for April-May 2010.

Report for Period 16 January to 29 January 2010

The reporting period covers two weeks, which were fully dedicated to the test of the deep space hibernation mode (DSHM) for Rosetta. This is the hibernation mode in which the spacecraft will operate from June 2011 till January 2014 on its last long stretch of passive cruise to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Report for Period 26 December 2009 to 15 January 2010

The reporting period covers three weeks of operations for the Rosetta spacecraft. Early in the reporting period on DoY 001 the spacecraft experienced a safe mode. This was triggered by a problem on one of the subsystems' Remote Terminal Units (RTUs). The spacecraft was fully recovered and the cause proved to be not permanent.
During the last week of the reporting period final preparations for the forthcoming test of the deep space hibernation mode (DSHM) were conducted. This test will validate the operating mode that the spacecraft will use for a period of about 2.5 years, from June 2011 till January 2014, during its passive cruise to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Report for Period 28 November to 25 December 2009

The reporting period covers four weeks of nominal operations for the Rosetta spacecraft. Following the successful completion of the mission's last Earth swingby in the previous reporting period, all instruments are currently switched off. The spacecraft is now cruising towards asteroid Lutetia. Several activities required for the refresh of all spacecraft Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROMs) were conducted during the reporting period.

Report for Period 14 November to 27 November 2009

The reporting period covers the first two weeks after Rosetta's third Earth swingby. The scientific observations linked to the Earth swingby phase were concluded successfully. Fine orbit determination computations were conducted after the Earth swingby to verify Rosetta was on the desired outbound trajectory. These indicated that a clean-up trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM) was necessary to correct for a small inaccuracy. The clean-up TCM, with a delta-V of about 58 cm/s, was successfully performed on 23 November.

Report for Period 7 November to 13 November 2009

On 13 November at 07:45:40 UTC Rosetta flew past the Earth for its last swingby manoeuvre, which was conducted as planned and with the expected results. The final approach to the Earth was very stable and no further trajectory correction manoeuvres were required at the two remaining reserved slots, 24 hours and 6 hours before closest approach.

Report for Period 31 October to 6 November 2009

During the reporting period Rosetta's approach to the Earth for the swingby manoeuvre on 13 November continued according to the plan. The navigation campaign did not require any trajectory correction manoeuvre in the allocated slot on 5 November (DoY 309).

Report for Period 17 October to 30 October 2009

The reporting period covers two weeks of the navigation campaign leading to Rosetta's third Earth swingby on 13 November. The campaign's primary trajectory correction manoeuvre was successfully executed on DoY 295 to set the spacecraft onto the right path for the Earth swingby.

Report for Period 3 October to 16 October 2009

The remaining activities of the payload check-out 10 (PC10) have been conducted in the reporting period, along with spacecraft maintenance activities. The reporting period also covers the first two weeks of the navigation campaign leading to Rosetta's third Earth swing-by on 13 November.

Report for Period 26 September to 2 October 2009

The reporting period covers the second week of the payload check-out 10 (PC10). Instruments were activated, tested, and calibrated and software updated as planned. Both the spacecraft and the ground segment are behaving nominally.

Report for Period 19 September to 25 September 2009

The reporting period covers the first week of the payload check-out 10 (PC10). The spacecraft activities were conducted according to plan. Instruments are being activated, tested, and calibrated and software updated as planned. Both the spacecraft and the ground segment are behaving nominally.