Whiplash
But this elation was soon cast into darkness.
At the end of her arduous journey... Hayabusa's body suddenly broke down.
The engine is leaking fuel!?
It's the B-system!
It just seized up! No warning!
Why isn't A-system working!?
It's at -30 degrees! Maybe the fuel's frozen?
The troubles struck as if they'd been waiting expressly for the moment when she took off from Itokawa.
Hayabusa's attitude was severely degraded,
she was losing fuel,
Attitude control! Rotate her upwards!
her interior frozen over,
The ion engine is...
and her generator output was falling below operative levels.
...no, the xenon gas is active!
No reaction from Hayabusa!
Her senses are failing!
Come on, talk to me!
And every day, the staff struggled in vain.
On the 9th of December, 2005, with the last of her power used up, all systems were suspended.
Communications ceased, and Hayabusa went missing.
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