SkyandTelescope.com August 2014 21It is not uncommon that someone you are
waiting for is 15 minutes late — even if,
as in the case here, the gathering is in their honor. But in
the high-precision world of space missions, 15 minutes is
an eternity.
It is January 20th, 2014, and I’m sitting in a large
room at the European Space Agency’s Mission Opera-
tions Center in Germany, waiting for a signal from the
Rosetta spacecraft. This signal will indicate that the
comet chaser has woken up after more than two and a
half years of silence in hibernation. I’m sitting next to
project scientist Matt Taylor (ESA), though most of our
conversation is taking place online (Matt: “Tense factor
level ten.” Me: “It goes to 11.”).
As the wait continues, we can’t help but think of
worst-case scenarios, like what parents think while wait-
ing for their child to come home from the fi rst solo drive
after getting a license. Rosetta is such a complex system,
with so many things that could go wrong...
Sixteen minutes. The tense silence increases as the
clock ticks.
Seventeen minutes.
Eighteen minutes... then Matt nudges me and nods
toward the screen. “I think that’s it,” he whispers. It’s
just a tiny blip, off -center, and barely above the noise.
Statistically there is no reason to think it’s real, but my
astronomer “spidey senses” immediately tell me he’s
right. Yet the blip appears in data from only one ground
station. Then it’s gone. I guess my instincts were wrong.
A moment later, the blip returns in the same spot. Still
almost in the noise, but it persists. A twin blip appears
in data from the second ground station, then both grow
stronger. We know that’s it. After a moment, we see it in
the face of the lead fl ight controller. He suddenly stands
up, eyes wide. A smile. Finally, the fi st pump.
The room around me explodes in excitement as the
blip grows into an undeniable signal. Rosetta is awake
and just called out, “Hello world!”JOEL PARKER
Rosetta will begin scoping out touchdown sites for its Philae lander
(illustrated above) soon after it catches up with its comet. It’ll deploy
its lander in November 2014. Right: Head of ESA Operations Paolo
Ferri (left) and ESA Rosetta Spacecraft Operations Manager Andrea
Accomazzo wait in the control room for a signal from Rosetta.
ESA / AOES MEDIALAB ESA / JÜRGEN MAI