Thomas Duxbury (15 June 1896–1971) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Leeds United and Preston North End.[1][2] At Preston, Duxbury played in the 1922 FA Cup Final.[3] (wikipedia)
We've flown through the worst of it and we're still in contact with our spacecraft.
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.
We are totally prepared, both for if everything goes perfectly and if the spacecraft acts up a little bit.
It?s only 30 inches long, but it?s a pretty mighty craft. Even with a hard landing, we believe we will recover most ? if not all ? of our science.
Stardust has performed flawlessly these last seven years ... and deserves a rest for a while.
You'll see people wearing protective gear. Our concern is (contamination) from us to the particles, not the other way.
This is not the finish line. This is just the intermediate pit stop.
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.
It was a long 10 years and when it was over it was surprising it was over.
The Stardust project has delivered to the international science community material that has been unaltered since the formation of our solar system.
