From Newsgroup: sci.space.news

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/mission-manager-update-kepler-recovered-from-emergency-and-stable

Mission Manager Update: Kepler Recovered from Emergency and Stable
April 11, 2016

Mission operations engineers have successfully recovered the Kepler spacecraft from Emergency Mode (EM). On Sunday morning, the spacecraft reached a
stable state with the communication antenna pointed toward Earth, enabling telemetry and historical event data to be downloaded to the ground. The spacecraft is operating in its lowest fuel-burn mode.

The mission has cancelled the spacecraft emergency, returning the Deep
Space Network ground communications to normal scheduling.

Once data is on the ground, the team will thoroughly assess all on board systems to ensure the spacecraft is healthy enough to return to science
mode and begin the K2 mission's microlensing observing campaign, called Campaign 9. This checkout is anticipated to continue through the week.

Earth-based observatories participating in Campaign 9 will continue to
make observations as Kepler's health check continues. The K2 observing opportunity for Campaign 9 will end on July 1, when the galactic center
is no longer in view from the vantage point of the spacecraft.

K2's previous science campaign concluded on March 23. After data was downlinked

to the ground, the spacecraft was placed in what is termed Point Rest
State (PRS). While in PRS, the spacecraft antenna is pointed toward Earth
and it operates in a fuel-efficient mode, with the reaction wheels at
rest.

The Emergency Mode began approximately 14 hours before the planned maneuver
to orient the spacecraft toward the center of the Milky Way for Campaign
9. The team has therefore ruled out the maneuver and the reaction wheels
as possible causes of the EM event. An investigation into what caused
the event will be pursued in parallel, with a priority on returning the spacecraft to science operations.

The anomalous EM event is the first that the Kepler spacecraft has encountered during its seven years in space. Mission operations at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, Ball Aerospace and the Laboratory
for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder remain vigilant.

It was the quick response and determination of the engineers throughout
the weekend that led to the recovery. We are deeply appreciative of their efforts, and for the outpouring of support from the mission's fans and followers from around the world. We also recognize the tremendous support from NASA's Deep Space Network, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena, California, and to NASA's other missions that surrendered
their scheduled telemetry links in order to provide us with the resources needed to protect the Kepler spacecraft.

Updates will be provided as information warrants.

Regards,

Charlie Sobeck
Kepler and K2 mission manager
NASA's Ames Research Center

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Original April 8 Update: Kepler in Emergency Mode

During a scheduled contact on Thursday, April 7, mission operations engineers discovered that the Kepler spacecraft was in Emergency Mode (EM). EM is
the lowest operational mode and is fuel intensive. Recovering from EM
is the team's priority at this time.

The mission has declared a spacecraft emergency, which provides priority access to ground-based communications at the agency's Deep Space Network.

Initial indications are that Kepler entered EM approximately 36 hours
ago, before mission operations began the maneuver to orient the spacecraft
to point toward the center of the Milky Way for the K2 mission's microlensing observing campaign.

The spacecraft is nearly 75 million miles from Earth, making the communication slow. Even at the speed of light, it takes 13 minutes for a signal to
travel to the spacecraft and back.

The last regular contact with the spacecraft was on April. 4. The spacecraft was in good health and operating as expected.

Kepler completed its prime mission in 2012, detecting nearly 5,000 exoplanets, of which, more than 1,000 have been confirmed. In 2014 the Kepler spacecraft began a new mission called K2. In this extended mission, K2 continues
the search for exoplanets while introducing new research opportunities
to study young stars, supernovae, and many other astronomical objects.

Updates will be provided as additional information is available.

Regards,

Charlie Sobeck
Kepler and K2 mission manager
NASA's Ames Research Center

Media contact:

Michele Johnson
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-6982
michele.johnson@nasa.gov

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