Hayabusa was the first probe of its kind to visit an asteroid, observe it, collect a sample, and return to Earth. Everything about the probe had to be thought up from scratch when developing and manufacturing it. Also, once the probe was launched into space, there was no way to repair it. To successfully fly to and from an asteroid for the first time in history, it was necessary to create a system that offered unprecedented reliability - the Hayabusa mission involved complicated and diverse requirements. Many types of equipment had to be loaded onto the probe, and most of this equipment had to be specifically created for Hayabusa. At the same time, as Hayabusa had to be loaded on to an M-V rocket for the launch, the probe could not be too big. Although there were limitations on both the dimensions and materials, Hayabusa had to be loaded almost to capacity with various types of equipment, and the probe itself had to be set up so as to endure troubles and be highly reliable. Plus, only one probe could be built.
If even a single piece of equipment did not work, the entire mission would end in failure. The NEC engineers who designed and manufactured Hayabusa were faced with demands that conventional wisdom suggested to be practically impossible.
However, the results of their work are clearly demonstrated by Hayabusa's success. The probe built by these engineers flew through space for seven years - three years longer than the original plan - and successfully delivered the re-entry capsule to Earth.
In the following interview, four individuals look back on the many difficult years they faced: Mr. Oshima, who arranged the overall Hayabusa system, Mr. Okudaira, who was in charge of structural design responding to Mr. Oshima's demands, Mr. Shouji, who was in charge of the mechanical systems, and Mr. Nishine, who used expert techniques to assemble Hayabusa.
