Kepler Mission Manager Update

(Kepler) - Kepler experienced a safe mode event on February 2, 2010. A safe mode is a self-protective measure that the spacecraft takes when something unexpected occurs. During safe mode, the spacecraft points the solar panels directly at the sun and begins to slowly rotate about a sun-aligned axis. As a safety precaution, the spacecraft turned off a redundant system, photometer, and both star trackers.

Engineers immediately began telemetry analysis to determine the spacecraft’s subsystem [...]