Rosetta flight director Andrea Accomazzo says an unexpected glitch during the power-up of the Philae comet lander should not affect plans to release the probe Wednesday for a daring descent and touchdown on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
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Loss of contact with Philae
A few moments after the pirouette, battery voltage suddenly plummeted and engineers said the end was near. Trapped between a rock and a dark place beyond its ability to survive, Philae dutifully sent back stored data and even made fresh measurements until finally, just after 7:30 p.m. (EST-5), contact was finally lost.

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Engineers seek to stabilize radio link with comet lander
Emboldened by renewed contact with Europe’s comet lander, engineers are repositioning the mission’s Rosetta mothership this week to establish a reliable a communications link with the dishwasher-sized Philae landing craft, a prerequisite for resuming a science campaign abbreviated by a power shortfall last year.