Hayabusa

[Plane]

AUSTRALIAN FIREBALL ALERT: Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft is approaching Earth and preparing to deliver a piece of asteroid Itokawa to waiting scientists. A sample return capsule will blaze through the atmosphere over Australia and land via parachute in the remote Woomera Test Range on Sunday, June 13th at 7 a.m. PDT. The Hayabasa mothership will follow the capsule into Earth's atmosphere, but never make it to the ground, instead disintegrating in a spectacular fireball. A NASA aircraft will be in the air over Australia to photograph the reentries. Stay tuned for updates.

http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Plane]

Update: NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory was in the air over Australia to record the reentry. Researchers have just released a must-see video.
Hayabusa Spacecraft Reentry

[Kramer]

I was expecting more!

I guess it's like when someone says you have to go see such and such movie then you go see it and are a bit disappointed.

[Plane]

One of the good things about the Hyabusa project is its small scale.

The Small spacecraft flew to a small world took a small sample and returned with it.

All on a Japaneese budget.