The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →JAXA has a workaround for Hayabusa2’s August 2026 ion-engine failure: operate the ion source from engine D together with the neutralizer from engine B. The agency says tests showed this cross-operation configuration could run and that it would be used for continued trajectory control. It is not a permanent repair announcement, and JAXA has not guaranteed that the spacecraft will complete its remaining journey.
What failed on Hayabusa2?
Hayabusa2’s engine B was the only ion engine being used for trajectory control when it malfunctioned in August 2026. This was not a conventional chemical rocket motor failure: the issue involved the power supply’s ability to deliver current to B’s ion source.
The spacecraft completed its Torifune asteroid flyby on July 5, 2026, and began an ion-engine trajectory-control burn on July 9. In mid-August, repeated electrical discharges caused engine B to malfunction. Similar events in 2021 and 2025 had been cleared by repeating discharge operations, so the team tried that approach for about a week. In late August, JAXA identified the ion-source power-supply fault and stopped that recovery attempt. JAXA’s September 28, 2026 update describes the fault and workaround.
How does the cross-operation workaround work?
An ion engine uses an ion source to expel ions and a neutralizer to emit electrons. Normally, those two components operate as a pair within one engine unit. Cross-operation combines components from different units instead.
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JAXA reports that combination tests found a workable pairing: engine D’s ion source with engine B’s neutralizer. This does not mean D simply replaced B or that JAXA repaired a complete engine. The failed supply function concerns current to B’s ion source; the reported configuration uses D’s source while retaining B’s neutralizer.
The agency said it would continue trajectory control using cross-operation while monitoring the ion-engine condition. Its update does not quantify thrust, specify how long the configuration can operate, or confirm that it can support every remaining maneuver.
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How does the workaround differ from earlier recovery efforts?
| Approach | What it addresses | What JAXA reports |
|---|---|---|
| Repeated discharge operations | Electrical-discharge malfunctions affecting engine operation | Similar events in 2021 and 2025 were cleared this way, but the attempt lasting about a week in August 2026 was abandoned after the ion-source power-supply fault was identified. JAXA, September 28, 2026 |
| Cross-operation | Continued thrust using components from separate engine units | Tests showed that D’s ion source and B’s neutralizer could operate together; JAXA planned to use this arrangement for continued trajectory control. JAXA, September 28, 2026 |
| Increased xenon flow | Managing earlier performance degradation, not repairing the later power-supply fault | JAXA reported before the August failure that increasing xenon flow was being used to prevent degradation from progressing. JAXA, June 10, 2026 |
Why was engine B the only one in use?
In its June 10, 2026 update, JAXA said engines A, C and D had shown earlier-than-expected increases in neutralizer voltage, an indicator of performance degradation, leaving B as the engine then being operated. B had accumulated 8,143 operating hours as of June 9, 2026, according to the project team.
JAXA also reported that the ion-engine system had produced a 2 km/s velocity increase and reached 155% of the nominal mission ΔV quota as of June 9, 2026. The agency said accumulated impulse was about 20% greater than that of the first Hayabusa mission. These are the project’s reported operational figures, not independently recalculated values.
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Ion-engine lead Ryudo Tsukizaki described the situation in the June update as extremely difficult and said that increasing the xenon gas flowing into the engine was being used to prevent degradation from progressing. That measure preceded the August power-supply failure; it is distinct from cross-operation.
Can Hayabusa2 still reach asteroid 1998 KY26?
The cross-operation test provides a way to continue trajectory control, but JAXA’s September 28, 2026 update does not establish that the spacecraft is certain to reach its destination. The agency did not provide a guaranteed operating duration or quantify whether the workaround can cover all planned maneuvers.
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The immediate trajectory objective is a planned Earth swingby in December 2027. Hayabusa2’s extended mission is scheduled to arrive at asteroid 1998 KY26 in 2031. ISAS/JAXA’s mission overview describes the extended-mission route and schedule.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the failure matters beyond this mission
Hayabusa2’s long-duration ion-engine operation, degradation analysis and ground replication tests have informed JAXA’s countermeasure studies. The agency says it is passing those results on to later spacecraft, including ion-engine design work for DESTINY+, whose launch is planned for fiscal 2028. JAXA has not said that DESTINY+ will use this specific cross-operation workaround. The project’s June 2026 update discusses the operational lessons.
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