VxWorks was been responsible for Stardust's flight trajectory and path, the collection of interstellar dust and comet material, the journey back to Earth, and the safe landing of the return capsule. Wind River worked with on the project with the Jet Propulsion Lab, which managed the overall project for NASA.

NASA says Stardust's comet dust and interstellar dust samples could help answer fundamental questions about the origin of solar systems, planets and life: How and when did the elements that led to life enter the solar system? How were these materials transformed by heat, ultraviolet light, and other forces? How were they distributed among planetary bodies, and in what molecular and mineral-based forms? Apparently, the comets know.

Other Stardust contractors include Boeing, which designed and built the Delta rocket that blasted Stardust into space, and Lockheed Martin, which built the Stardust spacecraft and Sample-Return Capsule. Fun fact: Stardust also used a cool, JPL-developed foam, called Aerogel, to gently collect space particles without damaging them. A cubic inch of Aerogel weighs only 0.00011 pound (or 3 milligrams per cubic centimeter for you metric fans), leading Guiness World Records to name the stuff the world's lowest-density solid in 2002.

NASA posted a detailed, 38-page backgrounder on the project back in 1999, the year Stardust launched; you can view it here: Stardust Launch Press Kit. And for more on Wind River's role in the Stardust mission, you might start with this Wind River press release.