Posted: Thu, Jul 15, 2004, 2:32 PM ET (1832 GMT)
The Japanese space agency JAXA has agreed with a NASA proposal to shut down an earth sciences spacecraft that has been operating since 1997. JAXA, in a statement dated July 9 but only released widely Thursday, said that it has agreed to a plan put forward by NASA to terminate the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft, a joint JAXA-NASA program to study the global hydrological cycle. TRMM was launched on a Japanese H-2 rocket in November 1997 and continues to function normally today, but neither NASA nor JAXA claim to have sufficient funding to continue spacecraft operations, and are concerned that the spacecraft could undergo an uncontrolled reentry and pose a slight risk of damage or injury. Under the plan to which the two space agencies have agreed, TRMM science operations will end later this month, and the spacecraft’s orbit will be allowed to gradually descend before a controlled reentry is attempted next year. Scientists have argued against the plan, noting that the spacecraft is healthy and has enough propellant onboard to continue operations for up to two more years and still permit a controlled reentry.

Related Links:

•  JAXA press release
•  Space News article from last week about TRMM