Instrument on Japanese astronomy spacecraft fails
Posted: Wed, Aug 10, 2005, 10:36 AM ET (1436 GMT)
An x-ray instrument on a Japanese astronomy spacecraft launched last month has failed, dealing scientists a significant setback, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials announced Wednesday. JAXA officials said that the X-ray Spectrometer (XRS) instrument on the Suzaku spacecraft failed when it lost all the liquid helium needed to cool the instrument to its operating temperature; without it, the XRS cannot operate as planned. The cause of the loss of liquid helium is under investigation. XRS, developed in cooperation with NASA, is one of three instruments on Suzaku, known as Astro-E2 prior to its launch on July 10. The failure does not affect the other two instruments on Suzaku, but the XRS was considered by scientists to be the key instrument on the spacecraft. Another XRS was flown on the Astro-E spacecraft, which was lost in a launch vehicle failure in 2000.
An x-ray instrument on a Japanese astronomy spacecraft launched last month has failed, dealing scientists a significant setback, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials announced Wednesday. JAXA officials said that the X-ray Spectrometer (XRS) instrument on the Suzaku spacecraft failed when it lost all the liquid helium needed to cool the instrument to its operating temperature; without it, the XRS cannot operate as planned. The cause of the loss of liquid helium is under investigation. XRS, developed in cooperation with NASA, is one of three instruments on Suzaku, known as Astro-E2 prior to its launch on July 10. The failure does not affect the other two instruments on Suzaku, but the XRS was considered by scientists to be the key instrument on the spacecraft. Another XRS was flown on the Astro-E spacecraft, which was lost in a launch vehicle failure in 2000.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, October 3
The rover that could finally find life on Mars: I travelled to a remote desert in Spain to see ESA's £1billion Rosalind Franklin put to the test
The Daily Mail — 1:33 am ET (0533 GMT) Alabama submits bid to build Space Academy in Huntsville
Axios — 1:29 am ET (0529 GMT) Space Force general picked to lead U.S. Space Command as it moves to Redstone Arsenal
Huntsville Times — 1:28 am ET (0528 GMT) Thomas Zurbuchen joins Blue Origin
ETH Zurich — 1:28 am ET (0528 GMT) 5.1m-yuan suborbital space tour listed on Trip.com
China Daily — 1:28 am ET (0528 GMT) |
