A satellite built to observe infrared light from newborn stars in distant
galaxies has spun out of control. The Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE)
blasted off on 4 March. As soon as it hit orbit, however, NASA mission
controllers discovered that a leak of hydrogen from its cooling system was
causing the craft to spin at 60 revolutions per minute. The spin began to
stabilise over the weekend, and as Â鶹´«Ã½ went to press, engineers were
working to slow it down still further. But the satellite is already useless: the
lost hydrogen was needed to cool WIRE’s infrared detectors.
More from Â鶹´«Ã½
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Advertorial
The defence sector can’t adopt a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to AI
Advertising
Advertorial
Why the future of defence is drone tech and distributed edge computing
Advertising
Advertorial
The future of defence lies in transatlantic industrial partnerships
Advertising
Advertorial
The biggest defence risk is a lack of integration, not technology
Advertising
Popular articles
Trending Â鶹´«Ã½ articles
1
A quantum state that lasts forever may finally be within our grasp
2
Faecal transplant makes the brains of old mice act young again
3
Has the answer to life's origins been hiding in our cells all along?
4
We've found a mysterious substance on Titan and Pluto
5
Walking shark found in Papua New Guinea is new to science
6
Remarkable fossils rewrite the story of how animals conquered the land
7
Autism and ADHD are on the rise due to widening diagnostic criteria
8
Chilling the body with drugs could limit brain damage from stroke
9
Fully autonomous drones have killed human soldiers for the first time
10
Millions of fossil whale bones found in deep-ocean ‘necropolis’
