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Japan's Space Agency Loses Contact With New X-Ray Telescope Satellite "Hitomi"

Posted by timothy on from the vacuum-of-space-sucks dept.

As carried here by the San Francisco Chronicle, The Associated Press reports that Japanese space agency JAXA reports that it has lost contact with its new satellite "Hitomi," deployed last month and designed to explore deep space with X-ray telescopes. The AP story linked quotes Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who surmises that an "energetic event" has sent the craft into a tumble. The agency's release on the failure is terse, but leaves some room for hope: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) found that communication with the X-ray Astronomy Satellite âoeHitomiâ (ASTRO-H), launched on February 17, 2016 (JST), failed from the start of its operation originally scheduled at 16:40, Saturday March 26 (JST). Up to now, JAXA has not been able to figure out the state of health of the satellite. While the cause of communication failure is under investigation, JAXA received short signal from the satellite, and is working for recovery.

8 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Energetic event? by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 2

    I don't know about that satellite, but when I'm floating around in a vacuum and I have an energetic event, I feel pretty messed up.
     

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    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    1. Re:Energetic event? by cstdenis · · Score: 2

      the poor guy who has to clean your gore and brains off the wall(s), ceiling, and floor

      You can be that guy.

      http://store.steampowered.com/...

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      1984 was not supposed to be an instruction manual.
  2. Worse than that: this spacecraft has broken up. by robbak · · Score: 4, Informative

    Sourced from the competition of things you may have read:

    https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/714113400008286208 :

    Oh this is very very bad. From @spacetrackorg "Breakup Notification: [...] ASTRO H at approx 0820z, 26 Mar 16: 5 associated pieces .."

    Suspected causes are a MMOD hit, battery explosion or cryo system overpressure. Suggestoin that "It's too early to write the satellite's obituary", but any good news is very unlikely.

    --
    Prediction for end of Universe #42: Fencepost error in Quantum_bogosort.cpp
    1. Re:Worse than that: this spacecraft has broken up. by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

      Oh this is very very bad. From @spacetrackorg "Breakup Notification: [...] ASTRO H at approx 0820z, 26 Mar 16: 5 associated pieces .."

      I'm guessing Hitomi got taken out by the Mobile Fortresses.

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      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:Worse than that: this spacecraft has broken up. by Dan+East · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The odds of it being a MMOD, especially given how little time it's been in orbit, is very low. Conversely, the fact that broke up so early in the mission would reinforce a hardware failure of some kind (battery explosion or cryo system overpressure as you said).

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      Better known as 318230.
  3. Aliens by confused+one · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm not saying it was aliens; but... Aliens.

  4. MMOD: Micrometeoroid / Orbital Debris by Mal-2 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Micrometeoroids and Orbital Debris

    For a change, this is pretty much exactly what I had guessed upon seeing an unfamiliar acronym.

    --
    How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
  5. Whatever... by pellik · · Score: 2

    Japanese galaxy porn is the worst anyway, since they will censor the best parts.