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April 17, 2005

DART falls short


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The DART craft, built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Virginia designed to test technology to eventually track and dock with other crafts without human guidance or intervention failed to rendezvous with a U.S. military satellite 475 miles above the earth, NASA said on Saturday.

The unmanned Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) NASA spacecraft experienced a mishap in orbit late on Friday that caused it to divert its path, NASA said. The DART craft, six feet long and three feet in diameter, was supposed to maneuver within 16 feet of the satellite, a NASA spokeswoman said.

"When we started doing precise maneuvers, we started seeing excessive propellant consumption," a NASA spokeswoman said. "The mission as designed, when it runs out of gas, completes itself."

The spacecraft came within 300 feet of its target, a military communications satellite.

NASA will convene a board to investigate the reason for the mishap, the agency said. Orbital Sciences was not available.

NASA said the DART program accomplished some key goals during its mission, meant to last 24 hours. It tracked the satellite and move within 300 feet of it. The craft will enter an unstable orbit and burn up within 25 years, NASA said.







 

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