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NASA has lost yet another piece of its space program with the destruction of a satellite that had previously been orbiting the earth for over 9 years. The satellite, properly known as the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, was deliberately slammed into the atmosphere this past Sunday where it broke up and fell in a shower of hot metal into a remote stretch of the Pacific Ocean.
Experts at NASA who were keeping an eye on the satellite became concerned when one of the satellites three gyroscopes failed. The gyroscopes play a major role in the functioning of the device, mainly used for maintaining its altitude. When the gyroscope failed, NASA felt that it would be better if they brought the device down in a controlled descent rather than leave it and risk the possibility of it descending to earth uncontrolled and crashing someplace where people might be harmed.
The spot that NASA chose was a corridor starting some 2,500 miles southeast of Hawaii and extending for more than 2,000 miles toward the southeast. The craft began its descent sometime shortly after 2:00 a.m. approximately and shortly after began falling apart. Around six tons of the satellite made it through the crash, according to NASA reports.
The Compton is a great loss to the science community, having discovered some amazing breakthroughs in scientific research. Among the discoveries that were found, the Compton is most notably remembered for its discovery of over hundreds of previously unknown sources of gamma rays, including 30 new and unusual objects that are still not completely understood to this day. It also detected gamma rays streaming from black holes, from exploding stars and from the sun.
As a result, the data collected from the research has helped astronomers, for the first time, begin to understand how black holes can trigger jets of X-rays and gamma rays that streak outward at near the speed of light. The Compton was scheduled to continue orbiting the earth for another 11 years. With its loss, NASA will be cut off from the amazing discoveries that were made with the satellite.
Jim Ryan, a physics professor at the University of New Hampshire believes that this was a great loss. "Immediately, we're losing the ability to measure gamma rays coming from the sun during the maximum of solar activity, which is taking place right now. In the longer term, there is no other branch of astronomy that hinged so directly on a single satellite," said the UNH professor who was associated with the Compton program.
The project scientist involved with the Compton echoed those sentiments. Neil Gehrels said, ''this is a painful time for scientists who have used Compton for the last nine years.'' He continued, saying, ''the entire scientific community is disappointed, I was profoundly saddened.''
Along with the great loss to the science community, the destruction of this satellite marks yet another program lost by NASA. Back in December, NASA lost its Mars Lander Probe, a device that cost over $360 million to put into space. The Compton has cost NASA approximately $670 million to dump in the Pacific Ocean.
In 1979, NASA endured a nerve-racking natural re-entry with Skylab, a 78-ton abandoned U.S. space station. Debris dropped harmlessly into the Indian Ocean and across a remote section of western Australia.
It is known that programs, especially satellite and probe programs within NASA are destined to lose money, whether in risky exploration (the example of the Mars Lander) or in failed equipment (the Compton). However, the vast amount of taxpayers money could surely be used for things which are much more beneficial for humanity. Hopefully, NASA will be able to come up with devices that at least finish the projects that it sets out to use the various devices for in the future
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