http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/03/27/national/science-health/jaxa-says-communication-link-x-ray-astronomy-satellite-lost/
>JAXA says communication link with X-ray astronomy satellite has been lost
>The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said Sunday it has experienced trouble communicating with a newly launched X-ray astronomy satellite since Saturday afternoon, making it difficult for the agency to ascertain its condition.
>The Hitomi satellite, which was called the Astro-H until its successful launch on a Japanese rocket in mid-February, could be experiencing a power shortage after an unexpected shift in its position may have rendered it unable to draw on solar power, it said.
>The satellite is supposed to be orbiting about 580 km (360 miles) above the Earth’s surface, but JAXA said the satellite may also have deviated from its intended path.
>The agency is trying to re-establish communications with the satellite, but if the situation persists, it will be unable to start astronomy observations, scheduled to begin during the summer. The agency was calibrating equipment on the satellite when it ran into problems.
>“We are taking this situation very seriously,” Saku Tsuneta, director of the agency’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, said at a news conference, adding that he does not know at this point whether a communication link can be re-established.
...
Better article:
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/27/japan-loses-contact-with-newest-space-telescope/
>On Saturday, Japan lost contact with its newest space telescope, called Hitomi or ASTRO-H. The telescope, which includes an instrument from NASA, was intended to study the high-energy universe in X-rays and gamma rays, and observe such objects as supermassive black holes and galaxy clusters.
>Radar observations Sunday indicated that Hitomi, which launched on February 17, is in at least five pieces—and a plot of its orbit revealed a dramatic change on March 26, the date JAXA lost contact with the spacecraft.
>That means, says astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, that some kind of “energetic event” has occurred—something more than a simple failure of communications.
>“Loss of comm + orbit change + radar detecting 5 pieces of debris is much worse than just loss of comm,” tweeted McDowell, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
>It’s not clear exactly what has happened on board Hitomi. Scientists are currently investigating the situation, and JAXA reports that it has gotten a trickle of a signal from the spacecraft. That means it’s possible the five pieces detected by radar are things like insulation, rather than large chunks of debris resulting from a catastrophic explosion; it’s also possible the spacecraft is tumbling, McDowell says, and that signals from Hitomi are periodically sweeping across the Earth.
...
>Still, despite all the bad news, the spacecraft might not be lost.
>“I truly have not given up hope,” McDowell says, noting that equally bad space situations in the past have been successfully resolved. “We lost contact with SOHO for months and fully recovered it. ALEXIS had a solar panel break loose and was tumbling, but they learnt how to fly it and began science mission a couple months late. So it’s a long shot — and I refuse to put a number on the probability—but there is precedent for things being this bad and it turning out OK.”
>JAXA is no stranger to second chances. Late last year, the Japanese space agency managed to place its Akatsuki spacecraft in orbit around Venus, after failing on the first try. When Akatsuki originally tried to orbit Earth’s twisted sister, a valve broke and sent the spacecraft on a long, 5-year journey through the solar system. But, eventually, Akatsuki caught up with its target and slipped into Venus’ gravitational clutches.
>>34553
Aren't we seeing right here a classic case of flying retired satellites ,such as glonass, that may have collapsed with the Astro, I mean, that would explain the scattering of pieces and the change in the travel orbit
>>34579
Yes possibly it could have been hit by a small bit of space junk debris. Other than that it could have been a very small micrometeorite from elsewhere in the solar system going very fast, or even faulty construction. It's a strange occurrence any way about it.
related coverage:
http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/japan-loses-track-of-273-million-black-hole-satellite-160328.htm
Im skeptical this is propaganda for the new Godzilla movie
>>34986
Godzilla doesn't go to space, does he?
>>34988
No but a lot of the other kaiju of his films comer from invading aliens
>>34550
Kek,
>japanese can't into space
Related developments:
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/225773-japans-lost-black-hole-satellite-is-back-online-still-tumbling-through-space
