SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Japan abandons costly X-ray satellite

Japan has decided to abandon efforts to repair a mutli-million-dollar satellite that was damaged a month after its launch into space in February.

1 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

Japan's space agency has abandoned its efforts to restore the operations of a multi-million-dollar satellite that was to probe the mysteries of black holes using X-ray telescopes.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency says it has determined that the satellite's two solar arrays had broken off at their bases.

Contact was lost with the satellite on March 26, more than a month after its launch on February 17.

The space agency said on Thursday that it would stop trying to fix the satellite and focus on figuring out what went wrong.

Japan's Kyodo News agency says that Japan spent about Y31 billion ($A371.21 million) on the project.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world