Jan 6 2006
From The Space Library
NASA announced plans to decommission the oceanography satellite known as the Topography Experiment for Ocean Circulation, or Topex/Poseidon, a joint mission between NASA and France’s space agency, Centre National d’Études Spatial (CNES). Mission managers had decided to end the spacecraft’s 13-year, 62,000-orbit mission, following the failure in October 2005 of its pitch-reaction wheel, which maintained the satellite’s orientation. According to Lee- Lueng Fu, Project Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the satellite had allowed scientists to compare models of ocean circulation with global observations and to improve climate predios. Topex had also enabled the mapping of the elevation of the ocean’s surface. Fu noted that, although Topex/Poseidon “was built to fly up to five years . . . it became history’s longest Earth-orbiting radar mission.”
John Antczak for Associated Press, “U.S.-French Oceanography Satellite Decommissioned After 13 Years,” 6 January 2006; Ayinde O. Chase, “NASA Satellite Ceases To Operate,” All Headline News, 6 January 2006; CBC News (Canada), “Ocean Satellite Ends 13-Year Mission,” 6 January 2006.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
