Faulty Design Blamed for Loss of Space Probe
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From Times Staff and Wire Reports
An unmanned spacecraft that broke up last summer as it embarked on a mission to study comets was probably doomed by a defect in its design, NASA’s chief engineer said this week.
The $159-million Contour probe was lost after firing its rocket motor for 50 seconds on Aug. 15. Theron Bradley Jr., who heads the NASA team investigating the loss, said the likely cause was a faulty design that placed the motor too far up the body of the spacecraft, allowing hot exhaust gases to heat the probe and trigger its breakup.
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