Japan’s Hitomi satellite loses contact, goes missing

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) lost communication with its new X-ray astronomy satellite Hitomi (formerly known as ASTRO-H), according to a report by AFP.

The report quoted a press release by JAXA saying that Hitomi was supposed to start operating at 3:40 A.M. (Eastern Time) on Saturday (March 26) but the spacecraft failed to communicate at that specific time.

US Joint Space Operations Center, a space agency responsible for tracking space debris, detected five pieces of debris around the satellite at around 4:20AM (ET). Engineers hinted that the satellite would have ‘broken down’ in space or might bumped off during its spin.

On Monday (March 28), JAXA said it received a short signal from the satellite, but did not provide any more information when the signal was established. The space agency immediately established a team to investigate the whereabouts of the satellite.

The Hitomi satellite, launched last February 17 at Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, was designed to examine turbulent space events and observe energy wavelengths from soft X-rays to Gamma Rays, and the satellite will gather information on black holes, neutron stars, and formation of galaxy clusters. Overall, the satellite costs around 31 billion yen ($273 million), and was expected to orbit at an altitude of 580 kms (360 miles).

Space engineers had encountered a smilier situation before. In December, they placed the $300 million-Akatsuki spacecraft into the orbit of Venus after a damaged engine five years ago. In 1993, Alexis, a United States X-ray mission, went missing after three months. Space agencies recovered the said aircraft. Gianna Francesca Catolico, INQUIRER.net