Kevin Forsyth Home

 

History of the Delta Launch Vehicle



Current Delta News

(What about Delta IV?)

06-Mar-02 | FUSE back in action

FUSE, the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (Delta 271) has returned to active duty. Controllers have implemented an innovative method of guidance control that uses three magnetic torquer coils and their interaction with Earth’s magnetic field to accurately point the spacecraft and provide full three-axis stabilization. This system compensates for the loss of the second of FUSE’s four reaction wheels, which shut down on 10 December 2001. Since then, the spacecraft had been all but given up for dead, but this week’s miraculous engineering feat will allow FUSE to complete its primary one-year mission plus a possible two-year extension. (NASA Press Release, 06-Mar-02)


Your comment:

     

Archives

Back to top