Space News for April 21, 1999

Surveyor Transmitting, But Still Not Fixed
Unable to fix the malfunctioning hinge on the Mars Global Surveyor's high-gain boom antenna, engineers have turned the entire spacecraft to face Earth. The probe has been pulled out of "contingency mode" and NASA engineers will attempt to restore the hinge later this week.

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Hubble Views Images of Io
Recent photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope have shown images of Io, one of Jupiter's moons crossing the surface of the planet. Another image shows a volcano spewing from the surface of the Jovian moon.

explorezone.com

Artistic Satellite will be Launched on 50,000 Year Journey
Developed to symbolize mankind's passion for art, a French artist is creating a unique spacecraft, which will travel on a 50,000 year journey orbiting the Earth, and then reenter our atmosphere. On board will be a CD-ROM containing messages from people interested in the project. (Hope they have CD-ROMs in 50,000 years).

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Light-Powered Saucer a Reality
Professor Leik Myrabo is working on what he believes will be the next wave of spacecraft design - a saucer that rises to orbit powered by a laser beam. If his theories are correct, it may reduce the cost of launching into orbit by a factor of 1,000.

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Fraser Cain

Fraser Cain

Fraser Cain is the publisher of Universe Today, founding the website in March 1999. He's also the co-host of Astronomy Cast.