Orbiting Telescope Will Retire

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 17, 2007 7:18 PM CDT
Orbiting Telescope Will Retire
In a new ultraviolet image released by NASA 05 May, 2007, the...   (Getty Images)

An orbiting telescope whose findings were the basis of over 1,200 research papers will be shut down tomorrow, after an unexpectedly productive eight-year run, The Discovery Channel reports. The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) detected a bubble of gas surrounding the Milky Way, located remains of exploded stars, and measured elements of the Big Bang.

Launched in 1999, FUSE was designed for a three-year run, and early mechanical failures threatened to cut it even shorter. But in a series of ingenious engineering moves, such as using the earth's gravitational field as a stabilizer, ground control teams were able to keep the telescope operational until this July, when a final malfunction put it beyond repair. (More NASA stories.)

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