A picture of the SOHO flight module going through testing.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of NASA
SOHO - Lost in Space! Updated!
News story originally written on July 17, 1998
Contact with the SOHO satellite has been lost for almost a month now. That means that the $1 billion craft is lost in space until we can regain contact with it! Engineers are trying to contact SOHO by sending commands to the spacecraft 12 hours out of every day.
Dr. George Withbroe, NASA's Director of the Sun-Earth Connections science program said, "In the last two years, SOHO revolutionized our understanding of the Sun in many ways. It was a unique set of instruments devoted to the study of the most important star to us on Earth -- our Sun -- and we are very hopeful that the project engineers will be able to return this world-class observatory to science operations again."
SOHO is a joint project of NASA and ESA. Its primary mission from 1995-1997 was very successful, but scientists are hoping to regain contact for the solar maximum season. Else, scientists will have to depend on spacecraft like ACE and Ulysses for solar coverage.
You might also be interested in:
It was another exciting and frustrating year for the space science program. It seemed that every step forward led to one backwards. Either way, NASA led the way to a great century of discovery. Unfortunately,
...moreThe Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on October 29th at 2:19 p.m. EST. The weather was great as Discovery took 8 1/2 minutes to reach orbit. This was the United States' 123rd
...more A moon was discovered orbiting the asteroid, Eugenia. This is only the second time in history that a satellite has been seen circling an asteroid. A special mirror allowed scientists to find the moon
...more Will Russia ever put the service module for the International Space Station in space? NASA officials want an answer from the Russian government. The necessary service module is currently waiting to be
...moreA coronal mass ejection (CME) happened on the Sun early last month. The material that was thrown out from this explosion passed the ACE spacecraft. The SWICS instrument on ACE has produced a new and very
...moreJ.S. Maini of the Canadian Forest Service called forests the "heart and lungs of the world." This is because forests filter air and water pollution, absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and maintain
...moreIn late April through mid-May 2002, all five naked-eye planets are visible at the same time in the night sky! This is includes Mercury which is generally very hard to see. You won't want to miss this!
...more