The Japanese space agency officially declared ASTRO-H or the Hitomi spacecraft dead in space. What has actually gone wrong with the $273-million mission tasked to unlock the mystery of elusive, never-before-seen black holes?
Everything seemed to go well during the spacecraft’s Feb. 17 launch and lifting atop an H-IIA rocket. But things went haywire five weeks post-liftoff, when the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) experienced intermittent communications from the ground to the craft. Despite several attempts, JAXA engineers were no longer able to regain control of the X-ray observatory.
What led the ultra high-tech Hitomi to this tragic end?
Unlike an earlier speculated malfunctioning thruster or debris collision, an array of system errors – both software and human factors – is pinpointed for the satellite’s wild, uncontrollable spinning.
A basic engineering mistake, according to Nature, could have set off a series of unfortunate events for the satellite. One of its systems designed to keep it facing the right direction, for instance, had gone on the fritz when Hitomi passed the South Atlantic Anomaly, a South American region exposing satellites to added amounts of radiation.
When that specific system malfunctioned, the observatory began to rely on a set of gyroscopes to stay in the right direction. Unluckily, the gyroscopes weren’t working right either, leading the observatory to spin out of control and even fire a thruster in an effort to get back on track.
It was an effort made in vain, though, as it fired in the wrong direction and caused Hitomi to spin even faster.
Compounding the problem, the solar panels on both sides of the satellite broke away at the bases and led to observable debris right after Hitomi started having issues – something that killed one of its primary sources of power.
It was in space barely a month when signs pointed to these problems: debris surrounding the satellite; dead silence from numerous attempts at establishing contact; and then JAXA researchers finding it spinning wildly in space.
But all hope wasn’t lost yet back then, as the satellite emerged once again and transmitted some strange, erratic messages back to the ground. Now, after giving up on ever retrieving the lost satellite, JAXA experts doubt whether the agency actually received such short and cryptic messages at all.
Upon closer inspection, the messages appeared to come from quite different frequencies. This was initially thought to be due to the damage that Hitomi had incurred – but now it seems they were likely produced by intercepted radio interference, not the spacecraft.
After ceasing all efforts to restore Hitomi, JAXA resolved to focus on investigating the causes of its demise, reviewing the various phases of design, manufacturing, verifications and operations to know what led to the anomaly.
“JAXA also would like to take this opportunity to send our profound appreciation to all overseas and domestic organizations for all of their help in confirming the status of ASTRO-H through ground-based observations and other means,” the agency said in a statement.
Developed in collaboration with NASA and other organizations, Hitomi was supposed to investigate black holes, a phenomenon that has never been directly observed before. The announcement back in February that gravitational waves had been found for the first time enriched the body of evidence of black holes’ existence.
A similar satellite will be launched by the European Space Agency in 2028.
