Another NASA spacecraft runs out of steam, 2nd this week
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November 2, 2018
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA has lost a second spacecraft this week, ending a fruitful mission in the asteroid belt.
Running low on fuel for some time, the Dawn spacecraft this week stopped communicating with flight controllers. Its prolonged silence prompted NASA to declare it dead Thursday, two days after delivering eulogies to the planet-hunting Kepler Space Telescope. The 9 ½-year-old Kepler also ran out of fuel, needed for pointing the spacecraft.
They both kept working longer than anticipated and their demise had been expected.
Propelled by three ion engines, the 11-year-old Dawn was...
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