The Hindu : Japan's shuttle crash lands

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 03, 2003

International

International - Globescan

Japan's shuttle crash lands

TOKYO: Japan's delta-wing space shuttle flawlessly approached the speed of sound while cruising over Sweden but tumbled into a field moments later for a crash landing that cast doubt on future trials of the experimental craft, a space official said on Wednesday. The five-minute flight was the latest set back for the country's ambitious, but beleaguered and cash-strapped space programme. Its Mars-bound probe, which sling-shotted past Earth last month on its way to the red planet, is years behind schedule, low on fuel and might not even make it. The space shuttle, an unmanned swallow-tailed craft only 3.8-metres long, took flight on Tuesday — lifted by a stratospheric balloon to the frigid height of 21 km above an international test site in northern Sweden. The shuttle was then released and hit speeds up to mach 0.8 during its 5-minute plunge. Scientists at Japan's National Space Development Agency monitored the flight for data on high speed acceleration and aerodynamics.

— AP

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