> > MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE > JET PROPULSION LABORATORY > CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY > NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION > PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011 > http://www.jpl.nasa.gov > > Contact: Lynn Jenner > NASA Goddard Space Flight Center > (301) 286-0045 > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 5, 1999 > > PROBLEM REPORTED ON NASA'S WIDE-FIELD INFRARED EXPLORER > > After a successful launch last night from Vandenberg Air > Force Base, Calif., NASA's Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) > spacecraft began to experience attitude control problems during > its second pass over the ground station at Poker Flat, Alaska. > > It is not yet known specifically what caused the orientation > malfunction on the spacecraft and a further investigation, now > underway, is being done to assess the problem. > > An aberration was detected during the second pass over the > Alaskan station, and confirmed on the third pass. The WIRE > launch and science teams are reviewing and assessing the data > stream from the spacecraft to try to determine the nature of the > problem. > > Further updates will be released as information concerning > WIRE's anomaly is obtained. > > The WIRE observatory consists of a three-axis-stabilized > spacecraft designed, built and tested by the Small Explorer > Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., > and a cryogenically cooled infrared telescope provided by the Jet > Propulsion Laboratory. > > ##### > -- 41.087N 80.714W 305 meters Mike DiMuzio mdimuzio@cisnet.com