Tag

Hydrazine

All articles tagged with #hydrazine

Six Suspicious Spheres Wash Up on Queensland Beach, Likely Space Debris
technology5 days ago

Six Suspicious Spheres Wash Up on Queensland Beach, Likely Space Debris

Six large spherical objects found on Forrest Beach near Townsville are being treated as suspected space debris. Five have been secured in drums and a sixth is being rendered safe as authorities, including the Australian Space Agency, investigate their nature and origin. Experts say the items resemble pressurized fuel vessels from rocket stages and may have contained toxic hydrazine, though there is no current danger to the local community; more debris could appear as launches and re-entries continue.

Monitoring Fuel Levels on NASA's Oldest Mars Orbiter
space3 years ago

Monitoring Fuel Levels on NASA's Oldest Mars Orbiter

Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been monitoring the fuel supply of the Mars Odyssey Orbiter, which has been orbiting Mars for over 22 years. The spacecraft has no fuel gauge, so engineers have had to rely on math to estimate the amount of hydrazine propellant remaining. Recent calculations indicated that the spacecraft was running low on fuel, but after months of investigation, the team discovered that the fuel measurement process was more complicated than they thought. The spacecraft should have enough fuel to last at least through the end of 2025.