Scientists unsure of craft’s fate
PASADENA,Calif. (AP)—NASA
scientists waited anxiously for the
cafi that never came. Now they must
contemplate the unthinkable: The
Mars Observer flew right past the
planet into oblivion.
“It’s terrible, terrible, terrible,” said
Arden Albee, the project’s chief sci
entist.
The wayward spacecraft hasn’t
been heard from since Saturday and
failed to radio Earth as scheduled on
Tuesday, when it was to fire its thrust
ers and drop into orbit around Mara.
Nothing was heard from Mara
Observer. The spacecraft remained
silent Wednesday, NASA spokesman
Jim Doyle said. Engineers believed
their next chance to hear from Mara
Observer would be on Thursday.
With no word from the Observer,
scientists simply didn’t know if it
started circling Mare, flew past it, or
was destroyed or disabled after it was
last heard from.
NASA scientists bravely insisted
they hadn’t given up on the Observer,
launched in September on a$l billion
mission to study Martian terrain, cli
mate and weather using sophisticated
instruments, including a camera that
can spot an object the size of a
Volkswagen Beetle from a 234-mile
high orbit.
Project manager Glenn
Cunningham said during a news con
ference late Wednesday that he was
skeptical of ever finding the capsule.
“Unfortunately, we still have no
two-way communication or one-way
communication or data of any kind
from the spacecraft," Cunningham
said.
He said NASA wouldn’t give up
trying to reach Mars Observer, but
“every day without communications
clearly lessens any probability of suc
cess.”
“I think it blew up,” space histori
an James Oberg said by phone from
Houston. I think the propellant tanks
ble That would explain a lot.”
doubted Mars Observer exploded be
cause the tanks had backup pressure
regulators, and the pressure shouldn’t
have been strong enough to rupture
the tanks.
engineers have said they
Main
antenna
9 Mars Observer's mission
I was to orbit 234 miles
I. above the surface ot the
I Red Planet taking mea
| surements of the Martian
I surface and atmosphere.
Magnetometers
Camei a
Source: NASA. Jet PropuMon Laboratory
Laser altimeter
non 1 D'OhP
Gamma ray spectrometer
AP
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State gas tax higher than national average
OMAHA (AP)—-The federal gas
oline tax hike to take effect Oct. 1 will
cost an average Nebraska family of
four an extra $82 a year at the gas
pumps, the Tax Foundation said.
The 4.3-cent-per-gallon tax in
crease hits Nebraska harder than the
national average increase of $76 per
family of four, the foundation said.
The gasoline-tax increase approved
by Congress in its deficit-reduction
package will be most burdensome in
thinly populated states, said Chris R.
Edwards, foundation economist in
Washington, D.C.
When the increase takes effect Oct.
1, a Nebraska family of four will [my
$349 a year in federal gas taxes, com
pared with a national average of $325,
the foundation said.
Nebraska families will pay slight
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dation said.
Meeting will discuss aid jor jiooa victims
' DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The
nation’s top disaster official, heading
for a meeting with off cials from nine
flooded states, including Nebraska,
hopes to recommend this week wheth
er to waive a requirement that states
pay part of the cleanup bill.
“I hope we’ll have everything in
place to make a recommendation on
Friday,” said James Witt, head of the
Federal Emergency Management
Agency. “I’ve got about everything
put together.”
Witt’s recommendation will go to
the White House, where Clinton will
make a decision, probably after he
returns from his vacation.
In Nebraska, powerful w ind storms
and flooding caused an estimated $50
million in property damage and $292
million in agricultural damage. More
than 2,000 homes were damaged or
destroyed and two storm-related
deaths were reported.
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