
Solar wing jammed on NASA spacecraft chasing asteroids
CTV
NASA is debating whether to try to fix a jammed solar panel on its newly launched Lucy spacecraft, en route to explore an unprecedented number of asteroids.
The problem cropped up shortly after the spacecraft's Oct. 16 liftoff on a 12-year journey.
After measuring the electric current this week, NASA reported Wednesday that one of Lucy's two giant, circular solar panels is only between 75% and 95% extended. A lanyard is holding it in place.
Any attempt at reopening the wing -- which is 24 feet in diameter (7 metres) -- would not occur before mid-November.
So far, the problem has not affected Lucy's outbound flight, so there's no rush to figure out the next step, according to NASA. Everything else on the spacecraft is working properly.

While Canada is well known for its accomplishments in space — including building the robotic arms used on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station — the country still has no ability to launch its own satellites. This week, Ottawa committed nearly a quarter‑billion dollars towards changing that.

It’s an enduring stereotype that Canadians are unfailingly nice, quick to apologize even when they have done nothing wrong. But an online urban legend claims the opposite of Canada’s soldiers, painting a picture of troops so brazen in their brutality that international laws were rewritten to rein them in.











