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NASA’s ailing Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory has won a stay of execution.
After one of three gyroscopes on the 17-tonne satellite failed late last year,
NASA considered scuttling it over the South Pacific in case a second gyro failed
and sent it plunging into the atmosphere. Now engineers think they can control
Compton’s descent without any gyros, giving the satellite several years more
observing time. A review panel says the technique is feasible, but needs more
study, says Neil Gehrels at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington
DC. “By April we’ll have a pretty good feeling whether we’re going to do a…