LOS ANGELES (AP) - Citing
sensitive information, NASA said Friday it will not publicly release its
official report on the failure of a spacecraft during a mission to rendezvous
with a Pentagon satellite without human help.
DART spacecraft mishap contains details protected by the
International Traffic in Arms Regulations, said space agency spokesman Michael
Braukus.
But NASA plans to release a
summary of the report that will explain why DART did not complete its mission
last year, Braukus said. An initial analysis found the 800-pound spacecraft
suffered a fuel problem, but engineers did not detect a fuel leak.
The robotic Demonstration
for Autonomous Rendezvous Technology spacecraft was launched from Vandenberg
Air Force Base, Calif., in April 2005 to perform an unprecedented rendezvous
with another satellite without human intervention.
DART successfully located
its target and flew within 300 feet. But the project ended prematurely when the
spacecraft shut down halfway into the 24-hour mission and failed to complete
several automated tasks including circling the satellite and making close
approaches.
Mission manager Jim Snoddy
previously said the spacecraft detected a fuel problem and navigational errors
with its on-board computers.
The $110 million project
was meant to test the capability of robots to perform tasks currently done by
astronauts. NASA envisions future applications such as the robotic delivery of
cargo to space stations and automated docking and repair between spacecraft in
orbit.
A week after the mishap,
NASA assembled a team to investigate. The space agency approved the team's
report in February and has released the findings internally ''on specific
request and 'as need basis,''' Braukus said. NASA is working with the team to
write the public summary omitting the sensitive information, he said.
The space agency
distributed a new public information policy last month specifying that
information protected by ITAR is considered ''sensitive but unclassified'' and
that unauthorized release to news organizations could result in prosecution or
disciplinary action.
DART was managed by NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
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