Scientists from USU and Russia had labored for more than two years, using $7 million from the Defense Department, to build the satellite. It was designed for a 30-day mission to help detect and identify incoming missiles.
But the 250 kilogram, 150-centimeter satellite, known as Skipper, went quiet less than a day after it was launched Dec. 28 from Kazakhstan.
James Cantrell, the main engineer for the mission at the USU Space Dynamics Laboratory, said they've found the culprit: Solar panels designed to recharge the satellite's battery had been connected backward.
"They were hooked up in reverse polarity and had the effect of discharging the battery instead of charging it," Cantrell told The Herald Journal in a story published Tuesday.
Cantrell said the power unit wasn't designed to catch the error. Instead of keeping Skipper's nickel-cadmium battery charged during the mission, the recharging system began sucking juice from the battery the minute it was launched, Cantrell said.
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