Technical glitch plays spoiler for NASA's sounding rocket probe

(Representational image)

New Delhi: A technical glitch has rendered NASA's sounding rocket aiming to probe the dark regions of space unable to deliver science data.

The sounding rocket was supposed to study the darks voids in between the stars and galaxies that fill the night sky, but a possible issue with the attitude control system played spoiler.

The Dual-channel Extreme Ultraviolet Continuum Experiment, or DEUCE for short, was launched on Monday from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

"The Black Brant IX sounding rocket performed nominally. However, science data was not obtained because of a possible issue with the attitude control system," NASA said in a statement late on Monday.

"The payload descended by parachute and was recovered. The Sounding Rocket Program Office is investigating the anomaly," it added.

The cold, diffuse gas between galaxies – called the intergalactic medium, or IGM for short – hardly emits any light.

To shed light on the nature of the IGM, the sounding rocket was equipped with special ultraviolet optics.

The experiment was designed to measure starlight from a pair of nearby hot stars in the constellation Canis Major, aiming to help researchers understand how the IGM got to its current state.

(With IANS inputs)