Japan Satellite Goes Missing, Bad Software Update To Blame

We’re sure that many of you guys have been on the wrong-end of a software update before. Sometimes a bad update might result in a buggy experience which you can live with until a patch is released. Sometimes an update is so broken that it could even result in your device bricking or become unusable.

However the next time you complain about a bad software update, you might want to think about Japan’s Hitomi satellite which was lost in space and for now, it seems that there is speculation that a bad software update was to blame. Let’s also not forget that this was an expensive mistake as the satellite cost Japan’s space agency, JAXA, $285 million, 3 years of planned observations, and an additional 10 years of scientific research. Kind of puts it into perspective, doesn’t it?

That being said, it is speculated that bad data in a software update could be to blame for the satellite going missing, although the space agency did state that they are now trying to investigate the matter fully after announcing that they will be discontinuing their efforts to try and recover the satellite, or at least pieces of it which are now floating about in space.

In a statement published by JAXA, “JAXA expresses the deepest regret for the fact that we had to discontinue the operations of ASTRO-H and extends our most sincere apologies to everyone who has supported ASTRO-H believing in the excellent results ASTRO-H would bring, to all overseas and domestic partners including NASA, and to all foreign and Japanese astrophysicists who were planning to use the observational results from ASTRO-H for their studies.”

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: Space