Space Agencies Try to Find Out Why Satellite’s Tether Broke

Frustrated NASA and Italian Space Agency managers were searching Monday for reasons why a tether broke late Sunday, sending an Italian satellite spinning into space, taking with it high hopes for the multimillion-dollar mission.

NASA officials refused to speculate on what went wrong. But astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman reported that the frayed end of the cord aboard Columbia looked charred and melted.

The spaghetti-thin cord, made of braided copper, nylon and Teflon, broke off inside a tower that was being used like a fishing rod to cast the $443-million satellite into space.

Italian scientist Marino Dobrowolny said the insulation may have been stripped away, exposing the copper wire. Data on the ground showed the equivalent of a spark or discharge, which may have occurred as the copper passed near metal on the deploying equipment, he said.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration immediately impounded all data associated with the tether break and established an investigative board.

The accident dashed hopes that a 48-hour flight of the tethered satellite would show how a tether dragged through Earth’s magnetic fields could be used to generate electricity.

The drifting satellite will reenter the atmosphere and burn up within a month, officials said.

The crew will launch a series of science experiments to be conducted before the shuttle returns to Florida March 7.