Russian Space-Mirror Mission Is a Scratch
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MOSCOW — A large space mirror, billed as a prototype for giant reflectors that would send sunlight to Arctic cities during dark winters, failed to unfurl Thursday. Frustrated Russian scientists vowed to try again today.
The petal-shaped panels of the 83-foot collapsible mirror appeared to snag on an orbiting cargo ship’s antenna.
The mirror was to have worked like an artificial moon, reflecting sunlight onto several regions in Russia and other former Soviet republics before reaching Germany and the Czech Republic.
Space experts hoped it would serve as a prototype for 650-foot models that could illuminate sun-starved cities.
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