![[Imagemap]](/TECH/images/nav_tech.gif){kind=small}
March 1, 1996
Web posted at: 11:25 a.m. EST
(CNN) -- Like children gazing at a kite stuck in a tree too tall to climb, the crew of the space shuttle Columbia caught a glimpse Friday of their runaway satellite.
Columbia passed within 53 miles of the satellite which broke free Sunday when the tether tying it to the shuttle severed. (363K QuickTime movie)
"It's beautiful," said astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz describing the half-ton satellite and 12-mile trailing tether illuminated by the sun.
The astronauts had some difficulty viewing the satellite which was shrouded in darkness as the two craft passed at their closest point.
"It was pretty low," said astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman describing the relative position of the satellite. A more conventional problem prevented a better view. "The (shuttle) window is pretty dirty," he said.
The Italian-made satellite, the center of a $440 million mission, is expected to fall out of orbit and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere within three to four weeks.
Retrieval of the satellite is not possible because the shuttle and satellite are in different orbits and the shuttle does not have sufficient fuel to carry out a rescue mission.
Scientists are hoping to make the most of the satellite's weakened capabilities before its demise. With its battery power running low it was able to transmit some data as the shuttle drew near on Friday.
Having lost the satellite launched as part of an experiment to generate electricity in space, scientists are hoping the data collected by the probe will offer some solace.
"Sometimes serendipity plays a strange role in science, so let's hope that maybe something will turn up that nobody was expecting," said Hoffman.
The tethered satellite will be visible in its orbit for the next few weeks, before it plummets into the atmosphere.
On Friday, Columbia's seven-man crew was to conduct experiments in microgravity, including studies of combustion that could lead to improvements in fire detectors on Earth and in space.
AP and Reuters contributed to this report.
Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.