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Article: Japan's first space shuttle crash lands in Sweden
- Article from:
- AP Worldstream
- Article date:
- July 2, 2003
- Author:
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Dateline: TOKYO
Japan's delta-wing space shuttle flawlessly approached the speed of
sound while cruising over Sweden but tumbled into a field moments
later for a crash landing that cast doubt on future trials of the
experimental craft, a space official said Wednesday.
The five-minute flight was the latest set back for the country's ambitious,
but beleaguered and cash-strapped space program.
Its Mars-bound probe, which sling-shotted past Earth last month on
its way to the red planet, is years behind schedule, low on fuel and
might not even make it.
The space shuttle, an unmanned swallow-tailed craft only 3.8-meters
(12.5-feet) long, took flight Tuesday _ lifted by a ...