NASA space research balloon crashes into car
A space balloon which was due to be launched by NASA - carrying a £4m telescope - has crashed into a car during take off.
The balloon was being launched in Alice Springs, Australia, when a gust of wind caught it carrying it away from the launch area.
As this happened, the football pitch-sized balloon dragged its cargo of scientific equipment - including the rare £4m gamma ray telescope - towards the cars of spectators.
It then smashed into the cars, flipping one over and causing serious damage to another -- not quite the smooth float to 40km high NASA boffins had expected.
A spokesperson for NASA said the event was "very disappointing" -- If we had just ruined a £4m telescope and the work of dozens of scientists, we might have gone for a word a little stronger than "disappointing."
The balloon was being launched in Alice Springs, Australia, when a gust of wind caught it carrying it away from the launch area.
As this happened, the football pitch-sized balloon dragged its cargo of scientific equipment - including the rare £4m gamma ray telescope - towards the cars of spectators.
It then smashed into the cars, flipping one over and causing serious damage to another -- not quite the smooth float to 40km high NASA boffins had expected.
A spokesperson for NASA said the event was "very disappointing" -- If we had just ruined a £4m telescope and the work of dozens of scientists, we might have gone for a word a little stronger than "disappointing."
