[Satellite TODAY 08-18-09] Landsat 5 experienced an anomaly Aug. 13, which rendered the satellite out of control and left the spacecraft’s power at critical levels, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced.
    The spacecraft was stabilized after the USGS Landsat Flight Operations Team initiated recovery operations. USGS said that the satellite’s power is still at critical levels and that its imaging operations are suspended until further notice. However, the USGS Landsat team said switched on the spacecraft’s Thematic Mapper instrument payload and successfully downlinked imagery at the Landsat ground station in Sioux Falls, S.D.
    “Engineering staffs are currently evaluating the data collected to determine if the instrument has returned to nominal operating conditions. Data collected will not be offered to the public until it is evaluated. We are still investigating the cause of the anomaly, but do not have anything definitive to report at this time,” the USGS said, in a statement.