Tags: GOES-13, NOAA, Weather Satellite, Debris
Publication: Science.NBCNews.com
Publication Date: 06/10/2013

NOAA GOES N (GOES 13) satellite successfully hoisted and mated onto the upper stage of the Delta IV rocket for launch in 2005. Image credit: NOAA

NOAA’s GOES 13 weather satellite has officially returned to normal operations after it experienced technical problems last May. The agency announced that the failure was caused by a micrometeoroid, which hit an arm of the satellite’s solar array panels causing it to fall out of its geostationary balance.

NOAA placed the satellite in safe mode while they investigated the incident and activated a backup satellite in the mean time. The agency has determined that the hit did not damage any of the GOES 13 instruments.

While NOAA expected to transition the satellite back into operation on June 6, the agency delayed the plan four days to avoid any gaps in the coverage of Tropical Storm Andrea. During normal operations, GOES 13 collects data from the U.S. East Coast and the tropical Atlantic used to build models for hurricanes and tropical storms.

The loss of GOES-13 in May marked the second time the satellite has malfunctioned in less than a year, which is causing experts to grow even more concerned about the fate of the American weather satellite infrastructure and a possible gap in coverage in the coming years.
 

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