Rendering of the ISEE 3 spacecraft. Photo: NASA

[Via Satellite 06-02-2014] Skycorp and a group of citizen scientists have successfully established two-way communication with an inactive NASA spacecraft, the International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE 3) as part of the ISEE 3 Reboot Project. NASA signed a Non-Reimbursable Space Act Agreement (NRSAA) with Skycorp on May 21, which allows the company to contact and possibly command and control this spacecraft from the 1970’s.

The ISEE 3 was launched in 1978 to study solar wind streaming toward Earth, and the satellite successfully completed its main mission in 1981. Since the spacecraft had remaining fuel and functionality, it was sent to observe two comets and continued to orbit around the sun after the completion of that mission. It will now make its closest approach to Earth in nearly 30 years, a position that Skycorp looks to take advantage of in its rebooting mission. Skycorp’s ISEE 3 Reboot Project aims to reinsert the spacecraft into orbit at Lagrangian 1 (L1), and return the spacecraft to operations.

On May 29, Skycorp successfully established communication with the ISEE 3 at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico and began commanding it for specific functions.  The team changed modes so that the spacecraft will broadcast telemetry information, and they hope to judge the spacecraft’s health in the coming days and weeks. The overall goal is to refine the techniques needed to fire the spacecraft’s engines and bring it back to an orbit close to Earth.

This marks the first time NASA made an agreement for use of a spacecraft it is no longer using or has plans to use again. The NRSAA addressed the various technical, safety, legal and proprietary issues prior to any attempts that will be made to communicate or control the spacecraft as it draws closer to Earth in August.