Satellite News

The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) that is to fly aboard the U.S. National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite has been damaged during testing, officials confirmed.

The mechanical relay aboard the Hubble Space Telescope that had likely malfunctioned because of contamination seems to be working again, but engineers are now looking for alternate routes to power all three channels of the satellite’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).

All services provided by Meteosat 8 (MSG 1), which went into safe mode on 23 September, have been restored.

Andrews Space, Inc. has been awarded a US$600,000 Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II contract from NASA Dryden Flight Research Center to perform a study entitled “Flexible Transpiration Cooled Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) for Inflatable Atmospheric Capture and Entry Systems.”

In the night of 3 to 4 October Hotbird 3/Eurobird 10 experienced an anomaly at the end of the eclipse period which has resulted in substantial damage to a solar array and subsequent loss of satellite power, Eutelsat said. The company also reported a temporary outage of Eutelsat W3A.

An attempt to restore power to two channels of the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) will be made on 8 October, New Scientist reports.

The European geostationary weather satellite Meteosat-8, f.k.a. MSG-1, went into safe mode on 23 September owing to a Single Event Upset.

A mechanical relay seems to have caused the latest trouble with Hubble, the space telescope’s managers said according to New Scientist. Meanwhile, one of the three channels of the recently shut down Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) is working again.