Failing Western Weather Satellite Will Be Replaced by New Backup
WASHINGTON — Just a month after the government stored an extra weather satellite in space, the spare is being called on to replace an orbiting observatory that is failing.
“It’s the first time we had ever had a backup satellite in place,” said Gerald Dittberner of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Without such a satellite, we would have had to wait as much as 12 to 15 months to get a launch time slot,” said Dittberner.
Normally, two stationary satellites collect detailed weather data as well as the satellite weather pictures seen on television. One covers the West and the Pacific Ocean out to Hawaii; the other covers the East and Atlantic Ocean. Their views overlap in the nation’s center.
GOES-9, the Western satellite, is showing signs of impending failure of the control system that keeps it stable.
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