A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 1, 2018, carrying the NOAA GOES 17 satellite. (Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) appointed a board to investigate an instrument anomaly aboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) 17 weather satellite currently in orbit.
During post-launch testing of the satellite's Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument, it was discovered that the instrument's infrared detectors cannot be maintained at their required operating temperatures under certain seasonal and orbital conditions, resulting in a loss of approximately 3 percent of the instrument's availability over the course of a year. This loss exceeds a key design requirement.
NASA and NOAA senior leadership determined the need to convene the mishap investigation board, which will work to determine the root or proximate cause of the anomaly and identify actions to prevent occurrences on future satellites. The board will begin its work as soon as possible.
