09:50 UTC pass
Here is another update in regards to the NOAA-17 AVHRR scan motor issue. NOAA engineers are still evaluating the telemetry data from the instrument which does not seem to correlate to any of the spacecrafts previously launched. The problem is that the sync deltas are too erratic and it is hard to determine what corrective actions are needed to fix the problem. Motor currents continue to rise sporadically along with temperatures within the scan assembly. NOAA-17 engineers are running diagnostics scripts via the stored command table and users will see changes in the patterns in the APT data as these scripts change over the next few days. The telemetry is troubling to the engineers and the outlook down the road looks grim. Users are encouraged to continue send in their images to me so that engineers can continue to assess the problem.
NOAA is evaluating the viability of NOAA-15 as a possible backup to NOAA-17 for HRPT and APT data. Upon completion of this evaluation NOAA will be making some changes to NOAA-15 to correlate with NOAA-17’s current operational configuration which is to include changing the APT frequency to avoid conflicts with the now defunct NOAA-9.
The next update will be on Friday March 26. If any changes take place before then I will be sure to update you all immediately.
Thank you.
Steven Ross
Weatherscience.net