[McIDAS #HUK-605825]: GOES-east Outage

Hi Fred,

re:
> Tuesday evening at 3:30Z the GOES-13 failed because of a problem with its star
> tracker.  NESDIS is still trouble shooting the problem on GOES-13, but does 
> not
> have any quick fix.  NESDIS has activated GOES-14 located at 105W which is now
> routinely providing satellite data.  However, no decision has been made on the
> fate of GOES-13 or moving GOES-14 into the operational east position at 75W.
> While GOES-14 is transmitting data, the data is not being routed through GOES-
> 13.

The non-routing of GOES-14 data through GOES-13 was quite a surprise to me.
It either means that GOES-13 is in BIG trouble (e.g., transponders not
working or causing too big of a drain on power), or that NESDIS is hoping
to get things working again.

re:
> NESDIS has stated that any GVAR users with antennas who want current data
> will need to point their antenna to the 105W location.

I saw this while checking my email in the airport in Houston.

re:
> What are the Unidata plans for the reception of GOES data?  If NESDIS cannot 
> fix
> GOES-13, then GOES-14 will start to be moved eastward toward the east 
> location.
> Typically NESDIS will route the GOES-14 data through GOES-13 while it is being
> moved. I don't know when that decision will be made. If you move your antenna,
> you may just have to move it back again in a few days.  Our current lack of 
> data
> from your antenna is annoying, but not critical.  I was just wondering what 
> your
> plans are for the GOES-east antenna?

I will be interacting with folks in the office tomorrow to see if they are
up for re-pointing the GOES-East dish to the 105 W longitude slot.  If the 
signal
strength is high enough, the LNB should not have to be rotated to correct for
the polarity alignment that a simple swing of the antenna will cause.  The
problem is that I am typically one of two at Unidata that does things like this,
and I will not be back in Boulder until June 10.

Personally, I am up for re-pointing our GOES-East dish now, and swinging it
eastward if/when GOES-14 is drifted to the GOES-East slot.  I'll know more
tomorrow, however.

Cheers,

Tom
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Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: HUK-605825
Department: Support McIDAS
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed