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Article: Air Force says natural phenomenon caused GPS satellite shutdown. (Global Positioning System satellite, SVN 29)
- Article from:
- Defense Daily
- Article date:
- September 21, 1993
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Access Intelligence, LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Air Force reported yesterday that a "natural phenomenon" caused an emergency condition Sept. 3 forcing one of 22 orbiting Block 11 Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites to shut down.
Normally, GPS satellites have their broadcast antennas continuously pointed toward Earth. But, before dawn that day the Second Space Operations Squadron's Echo Crew at Falcon AFB, Col., noticed a loss of the satellite's navigation signal and later determined the spacecraft was no longer stable.
The satellite, SVN 29, needed to be placed in a safe condition because of the risk of draining battery power. Solar cells are the main source of power for GPS satellites. ...