The space agency said, 'the lack of a downlink signal could be indicative of a system failure.'
The space agency's Ionospheric Connection Explorer lost contact with ground controllers two weeks ago and is orbiting Earth without a connection. NASA fears this may be due to a system failure that could mean it has lost contact with the satellite for good.ICON is an atmosphere-studying satellite that was operating beyond its intended lifetime before it lost contact on Nov. 25, NASA wrote inNASA has yet to identify why ICON lost contact with ground stations.
Though NASA has lost communication with ICON, the space agency used the Department of Defense’s Space Surveillance Network to confirm that ICON is still orbiting Earth. "The ICON mission team is working to troubleshoot the issue and has narrowed the cause of the communication loss to problems within the avionics or radio-frequency communications subsystems," NASA wrote in its post. “The team is currently unable to determine the health of the spacecraft, and the lack of a downlink signal could be indicative of a system failure."a Stargazer L-1011 carrier plane back in October 2019.
The ICON mission was initially intended to last two years, but it has been operating on an extended timeline since December 2021. It's not uncommon for NASA missions to exceed initial expectations. For example, the space agency'srecently flew higher than ever on its 35th mission. It was initially expected only to perform a total of five flights.
NASA said, "the team is currently still working to establish a connection" with ICON, but time might be up for this space weather satellite that has exceeded its original mission parameters.
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