Jul 29 1984
From The Space Library
NOAA's GOES-5 satellite failed at 8:39 p.m. today, blanking out weather pictures for parts of the eastern United States and the Atlantic Ocean, just at the time of the year when hurricanes and severe storms were likely to form there. NOAA had not planned replacement of the satellite for another two years, but would move the satellite covering the western half of the country and the Pacific eastward as a stopgap measure during the hurricane season. It would station the operational satellite midway over the continental United States, leaving Hawaii, Alaska, and the western Pacific uncovered to the west, and half the Atlantic uncovered to the east.
The $100 million satellite, like its four predecessors, failed prematurely. It was intended to operate for five years but lasted only three. In testimony before a Senate subcommittee, NOAA's John McElroy said that government experts and the system contractor, Hughes Aerospace, had calculated that the satellite expected a five-year lifetime, but that had proved optimistic, chiefly because one mechanical system, and in particular one specially made light bulb, kept having problems. Another official at NOAA said that the failure of the custom-made light bulb, which caused five of the six U.S. weather satellites to go blind prematurely, would cost Hughes millions of dollars in penalties. Because Hughes's contract was linked to performance, it stood to lose as much as $3 million for the recent failure plus losses for earlier failures. (W Post, July 31/84, A-1, Aug 3/84, A-3; W Times, Aug 3/84, 4A)
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