Landsat 5 in trouble

On November 26th, Landsat 5 began experiencing problems with its back-up solar array drive, which maintains the proper pointing angle between the array and the sun to charge the batteries. The primary solar array failed last January, so this is pretty serious. Imaging operations have been suspended at least for the next 2 weeks. Landsat 5 was launched in 1984, and was originally designed with a 3-year lifespan, so it has already performed well beyond expectations, capturing over 125,000 images of the Earth’s surface. The loss of Landsat 5 would certainly be a blow to the Landsat program, and those who use its imagery in their research and work.

Via USGS News release and Dr. Tim Warner

Landsat Program website