Noaa N Prime Satellite Toppled
The causes of the noaa n prime mishap are summarized below.
Noaa n prime satellite toppled. Monday october 4 2004. On september 6 2003 the national oceanic and atmospheric administration noaa n prime satellite fell to the lockheed martin space systems company factory floor in sunnyvale calif. After the safety issues are addressed attention will focus on assessing the damage to noaa n prime. The spacecraft suffered signific.
Noaa n prime is the fifth and last in the current series of five polar orbiting satellites with improved imaging and sounding capabilities. The nasa mishap board investigating damage to the noaa n prime satellite has released its final report. The nasa mishap board investigating damage to the noaa n prime satellite. Noaa n prime is the last in the tiros series of noaa satellites that observe earth s weather and the environment these satellites have served the nation well since april 1 1960 when the world s first weather satellite was launched by nasa in 1978 tiros n.
Fortunately since noaa n prime was the last in the series there were backup instruments and components available so the contractor required only a few new components to fill in gaps said nasa s wayne mcintyre program manager for the polar orbiting environmental satellite during a briefing on jan. Cradle writes on september 6th the 239 million dollar noaa n prime satellite toppled over and crashed to the floor of lockheed martin space systems factory in sunnyvale ca as it was being repositioned to replace an instrument. Noaa n prime satellite mishap investigation report released. February 6 2009 aboard a delta ii flying in the 7320 configuration from vandenberg air force base.
Today nasa released their report on the cause of the accident. The noaa n prime satellite fell because the lmssc operations team failed to follow procedures to properly configure the. The satellite was successfully launched at about 2 22 a m. Noaa n prime is under guard all records have been impounded and the personnel interviewed.