An Earth-observing satellite called DSCOVR has been stuck in safe mode for three months, and its operators finally have a plan to reboot it — but not for another few months.
DSCOVR, which is short for the Deep Space Climate Observatory, fell silent on June 27 because of a glitch in its position-maintenance system that prompted mission managers to put the spacecraft into a "safehold." The spacecraft was launched by NASA and is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA, NASA and an unnamed company have figured out a potential fix that looks promising, but they won't implement it until early next year, according to a report by SpaceNews (opens in new tab). That fix targets the spacecraft's software, but the agencies have not provided any additional information on the issue or why the fix is proceeding so slowly.
Related: The DSCOVR Mission in Photos (opens in new tab)
More: Gorgeous NASA Photo Captures Earth from 1 Million Miles Away (opens in new tab)
DSCOVR is perched in a "parking spot" orbit at a Lagrange point between Earth and sun that furnishes the satellite a steady view of our home planet. That gives DSCOVR's most famous instrument, a color camera, an incredible view of the entire sunlit disk of Earth.
But DSCOVR's primary mission is to monitor space weather, the atmospheric dynamics caused by the solar wind streaming off the sun. Scientists want to better understand space weather because it can interfere with communications and navigation satellites. Strong enough events can even disrupt the power grid on the surface of Earth.
The spacecraft launched in February 2015 with a planned mission lifetime of five years. According to SpaceNews, DSCOVR has slipped into safeholds on previous occasions, but only for hours at a time.
- DSCOVR: The Deep Space Climate Observatory Mission in Photos (opens in new tab)
- 'EPIC' Solar Eclipse View Captured from 1 Million Miles Away (Video) (opens in new tab)
- Photobomb! Satellite Catches Moon Crossing Earth's Face (Video) (opens in new tab)
Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
