Category: Operational news

After 2 months of smooth operation on the Long Repeat Orbit (LRO) the Jason-2 spacecraft entered safe hold mode yesterday (Thursday, September 14th) at 07:13:04 UTC.

After 2 months of smooth operation on the Long Repeat Orbit (LRO) the Jason-2 spacecraft entered safe hold mode yesterday (Thursday, September 14^th) at 07:13:04 UTC, immediately interrupting its measurements. The OPS team at NOAA and CNES applied immediately necessary procedures and the satellite is currently in a safe and stable Sun-pointing configuration. First investigations show that Gyrometer 1 was blocked, triggering the reconfiguration to SHM. The gyros temperature increase during period where Beta angle is high remains a concern.  All other equipments were OK at the time of the reconfiguration.
The 4 partners operational teams are working closely to support current and future operations. The mission will resume as soon as technically possible. T. Guinle & C. Marechal, CNES