Science: Patience Pays

When an oscillator aboard the $50 million NOAA-8 weather satellite turned balky last June, the craft began tumbling out of control in its polar orbit. Without power, its systems shut down. All seemed lost, but a determined band of controllers from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), NASA and RCA refused to give up. Over the next ten months and on hundreds of occasions, they beamed radio signals at the errant craft, trying to revive it.

The odds they faced were formidable. The signals could reactivate the tumbling satellite only when its solar panels faced the sun, which provides the power need- ed to run the craft’s transmitter, and when the oscillator could be turned on long enough for it to stabilize. This un- likely confluence actually occurred in late April. After the controllers reprogrammed NOAA-8’s computer, they reoriented the satellite and restored its power. Last week the rescue team was testing the craft’s onboard systems in preparation for returning it to full service in July. Said Controller Gilbert Phelps: “It was simply a matter of keeping at it.”