http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=17315
DSCS-III shutdown new experience for 3rd SOPS
SCHRIEVER AFB, Colo. -- In space, no one can hear you turn off a satellite.
The 3rd Space Operations Squadron satellite operators and engineers here
"turned off the lights" on Defense Satellite Communications System
Satellite A-2, the first satellite of its kind to be completely deactivated.
Space systems operators boosted the satellite out of geosynchronous
orbit when its fuel tanks were almost empty.
Once boosted to super-synchronous orbits, satellites may be used as test
platforms for software upgrades or shut down. For Satellite A-2,
shutdown was the only option, said Lt. Col. Keith Hinson, 3rd SOPS
commander.
DSCS engineers prepared by running simulations and verifying commands
that would be sent to the satellite. However, some variables differed
between the simulator and the real thing.
Each satellite handles a bit differently, said Colonel Hinson. "No two
satellites are the same. You can't just plug it into a diagnostic and
say, 'This is how we expect it to work.'"
The shutdown process started at about 4 a.m. as operators depleted the
satellite's residual fuel. Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo.,
worked with 3rd SOPS to get a final orbit projection. Engineers also
collaborated with the 22nd SOPS to get Air Force Satellite Control
Network range time for the shutdown.
The process hit a snag around 8:45 a.m. Engineers attempted to force the
satellite into an inert survival mode, however, the system aboard the
satellite that normally triggers survival mode failed to activate. The
team took the setback in stride and searched for a possible error in
their process while they waited for the backup failsafe to kick in.
"It's a dead satellite, but we'd like it to be perfect," said Colonel
Hinson. The backup kicked in 80 minutes later, completing the
satellite's shutdown.
"The satellite's in a completely safe configuration," said Captain
Becker, DSCS engineering chief. "All in all, it was a complete success."
Before its shutdown, A-2 functioned as part of the DSCS constellation
for 16 years -- six years beyond its design life. Aging satellites are
no longer useful once they run out of fuel to keep them pointed at the
earth's surface, said Colonel Hinson. However, upgrades in software
control systems and new techniques for maneuvering satellites have
allowed them to conserve fuel and live longer.
"These guys are incredible," he said. "There's no one else who can do this."
The engineers and operators will have plenty of opportunity to do it
again in the future. More satellite shutdowns scheduled in the months to
come. As the military moves toward a new generation of communications
systems, other DSCS-III satellites will come to rest alongside Satellite
A-2 in the silence of space.
--
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