GOES-15 Navigation Anomalies
GOES-15 0.62 µm visible imagery, times as indicated on 3 May 2015 (click to enlarge)
A GOES-15 (GOES-West) Star Tracker failed on 23 April 2015 at 2032 UTC. This leaves just one working Star Tracker; consequently image navigation has degraded. The image above shows three successive visible images centered near Crater Lake, OR, on 3 May 2015. The navigation shifts over time. An animation of 3.9 µm imagery, below, also from May 3rd (available here as an mp4), shows image navigation shifts throughout the day. A two-day animation of visible imagery centered on the Washington coast near Hoquiam (bottom, available here as an mp4) also shows the navigation anomalies that can be as much as 8 km in the infrared. Users who require precise animation in their GOES-15 imagery should be alert to this issue. NOAA/NESDIS, NASA and factory engineers are investigating possible fixes; GOES-15 status updates will appear here.
GOES-15 3.9 µm infrared imagery, 1400-2200 UTC on 3 May 2015 (click to enlarge)
GOES-15 0.62 µm infrared imagery, 1400-2200 UTC on 1 and 2 May 2015 (click to enlarge)