Weather Satellite Lost, Agency Says
WASHINGTON — The NOAA-8 polar-orbiting satellite has apparently been lost, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday.
The satellite, used for weather observation and search and rescue operations, has been tumbling out of control since Dec. 30, officials said. Problems have plagued the satellite periodically since it was launched in 1983.
The loss will not affect the gathering of weather information, officials said, because the sister NOAA-6 and NOAA-9 satellites are also being used in polar orbit. Satellite weather maps are provided by stationary-orbit satellites. The cause of the satellite’s problems was not immediately known.
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