From Wikipedia: Loss of contact with STEREO B On October 1, 2014, contact was lost with STEREO-B during a planned reset to test the craft's automation, in anticipation of the aforementioned solar "conjunction" period. The team originally thought the spacecraft had begun to spin, decreasing the amount of power that could be generated by the solar panels.[3] NASA used its Deep Space Network, first weekly and later monthly, to try to re-establish communications.[3] After a silence of 22 months, contact was regained at 22:27 UTC on August 21, 2016, when the Deep Space Network established a lock on STEREO-B for 2.4 hours.[4][5][6] Later analysis of the received telemetry concluded that the spacecraft was in an uncontrolled spin of about three degrees per second; this is too rapid to be immediately corrected using its reaction wheels, which would become oversaturated.[5] Engineers will work to develop software to fix the spacecraft, but once its computer is powered on there will only be about two minutes to upload the fix before STEREO-B enters failure mode again.[7] Further, while the spacecraft was power positive at the time of contact, its orientation will drift and power levels will fall.[5] As of 11 October 2016, recovery attempts have been reduced until the spacecraft returns to a favorable orbit. Six attempts at communication between September 27 and October 9 failed, and a carrier wave has not been detected since September 23.
I'm just grateful it's sending out enough HEAT so the East Coast Big Freeze does not get any worse for those folks ! The Cycle will take care of itself G3SEA/KH6
Thank you for your report, you make it fun to listen to, even though I have to admit a lot of this is over my head. With your explanations it is easier to understand. Thank you for your servive,
Thanks for the explanation. I couldn't find any good videos on youtube explaining this in any detail.
