Sun interference(sun outage) in autumn 2015

The sun passes behind a satellite as seen from its ground station once a day during the equinox season. When this happens, radiation from the sun can cause loss or degradation of communications between the satellite and the ground station. This phenomenon is referred to as sun outage, and can adversely affect or interrupt transmission.

The following observations will be affected by sun outage (as of 29 September, 2015):

  1. Observations cancelled:
    N02 : 6-11 October 2015
  2. Possible line errors/halting:
    N02 : 4-5 October 2015, 12-13 October 2015

Equinox operation in autumn 2015

Likewise, the sun and the earth occasionally lie in an approximate line with a satellite during the equinox season. When this happens, solar light entering the satellite's imager-sensor can adversely affect the sensor's calibration quality and cause deterioration of image data.

The expected observation periods and areas of images affected by solar light are as follows:

  • (1) Observations cancelled due to solar light on the imager(shown with "X (red box)" in the table below).
    N14 : 22 August - 6 September 2015
    F15 : 21 August - 6 September 2015

  • (2) Other than the observations above, parts of some images at F14, N14, F15 and N15 from August 17 until October 23, 2015 may be affected by partial degradation due to solar light image (shown with "XXXXX (grey box)" in the table below).


Updated: 6 August 2015
Observation N13 F14 N14 F15 N15 F16
UTC 13:00-13:14 13:30-13:58 14:00-14:14 14:30-14:58 15:00-15:14 15:30-15:58
16 Aug. O O O O O O
17 Aug. O O O FNE09 O O
18 Aug. O O O FNE09 O O
19 Aug. O O HNW01 FNE09 O O
20 Aug. O O HNW01 FNE09 O O
21 Aug. O O HNW01 X O O
22 Aug. O O X X O O
23 Aug. O O X X O O
24 Aug. O O X X O O
25 Aug. O O X X O O
26 Aug. O O X X O O
27 Aug. O O X X O O
28 Aug. O O X X O O
29 Aug. O O X X O O
30 Aug. O O X X O O
31 Aug. O O X X O O
1 Sep. O FNW01 X X O O
2 Sep. O FNW01 X X O O
3 Sep. O FNW01 X X O O
4 Sep. O FNW01 X X HNE02 O
5 Sep. O FNW01 X X HNE02 O
6 Sep. O FNW01 X X HNE02 O
7 Sep. O FNW01 O FCE14 HNE02 O
8 Sep. O FNW01 O FCE14 HNE02 O
9 Sep. O FNW01 O O HNE02 O
10 Sep. O FNW01 O O HNE02 O
11 Sep. O FNW02 O O HNE02 O
12 Sep. O FNW02 O O HNE02 O
13 Sep. O FNW02 O O O O
14 Sep. O FNW02 O O O O
15 Sep. O FNW02 O FCE14 O O
16 Sep. O FNW02 O FCE14 O O
17 Sep. O FNW02 O FCE14 O O
18 Sep. O FNW01 O FCE14 O O
19 Sep. O FNW01 O FCE14 O O
20 Sep. O FNW01 O FCE14 O O
21 Sep. O FNW01 O FCE14 O O
22 Sep. O FNW01 O FSE11 O O
23 Sep. O FNW01 O FSE11 O O
24 Sep. O O O FSE11 O O
25 Sep. O O O FSE11 O O
26 Sep. O O O FSE11 O O
27 Sep. O O O FSE11 O O
28 Sep. O O O FSE10 O O
29 Sep. O O O FSE10 O O
30 Sep. O O O FSE10 O O
1 Oct. O O O FSE10 O O
2 Oct. O O O FSE10 O O
3 Oct. O O O FSE11 O O
4 Oct. O O O FSE11 O O
5 Oct. O O O FSE11 O O
6 Oct. O O O FSE11 O O
7 Oct. O O O FSE11 O O
8 Oct. O O O FSE11 O O
9 Oct. O O O FSE11 O O
10 Oct. O O O FSE11 O O
11 Oct. O O O FSE11 O O
12 Oct. O FSW06 O FSE11 O O
13 Oct. O FSW06 O O O O
14 Oct. O FSW06 O O O O
15 Oct. O FSW06 O O O O
16 Oct. O FSW07 O O O O
17 Oct. O FSW07 O O O O
18 Oct. O FSW07 O O O O
19 Oct. O FSW07 O O O O
20 Oct. O FSW07 O O O O
21 Oct. O FSW07 O O O O
22 Oct. O FSW07 O O O O
23 Oct. O FSW07 O O O O
24 Oct. O O O O O O
UTC 13:00-13:14 13:30-13:58 14:00-14:14 14:30-14:58 15:00-15:14 15:30-15:58
Observation N13 F14 N14 F15 N15 F16

Influence area of solar light


 Full-disk
Full-disk
Hemisphere-disk
FNW01 solar light fig FSC08 solar light fig HNW01 solar light fig
FNW02 solar light fig FNE09 solar light fig HNE02 solar light fig
FCW03 solar light fig FSE10 solar light fig HNE03 solar light fig
FSW04 solar light fig FSE11 solar light fig

FSW05 solar light fig FSE12 solar light fig

FSW06 solar light fig FSE13 solar light fig

FSW07 solar light fig FCE14 solar light fig

Note
solar light fig
  • F : Full-disk observation
  • H : Hemisphere-disk observation
  • S : South side area
  • N : North side area
  • E : East side area
  • W : West side area
  • C : Center area
  • Number : fig Number

Reference