[8-28-07 – Satellite News Today] A series of power system problems has led the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to officially shut down Aug. 10 its longest serving polar-orbiting satellite, NOAA-12, the agency announced.

NOAA operates two polar-orbiting environmental satellites, which monitor changes in the atmosphere and ocean temperatures. NOAA-12 was a third-generation spacecraft placed into orbit in May 1991 that offered users higher resolution data and images than previous generations of the satellites,  NOAA said.

NOAA-12 was replaced operationally by NOAA-15 in December 1998, but NOAA-12 was reconfigured to send data directly to users as it passed over receiving stations, extending the life of the spacecraft.