NASA Loses Command Of IBEX Spacecraft

NASA's has lost "command capability" of their Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) spacecraft following a flight computer reset during a scheduled contact.

The IBEX spacecraft entered a contingency mode on February 18th. The IBEX team has experienced flight computer resets in the past, but this reset caused a loss of command capability during the subsequent recovery. Despite multiple attempts to regain command capability by resetting ground system hardware and software, the team has been unsuccessful.

The spacecrafts flight software continues to run and is stable, but the spacecraft is not processing any commands, despite receiving uplink signals. If the IBEX team fails to restore command capability, the spacecraft will perform an autonomous reset and power cycle on March 4th.

While the spacecraft systems remain functional, the loss of command capability could impact the IBEX's ability to perform its mission. NASA is working tirelessly to find a solution to this issue and will provide additional information on the status of the IBEX spacecraft after the reset on March 4th if no solution is found earlier.

The Mission

The IBEX Spacecraft launch on October 19, 2008 aboard a Pegasus XL rocket that was released from the Stargazer plane which took off from a United States Army airfield located on Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands.

IBEX was designed to study the boundaries of the Solar System and the interaction between the solar wind and interstellar medium and has since made many groundbreaking discoveries about the boundaries of our Solar System.