Update #2 : The local contractor determined the cause of the previous intermittent azimuth antenna problems were due to extremely low temperature weather conditions. The vendor is attempting to secure additional heaters for the area. Alaska 4 returned to normal operations on December 5, 2021 0703Z.

Update #1:  The local contractor is scheduled to be on site Monday, December 6 to investigate this intermittent issue.

Topic:  SARSAT Alaska 4 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Ground Station Offline

Date/Time Issued:  December 6, 2021 2145Z

Product(s) or Data Impacted:  SARSAT alert data

Date/Time of Initial Impact:      December 3, 2021 0727Z

Date/Time of Expected End:  December 5, 2021 0703Z

Length of Outage:  1 day, 23 hours 36 minutes

Details/Specifics of Change:  The Alaska 4 (AK4) LEO Ground Station located in Fairbanks, AK  has missed two consecutive passes. The maintenance vendor has reported an intermittent azimuth antenna issue.

Impact: Minor-Dual satellite tracking capability lost. Distress alert detection/reporting may be delayed.

Contact Information for Further Information: USMCC Operations usmcc@noaa.gov at 
301-817-4576

Web Site(s) for applicable information: N/A