Intelsat is having trouble controlling its Galaxy XV satellite and has notified the FAA that it will stop broadcasting Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) signals in the next few weeks, according to a report at EAA.org. The Intelsat Galaxy XV is one of the geostationary satellites (GEO) that broadcasts the WAAS signal in space. For WAAS users, there is no immediate impact to service; but over the next few weeks, the Intelsat GEO will drift out of its current orbit position, ultimately requiring the GEO broadcast to be discontinued, which may led to temporary service outages.
The EAA report notes:
“A replacement satellite is scheduled to launch into orbit later this year; however the FAA is looking for other options to limit the impact of the WAAS outage.”
How about restoring Loran? The cost of maintaining the entire Loran system is less than the cost of one satellite.
Now that the Loran system (which was paid for, ground based, very accurate) is shut down we have this system which cost millions to setup and maintain, whose reliability is determined by forces we have no control over, and we are told this is the best system for the task. If the GPS system is 4 birds behind in the 5 year life span of each bird, then is this also the best bang for the taxpayers buck?