Amateur astronomer and electrical technologist Scott Tilley detected an unexpected signal on January 20, 2018, while scanning radio frequencies from his home in British Columbia, eventually tracing it to spacecraft 26113, the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration, better known as IMAGE. Contact with the satellite was lost on December 18, 2005, and attempts to recover it ultimately failed, before the 2018 detection.
How an Amateur Astronomer Tracked Down Satellite 26113
While searching for transmissions linked to a different spacecraft, Scott Tilley’s gear picked up a signal originating from another orbital path. By comparing the signal’s Doppler characteristics with orbital information in a satellite catalog, Tilley traced it to spacecraft 26113, the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration, better known as IMAGE.
After finding references describing the IMAGE mission in the past tense and learning about its earlier failure, Tilley published his observations and began trying to reach people connected with the mission. On January 23, he contacted James Burch, IMAGE’s principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute. Following Burch’s reply, the details were forwarded to other former mission team members, leading space agency staff to investigate whether the transmission truly originated from IMAGE and if contact could be made.
NASA Confirms the Return of the IMAGE Spacecraft
NASA confirmed on January 30, 2018, that the object Tilley had detected was indeed IMAGE. The confirmation came after multiple observations of the radio signal matched characteristics expected from the spacecraft, and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory successfully collected telemetry, including information identifying the spacecraft as IMAGE.
Did you know? IMAGE had originally launched on March 25, 2000, aboard of Delta 277 to study Earth’s magnetosphere, the region shaped by the planet’s magnetic field.
The system was able to read initial operational metrics, showing that components of the primary control architecture were functioning. Preliminary evaluations also pointed to a charged battery on the satellite, which appeared to be well-preserved. However, engineers faced the separate problem of recreating or adapting software and command systems that had not been used since the mission ended.
Why Full Operations Could Not Be Restored
NASA’s recovery effort continued through 2018, but communication was unstable. IMAGE’s signal weakened and disappeared in February, returned strongly in May, and then became intermittent again.
Engineers could not reliably restore full communication or resume normal spacecraft operations because attempts to send commands were only partly successful, and NASA said the reason for those changes was not known. Ultimately, despite ongoing attempts by specialists to lock onto and converse with the probe, IMAGE drifted back into the silent condition observed earlier in 2018; nevertheless, that January discovery proved something that seemed out of the question when signals ceased in 2005: the satellite had neither vanished from its path nor gone completely dead.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was NASA’s IMAGE spacecraft originally launched?
The mission initially lifted off on March 25, 2000, with the objective of examining Earth’s magnetosphere and the magnetic field surrounding our planet.
When was contact lost with IMAGE?
Contact with the satellite was lost on December 18, 2005, and attempts to recover it ultimately failed.
Who discovered the signal from the lost satellite?
Working from his residence in British Columbia, amateur astronomer and electrical technologist Scott Tilley detected a surprise radio transmission while monitoring various frequencies.
Explore More: Want to stay updated on space exploration milestones and satellite recoveries? Subscribe to our newsletter or leave a comment below to share your thoughts on this remarkable amateur astronomy discovery.
Keep reading