scope:

Description of Driving Event:

During the launch of the NOAA-K weather satellite there was an anomalous deployment of the Very High Frequency Real Time Antenna (VRA) and an incomplete deployment of the -Y Deployable Sunshade.

The VRA is a two-stage deployment. Phase 1 deploys 76 degrees followed by the Phase 2, which deploys through an angle of 166 degrees. The Phase 1 slowly deployed to only approximately 58 degrees instead of its planned 76 degrees. The Phase 2 deployed its full 166 degrees. This left the VRA mispointed by approximately 18 degrees. However, this mispointing does not affect data recovery via the VRA.

The telemetry indicated the -Y sunshade had not fully deployed. The incomplete sunshade deployment could not by correlated to other indirect observables, since the -Y deployable sunshade is not required for thermal control in the AM orbit.