Flood Wreaks Havoc On NASA Spacecraft

A water pipe broke at the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Joint Science Operations Center (JSOC) located at Stanford University and has completely crippled the flow of data from two NASA spacecraft. Namely these are the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft and also the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft. Remarkably, these scientific outputs have been highly — truly highly impacted by what is likely the most Earth-terrestrial of all mishaps: a grounded water pipe.

It occurred on 26 November when a 4-inch cooling water pipe burst, and flooded a server room at JSOC with full-on pretty disastrous damage to critical equipment. NASA’s update on the situation confirmed that “science data processing” is halted indefinitely going forward, with some hopes of repairs and recovery extended into 2025.

However, there’s some good news: the data capture systems aboard both spacecraft remain functional, ensuring no data will be lost during the interruption. The damage primarily affects the ground-based processing infrastructure, which transforms raw data into usable scientific insights.

The IRIS spacecraft, launched in 2013, is equipped with a high-frame-rate UV imaging spectrometer that studies plasma flow from the Sun’s surface to its corona, providing insights into solar dynamics. Meanwhile, the SDO, launched in 2010, investigates solar activity and its effects on space weather, including the charged particle streams that affect Earth’s magnetosphere. Both missions play critical roles in advancing our understanding of solar phenomena.

The JSOC team is currently assessing the extent of the damage, but the recovery timeline is unclear. While the delay will hinder the analysis of incoming data, the spacecraft continue to beam invaluable observations back to Earth. As catastrophic as the event is for NASA’s operations, repairing a server room is undoubtedly more manageable than fixing damaged spacecraft thousands of miles away.