Amazing that 27 years after a planned 3 year mission, Landsat 5 is finally running into some technical issues and is no longer acquiring imagery according to the USGS. This from the USGS… Landsat 5 was launched in 1984 and designed to last 3 years. The USGS assumed operation of Landsat 5 in 2001 and managed to bring the aging satellite back from the brink of total failure on several occasions following the malfunction of key subsystems. There is now an increasing likelihood that the Landsat 5 mission is nearing its end.
Instead of continuing to operate until the amplifier fails completely, which could bring the mission to an end, USGS engineers have suspended imaging activities for an initial period of 90 days in order to explore every possible option for restoring satellite-to-ground image transmissions. FYI, Landsat 8 is scheduled to be launched into orbit in 2013.
PErhaps my all-time favorite Landsat 5 image shared by the USGS – The Selenge River Delta
Sensor: L5 TM – Path/Row: 132/24 – Lat/Long: 51.700/107.000 – Date Posted: 07/05/2011
See more details in the official announcement – USGS has stopped acquiring images from the 27-year-old Landsat 5