Probably to recover the frequency for a newer satellite. The spectrum they transmit on is quite scarce.

How locked down are they? Should I expect to see a hacker conference talk "how i revived a weather satellite"?

Maybe once they're turned off they're irrecoverable?

	▲	sephamorr 5 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		There have been numerous issues in the past with 'dead' satellites waking back up and activating transmitters again, generally making a mess of the spectrum. Some satellites have pyro-fuses on the power lines from the solar arrays that are fired during passivation to make absolutely sure that the sat doesn't ever recharge and wakeup.
	▲	rajer 5 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		It's not impossible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT2i7mFpFxM

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747fulloftapes 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I agree they may want to reuse the spectrum, but I doubt it would be for a new satellite. At least not the stuff in the lower VHF band, around 137 MHz which is awfully close to the airband reservation used for VDL Mode 2 - around 135-137 MHz, IIRC. VDLM2 is in many ways a more modern ACARS.

They'd more likely use higher bands on newer satellites to get more throughput. The GOES birds transmit up around 1.7GHz, afaik and likely higher as well.

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immibis 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You have to have an antenna pointing at the satellite though. That's an additional layer of selectivity.

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egorfine 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Makes total sense, thank you