Hi, I was looking at some information from the 2005 Edition of the ARRL handbook, which referred to AO-40 in some detail... but of course, AO-40 is non-functional at present. The information I was able to gather from web sources imply there is a "chance" the primary battery may become open-circuit, and the secondary battery might become operational if the panels are still charging.
Q: Was there any watchdog facility onboard the AO-40 that operated directly off the charging bus prior to the battery ? If so, what was the capability of the watchdog facility ?
Q: Is the bird still in orbit, or has it decayed or is decaying ?
Q: Under normal lifespan, what was the intention of the designers when time came to have it shutdown ? Where there any deorbit plans ?
Q: If the AO-40 satellite is still up there, is anyone listening ?
Samudra, N3RDX