The NOAA-16 satellite broke up in November 2015 and NOAA-17 broke up in March 2021.
The 2-ton NOAA-17 satellite broke up last month, sending dangerous debris along its orbit.
Lockheed Martin built the DMSP satellites with the battery design flaw as well as NOAA-15 and NOAA-17.
NOAA assessed that, at the time of its 2021-03-19 notification, the debris from NOAA-17 posed little threat to the International Space Station or to other critical space assets.
NOAA-17 was designed to operate for three years but served in a primary or backup role for nearly 11 years until NOAA decommissioned it in April 2013.
NOAA-17 was operating in a sun-synchronous orbit that is used by other weather and Earth observation spacecraft.
NOAA-17 was originally designated NOAA-M and launched in June 2002.
When NOAA decommissioned NOAA-17 in 2013, NOAA performed a deactivation process that included disconnecting the spacecraft batteries, opening thruster valves, and turning off its transmitters.