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from the it-was-obstructing-my-view-of-Venus dept.
Intelsat 29e (IS29e) has failed irrecoverably and is now drifting out of control in Geosynchronous orbit.
The satellite experienced damage on April 7th which caused a propellant leak. This resulted in disruption of service for "maritime, aeronautical and wireless operator customers in the Latin America, Caribbean and North Atlantic regions." While they worked to recover the satellite, a second anomoly occurred, at which point all further efforts to recover the satellite failed.
Luxembourg-based Intelsat has declared its IS-29E a total loss, [this] “means it will continue to drift uncontrolled along its current orbit in GEO,” explains T.S. Kelso, the operator of CelesTrak, a leading source for orbital element sets and related software to keep an eye on satellites and orbital debris.
[...] [T.S.]Kelso tweeted back on April 16th that the current situation with IS-29E “continues to be quite troubling,” with the troubled satellite spiraling around IS-11 & IS-32E. Additionally there are reports of 13 pieces of associated debris, he reported.
IS29e is now drifting around geosynchronous orbit at about 1.2 degrees of longitude per day. This means that it will make a complete circuit of the globe in about 10 months. The other 500 functioning satellites in Geosynchronous orbit will need to keep watch on yet another object and steer clear of it.
An earlier tweet on April 11th by Kelso sheds light on the second anomaly:
Kelso said: “Watched nervously” this morning as IS-29E and NASA’s Tracking Data Relay Satellite 3 “had what we consider a ‘nightmare scenario’ in GEO — a high-speed encounter — (~1 km/s). Let’s wish Intelsat luck on getting IS-29E back under control.”
TDRS 3 was retired in December 2011 and no longer used, it was placed in 'storage' in its current orbit. Presumably lacking sufficient propellant to boost to a graveyard orbit, or with an eye towards making use of it in the future.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Coward, Anonymous on Monday April 22 2019, @05:49AM (5 children)
What if Intelsat 29e knocks out satellites from other companies or countries? Under the Space Liability Convention [thespacereview.com] it seems like the US is liable for damages, because Intelsat is a US company. Would the US seek to recover damages from Intelsat?
(Score: 2, Informative) by RandomFactor on Monday April 22 2019, @12:59PM (3 children)
I did the math on that drift. The difference in that rate of drift and normal Geosynchronous orbit velocity was only a few meters per second (assuming same general direction.)
Not huge, but not small either. Enough that a good hit might damage or take out another satellite or at least mess up its positioning, but not enough I would expect significant debris from an impact.
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Monday April 22 2019, @09:27PM (2 children)
Can you go ahead and do the math to determine the altitude difference between the Intelsat and GEO, based on the 1.2 degree per day drift? Here's the TLE for your reference. Thanks.
NORAD Two-Line Element Set Format [celestrak.com] for more reference.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 1) by RandomFactor on Monday April 22 2019, @10:30PM (1 child)
IS29e was described as "spiraling around" some of the other satellites in GEO so it is going to vary. Also I don't have an orbital mechanics toolset installed anyway.
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 3, Informative) by deimtee on Tuesday April 23 2019, @07:07AM
"Spiraling round" - Orbits don't spiral unless there is either thrust or drag.
I would guess that they meant it is circling other satellites, which would happen if it still had roughly the same period, but a more eliptical orbit, possibly inclined as well.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Monday April 22 2019, @02:24PM
Almost certainly, unless the government deems them "too big to fail". Of course, if the damage is for several satellites that need to be replaced Intelsat would simply declare bankrupcy, unless they were insured for this kind of thing.
This is why the Space Liability Convention was written the way it was. It doesn't let governments off the hook by saying "oops, that's a corporation in my borders, not my problem." How they handle it internally is the purview of their own legal system.
Now, to be fair, SLC was written in the 60's a time when you basically had to have the backing of a nation to launch something into orbit. Now that multi-national corporations have space launch capability things are even more complicated, but the theory stands.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh