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DirecTV Races to Decommission Broken Boeing Satellite Before it Explodes

posted by martyb on Saturday January 25 2020, @09:18AM   Printer-friendly
from the just-need-to-borrow-Marvin's-Illudium-Q-36-Explosive-Space-Modulator dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/directv-races-to-decommission-broken-boeing-satellite-before-it-explodes/:

DirecTV is scrambling to move a broken Boeing satellite out of its standard orbit in order to limit the risk of "an accidental explosion."

As Space News reported today, DirecTV asked the Federal Communications Commission[(pdf] for a rules waiver so it can "conduct emergency operations to de-orbit the Spaceway-1 satellite," which is at risk of explosion because of damage to batteries. The 15-year-old Boeing 702HP satellite is in a geostationary orbit.

DirecTV, which is owned by AT&T, is coordinating with Intelsat on a plan to move Spaceway-1 into a new orbit. DirecTV already disabled the satellite's primary function, which is to provide backup Ka-band capacity in Alaska. The satellite can operate on power reserves from its solar panels, but that won't be possible during the coming eclipse season

[...] DirecTV described its plan as "de-orbiting" and moving the satellite into a "disposal orbit," which would suggest bringing it closer to Earth and letting it burn up in the atmosphere. But the filing also says the new orbit will be "300km above the geostationary arc," which would make it a graveyard orbit. Assuming that's the case, Spaceway-1 would remain indefinitely in an orbit that's well above other geostationary satellites. We've asked AT&T for clarification on this point.

Also at: https://www.digitaltrends.com/news/directv-satellite-could-explode-in-space/

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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @10:01AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @10:01AM (#948429)

    Boeing 702HP satellite

    This is the 702HP MAX.

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  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @10:26AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @10:26AM (#948433)

    > This is the 702HP MAX.

    No no, the MAX will autonomously de-orbit without warning.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @02:23PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @02:23PM (#948467)
      No, autonomous de-orbiting is too clean. More likely it would hit other satellites as it explodes and create a field of space debris that would help cause Kessler syndrome [wikipedia.org].