© BoeingAn artist's concept of a Boeing-built Intelsat EpicNG satellite
According to an official update, an "anomaly" caused the satellite — dubbed IS-33e — to be destroyed, resulting in what the company calls a "total loss."
"Migration and service restoration plans are well underway across the Intelsat fleet and third-party satellites," the update reads.
It's unclear what exactly caused the satellite to break up. The US Space Force announced it was "tracking around 20 associated pieces" but "observed no immediate threats."
US-based space tracking company ExoAnalytic Solutions told SpaceNews that it's tracking 57 associated pieces of debris.
While we have yet to find out the exact cause for the breakup, the incident serves as a reminder of the often limited life of satellites, as well as the ever-present threat of existing space debris colliding with our assets in orbit — a precarious situation that could potentially lead to a disaster.
Shelf Life
The satellite, which weighed 14,600 pounds and was roughly the size of a minivan, was designed and manufactured by Boeing Space Systems and launched in 2016. It provided broadband services, including internet and phone communication services, to parts of Europe, Africa, and most of Asia.
IS-33e was the second satellite to be launched as part of Boeing's "next generation" EpicNG platform. The first, dubbed IS-29e, failed due to a propulsion system fuel leak. Intelsat declared the satellite a total loss in April 2019, later attributing it to either a micrometeoroid strike or solar weather activity.
What caused IS-33e to break up in orbit remains unclear, however. Intesalt officials did observe that it was using far more fuel than it should be to maintain its orbit shortly after launching eight years ago, shaving off 3.5 years of its 15-year lifetime.
Reader Comments
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Interesting that the satellite covered all of the most geopolitically active spots on Earth [Link]
It was sitting over the Indian Ocean.
I am not yet decided on the requirement for a medium of transmission, but I am still reading.
Better ideas beckon.
Odesa cries out in abondon
will somebody come to save me
she wonders....
and then the satellites fly overhead
uncaring
~
BK, Poem of the Day, 102324 1654
Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights
Jesus Christ imagine what it must be earning
Who is the strongest — Who is the best
Who holds the aces: The East Or the West
This is the crap our children are learning
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OK are you ready?
Moreover - ponadto
Whereevermore - Whereevermore
However - Jednakże
Curse - Przekleństwo
Ken
Whereevermore - Gdzie coraz więcej
Maybe you can write some example sentence, where „whereevermore” is used?
Cause if not, it might get take over after the **kraine becomes part of the homeland needless - but one thing leads to another just like: So do you get it now pal?
Tis unwise to poke the bear - and really Poland ought know better.
So truly - you Poles getting a clue - don't mess with Russia...
duh...
as for the stupid fools in the country I reside - this country is fixing to break apart forevermore - na zawsze - know what I mean pal?
I'm so sick of the entitled privileged fools where I reside - I disavow them.
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Nothing is forgotten and Nobody is forgotten
pal.
ps - have a hug - I hope Poland gets a fucking clue.
I know my country is likely to split up soon no doubt - so that is that.
— Sweden (together with Russia) devastated Poland in the 17th century. Sweden was once a European power. What is Sweden today? An unimportant immigrant camp
At the end of the 18th century, Poland was plundered by three invaders: Russia, Prussia and Austria:
— 120 years later, Russia was devastated by the Bolsheviks and seized by their Jew gang
— so 120 years later, what remains of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is today some funny core
— 150 years later, Prussia ceased to exist AT ALL (at last!)
Then Poland was a colony of the Soviet Union. Guess what? The Soviet Union no longer exists.
Currently Poland has been colonized again (mainly) by Germany acting as so-called European Union.
It's a matter of 5-7 years IMHO. „Someone” will choke on Poland again.
One more: Ukrainians, who cruelly murdered so many defenseless Poles, are now losing their country. Before our eyes!
You don't know history too well, pal.
But seems a shame the suffering in Poland - one wonders - when will it end?
Maybe after the **raine is subsumed by a bear poked.
Know your place pal.
So what is the situation on the ground? How many people are actually without services?
But why waste energy and efforts on (Boeing) hardware that is perfectly capable of self-destruction ?
Except gross neglicence and incompetence, which cannot be ruled out in case of Boeing (see lately ...), I could imagine three other reasons. Either sabotage, or controlled destruction, or impact.
I would say, the last one seems most likely, either cosmic dust/particles or space debris. Remember, such an impact usually happens with a velocity of a dozen kilometers per second ...
And "auto-translation" means it uses some google translation service to create it. Expect some strange wording occasionally ...