Another Satellite Goes Rogue On Us

Intelsat 15Those Intelsat birds are junk, sir:

An adrift Intelsat satellite that stopped communicating with its ground controllers last month remains out of control and has begun moving eastward along the geostationary arc, raising the threat of interference with other satellites in its path, Intelsat and other industry officials said.

In what industry officials called an unprecedented event, Intelsat's Galaxy 15 communications satellite has remained fully "on," with its C-band telecommunications payload still functioning even as it has left its assigned orbital slot of 133 degrees west longitude 36,000 kilometers over the equator.

Galaxy 15 stopped responding to ground controllers on April 5. The satellite's manufacturer, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Virginia, has said an intense solar storm in early April may be to blame. It was launched into space in 2005.

Solar storm, my fanny. Someone on the assembly team from the lowest bidder left a ham sammich or a class ring in it.

I have always maintained that we need something up there to remove or push these wayward devices out of the way of the things that bring us legitimate entertainment. Having now spent $800 to hack into the Astrasat system and get exactly nothing I want to see, please don't tell me that the satellite I've cracked is going to be broadsided by this behemoth.

Posted via web from An American Lion is on Posterous