Two German-built spy satellites apparently failed immediately after launch
According to a report in the German press, two spy satellites launched in December 2023 apparently never became operational because the antennas on both failed to deploy.
According to the German publication Der Spiegel, the antennas on the satellites cannot be unfolded. Engineers with OHB have tried to resolve the issue by resetting the flight software, performing maneuvers to vibrate or shake the antennas loose, and more to no avail.
As a result, last week, German lawmakers were informed that the two new satellites will probably not go into operation as planned.
The report also notes that, because both satellites never became operational, they remain the responsibility of the building, a German company OHB. It will have to replace them out of its own pocket. It also appears that the company never tested the antenna deployment system prior to launch.
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According to a report in the German press, two spy satellites launched in December 2023 apparently never became operational because the antennas on both failed to deploy.
According to the German publication Der Spiegel, the antennas on the satellites cannot be unfolded. Engineers with OHB have tried to resolve the issue by resetting the flight software, performing maneuvers to vibrate or shake the antennas loose, and more to no avail.
As a result, last week, German lawmakers were informed that the two new satellites will probably not go into operation as planned.
The report also notes that, because both satellites never became operational, they remain the responsibility of the building, a German company OHB. It will have to replace them out of its own pocket. It also appears that the company never tested the antenna deployment system prior to launch.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Responsibility of the builder, not building.
Given how badly the Russians infiltrated Germany during the Communists era, the current bad blood over aid to Ukraine and the obvious target of these recon birds, one has to wonder about sabotage.
I am all for a little sabotage and subterfuge.
But its easier to payoff the boss to not do the testing.
This is one good reason to have a way to fix these things in orbit. Or at least boost them high enough to be repaired later.
That’s what they want you to think.
“Cease operations and cover the asset, the satellites will be overhead in 30 minutes.”
“It’s OK, they never got the antenna open.”
“Do you believe everything on the internet?”
They didn’t even have to announce the launch. Or they could have said it was anything else.
Acknowledging the failure is just bringing attention to it.