ExoAnalytic now identifies more than 500 pieces from Intelsat satellite breakup
The private commercial space tracking company ExoAnalytic has now identified more than 500 pieces from Intelsat 33e satellite breakup.
Some of the smaller debris might actually quickly disappear as these pieces are possibly bits of solid fuel that will evaporate.
Much of the press has suddenly decided this failure is all Boeing’s fault, because the satellite was built by that company a decade ago. This seems a bit unfair, since Boeing’s problems now seem far removed from its design and construction of satellites then. At the same time one must wonder. Boeing built four of these type satellites for Intelsat, and the first was lost in 2019 when either it was hit by a meteor or had “a wiring flaw, which led to an electrostatic discharge following heightened solar weather activity.”
That means two of the four satellites have been lost, though the second, 33e, didn’t break-up until twelve years of operation, almost its expected lifespan. Furthermore, the other two satellites are still working fine.
All in all, that suggests to me that though there may be a technical cause that can be traced back to the company, it is more likely we are simply seeing a random expression of the dangers of space to engineering, by anyone.
The private commercial space tracking company ExoAnalytic has now identified more than 500 pieces from Intelsat 33e satellite breakup.
Some of the smaller debris might actually quickly disappear as these pieces are possibly bits of solid fuel that will evaporate.
Much of the press has suddenly decided this failure is all Boeing’s fault, because the satellite was built by that company a decade ago. This seems a bit unfair, since Boeing’s problems now seem far removed from its design and construction of satellites then. At the same time one must wonder. Boeing built four of these type satellites for Intelsat, and the first was lost in 2019 when either it was hit by a meteor or had “a wiring flaw, which led to an electrostatic discharge following heightened solar weather activity.”
That means two of the four satellites have been lost, though the second, 33e, didn’t break-up until twelve years of operation, almost its expected lifespan. Furthermore, the other two satellites are still working fine.
All in all, that suggests to me that though there may be a technical cause that can be traced back to the company, it is more likely we are simply seeing a random expression of the dangers of space to engineering, by anyone.