Posted by Brian Myers | Published
A communications satellite manufactured by US company Boeing broke into at least 20 pieces while orbiting over the weekend, disrupting service for users across multiple continents and scattering large pieces of space debris across the sky. The Intelsat 33e satellite served to provide the broadband communications needed from its location over the Indian Ocean to users in Europe, Africa, and Asia, but was soon withdrawn after failing to co-locate. At this point, US Space Force officials and Boeing engineers could not determine the cause.
In Orbit Since 2016
Boeing's 14,600-pound satellite was slightly larger than the average vehicle and was both designed and manufactured by the company. Intelsat 33e was launched into orbit more than eight years ago and has been in its geostationary position over southern India since 2016. The craft was part of Boeing's EpicNG platform, an effort aimed, in part, at improving global broadband connectivity.
Intelsat 33e was not the first of its kind to experience major problems while orbiting the Earth. Its predecessor, the IS-29e, spent several years in space before failing. A Boeing satellite is said to have been hit by a micrometeoroid strike, causing a serious fuel leak. The premature end of both of these bursts significantly changes the target lifespan of these orbiters, which Boeing engineers initially believed to be as high as 15 years in space.
What Went Wrong?
A Failure Review Board has been established to examine the causes of the Boeing satellite failure. It consists of the company and government agencies, which will all work to study the data and hopefully reach a conclusion.
Boeing's recent disaster is not only another black eye for the company's recent production, but it also helps add a large amount of space junk to the area just outside the Earth's atmosphere. It is estimated that there are now more than 30,000 pieces of debris orbiting the planet, monitored by many space agencies in many countries. These pieces of the Boeing satellite are combined with other pieces of space debris that pose serious threats to other satellites in orbit and to incoming and outgoing spacecraft.
More Bad News
The unexplained destruction of a Boeing satellite is not the only bad news from the company in recent weeks. Its Starliner mission experienced multiple failures that resulted in two NASA astronauts being stranded in space for several weeks before they were scheduled to return to Earth. But Boeing's aerospace issues are only a small part of its problems as its main planes, both domestic and international, have been plagued by diseases that have received much attention over the past few years.
Boeing Max 737 planes were grounded after two crashes that killed more than 300 people, leading to an investigation into alleged fraud by the company. To make matters worse, Boeing's 300,000 workers forced the company to the wall and worsened its financial situation.
It was reported today that, in order to keep up with the union's growing demands and help navigate other financial problems, Boeing will sell more than $19 billion in stock to raise capital.
Source: Intelsat
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