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Boeing-Made Intelsat 33E Satellite Explodes in Geostationary Orbit – Dozens of Pieces of Debris Are Now a Hazard for Satellites and Spacecrafts!

PatMiles

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Minuteman
Feb 25, 2017
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The year continues to prove horrendous for giant aerospace company Boeing.
After countless problems with airplanes and a high-profile Starliner fiasco that left two astronauts stranded in the International Space Station, one of their satellites has exploded.
The U.S. Space Force is at this point tracking debris in space after the Intelsat satellite – manufactured by Boeing – exploded a few days ago.
CBS News reported:
“The Intelsat 33e satellite, which was launched in 2016 and provides communications across Europe, Asia and Africa, experienced “an anomaly” on Saturday, Intelsat said in a news release. Attempts were made to work with Boeing and repair the satellite, but on Monday, the U.S. Space Force confirmed that the satellite had exploded.”
The satellite’s explosion left customers without power or communications services.
“Since the breakup, the U.S. Space Force is now tracking ‘around 20 associated pieces’ of the satellite in space. The agency said that there are ‘no immediate threats’ and routine assessments to ensure safety are ongoing.
Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, said it had recorded ‘more than 80 fragments’ of the destroyed satellite. Analysis of the pieces’ trajectory determined that the destruction of the satellite was ‘instantaneous and high-energy’, Roscosmos said.”

This couldn’t come at a worse moment, as the company under a big microscope for its seemingly faulty manufacturing processes.
Boeing planes made headlines all year – for the wrong reasons. They had whistleblower complaints, federal investigations and a major space fiasco.
The company has had a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion. 10% of the company’s workforce is to be cut.
Tens of thousands of manufacturing employees are currently on strike.
Fortune reported:
“Intelsat, the owner of the satellite, is reporting “the total loss” of the device in an update on its Website. The company is working with Boeing and government agencies to determine the cause of the mishap. The company initially reported the satellite service outage on Oct. 19, which impacted communications services for customers in Europe, Africa and parts of the Asia-Pacific region.”
The U.S. Space Force says it is tracking 20 pieces of debris, but others – besides the Russian space agency – report a greater number.
“Other observers, though, have seen higher amounts of debris. ExoAnalytic Solutions told SpaceNews it was tracking 57 pieces of debris and was warning operators of spacecraft that could be at risk of collision.
[…] This isn’t the first Boeing satellite that has been declared a total loss at Intelsat. In 2019, the company lost a unit after three years due to what was either a meteoroid or a wiring flaw.”
 
It didn't explode... it broke up into about 20 pieces. The reason is not explained. But Explosion sells head lines and gets clicks...

Boeing has become the company everyone loves to hate. The Donald Trump of the aerospace industry.

There is a movement in the media to sling shit at Boeing. Ask your self why.
 
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"The explosion left customers without power or communication services."

Without power? Can someone explain what they mean there?
Really long extension cord.

Seriously though, a lot of stuff is controlled remotely via satellite comms. So if power companies are utilizing remote control for switching in substations to meet peak load in a certain area... They might not be able to communicate with the necessary equipment... Someone will have to physically go to the switchyard and actuate it there.

Mike
 
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This I will say. When GM was going to go down and Obama "saved" it by giving it to the unions it really hurt the country. If they had allowed it to go into bankruptcy and get broken up Wall Street would have descended like vultures, and we would have a dozen new car companies now kicking ass.

If Bowing is allowed to destroy itself we will have 20 dynamic defense contractors and a golden age of military industrial complex as they all try to outcompete each other. The correct move here is to let it commit suicide and allow the market room to eat it and become stronger.
 
Anyone read Jack Carr's latest book "Red Sky Mourning"?

In it there is a plan to shoot a missile into low earth orbit that will explode and send thousands of pieces of metal into the satellites at that elevation, which will then have a cascade effect of debris taking out other satellites at the same elevation. This will essentially create a barrier of debris that we won't be able to launch new satellites into or through to higher earth orbit.
 
Yeah, I’m not buying that this was an accident. Satellites don’t just explode; too many failsafes in place. Possible, but extremely unlikely.

I suspect a targeted attack…internal or external threat is the question. I’d be interested in knowing what (or who) that satellite was tasked to watch. That would be where I’d start my investigation.
 
Yea! Where the hell is Space Force!

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What's in a satellite that can blow up? It's been up there for 8 years running fine it seems. More likely it was hit by a meteorite, loose space debris or someone took it out.

Hydrazine among other thing. They have thrusters and rockets to maneuver and keep orbit. If the bi-propellants mix or a valve sticks or something goes wrong…. Kaboom. The thrusters were pretty proven. But the chemicals are nasty!!!

Intelsat capture was the first mission I did communications for at JSC so had to read a lot of info in days…. And there was a lot of nasty stuff on an Intelsat. The -49 mission was to attach a new boost rocket and release it. It was too heavy and dangerous to bring back to earth on the Shuttle and re-launch.

Sirhr







Sirhr
 
This I will say. When GM was going to go down and Obama "saved" it by giving it to the unions it really hurt the country. If they had allowed it to go into bankruptcy and get broken up Wall Street would have descended like vultures, and we would have a dozen new car companies now kicking ass.

If Bowing is allowed to destroy itself we will have 20 dynamic defense contractors and a golden age of military industrial complex as they all try to outcompete each other. The correct move here is to let it commit suicide and allow the market room to eat it and become stronger.
Maybe now, they'll finally get the Avro Arrow back on track and into production.

(relax, it's a joke....)
 
This I will say. When GM was going to go down and Obama "saved" it by giving it to the unions it really hurt the country. If they had allowed it to go into bankruptcy and get broken up Wall Street would have descended like vultures, and we would have a dozen new car companies now kicking ass.

If Bowing is allowed to destroy itself we will have 20 dynamic defense contractors and a golden age of military industrial complex as they all try to outcompete each other. The correct move here is to let it commit suicide and allow the market room to eat it and become stronger.
God what a downer you are

I didn’t think about that. This is all a plan to give Boeing a giant bailout. Fuck


Think of the sweet hummers we would have if gm was allowed to fail and someone bought that brand.
That was a payoff to organized crime I mean labor and their unsustainable pensions as much as anytbing.


And today Boeing’s “workers” who are also organized crime. Declined a 35 percent pay hike. For all that stellar work they’ve been doing
 
If it was a SpaceX satellite I'd say that there was always the chance for some Russian skulduggery involving some funky new anti-satellite weaponry. However, with Boeing's current track record I think it was lucky to last that long.