Geostationary GPS Satellite Galaxy 15 Out of Control 379
Bruce Perens writes "The Galaxy 15 commercial satellite has not responded to commands since solar flares fried its CPU in April, and it won't turn off. Intelsat controllers moved all commercial payloads to other birds except for WAAS, a system that adds accuracy to GPS for landing aircraft and finding wayward geocaches. Since the satellite runs in 'bent pipe' mode, amplifying wide bands of RF that are beamed up to it, it is likely to interfere with other satellites as it crosses their orbital slots on its way to an earth-sun Lagrange point, the natural final destination of a geostationary satellite without maneuvering power." (More below.)
Bruce continues: "The only payload that is still deliberately active on the satellite is its WAAS repeater. An attempt to overload the satellite and shut it down on May 3 caused a Notice to Airmen regarding the unavailability of WAAS for an hour. Unsaid is what will happen to WAAS, and for how long, when the satellite eventually loses its sun-pointing capability, expected later this year, and stops repeating the GPS correction signal. Other satellites can be moved into Galaxy 15's orbital slot, but it is yet unannounced whether the candidates bear the WAAS payload."
Bastard (Score:5, Funny)
Target practice? (Score:5, Funny)
Haven't the military got some super satellite-busting weapon they've been dying to test?
The only way (Score:5, Funny)
I know I've made some very poor decisions recently (Score:5, Funny)
After sending between 150,000 and 200,000 commands to the satellite to coax it back into service, Intelsat was forced to scrap its satellite-recovery efforts and to resort, on Monday, to a limited-duration effort to force the satellite to shut down its transponders. This was to be accomplished by sending a stronger series of signals designed to cause Galaxy 15's power system to malfunction and force a shutdown of the satellite's payload. That attempt, which Luxembourg-based, Washington-headquartered Intelsat had viewed as its last, best-understood option for Galaxy 15, was unsuccessful.
The last message from the satellite was "I'm sorry, Intelsat. I'm afraid I can't do that."
Re:Not Sun-Earth Lagrange points (Score:5, Funny)
Forgive my ignorance in these highly technical matters, but when exactly did we start sending up Small Or Home Office satellites?
I always wondered what that particular SOHO meant. Drove me nuts because I heard of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory first.
Re:Where'd my cable channels go? (Score:5, Funny)
no thats just comcast service as usual.
Re:Bastard (Score:5, Funny)
That shouldn't be very hard. You do know what the unofficial government payload is on those satellites, right? Titanium cased nukes. The launch is easy. Just aim and give it a little shove. Then it detonates at the appropriate altitude. It's so much more efficient to already have your nukes up there, than to have to launch them from the surface and wait for them to come back down.
You really don't want to just pop one in orbit though. It'll leave one heck of a mess up there. It's not just debris, it's radioactive debris.
Re:Title is wrong, not GPS (Score:2, Funny)
You've put me in a difficult situation explaining this to you since it appears you read the title but not the summaries or the articles, yet somehow knew that this is a commercial communications satellite. Here's a linky with details on how it *does* have something to do with GPS: http://www.gpsworld.com/gps/news/waas-broadcasting-satellite-having-problems-9810 [gpsworld.com]
Since I can't be sure you will read TFL, here's the first paragraph that you probably won't read either:
Intelsat S.A. announced they lost control of their Galaxy 15 (G-15) satellite. G-15 (PRN 135 to GPS users) is one of the two Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) broadcasting satellites (GEOs) that broadcast GPS corrections for aviation and ground users all over North America. Despite the Intelsat announcement, the WAAS payload on G-15 is still broadcasting corrections.
Are there any other sources we can provide that you also won't read?
Re:Target practice? (Score:3, Funny)
Or we could just send a couple of GLG20's into the mountainous regions at the border of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union to smash a SatScram terminal with a rock, save the day, and have sex with a super cute Russian soldier, while she strangely looks like a supermodel, and another hot GLG20 sent in with you.
Oh wait...... this isn't a movie :)
Re:Not necessarily... (Score:5, Funny)
cellular-based pagers
PAGERS???? What the hell is a pager?
Re:Target practice? (Score:5, Funny)
"epileptic orbit"
I'd love to see an orbit do that!
Re:I know I've made some very poor decisions recen (Score:3, Funny)
They forgot to use sudo.
$ reentry_burn
I'm sorry, Intelsat. I'm afraid I can't do that
$ sudo reentry_burn
Reentry burn initiated. Atmospheric entry in +00:15:00
Re:Not Sun-Earth Lagrange points (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Not necessarily... (Score:4, Funny)
PAGERS???? What the hell is a pager?
Ask your grand parents.
Interference (Score:5, Funny)
Reminded me of this gem from NotAlwaysRight:
Apparently, it is possible for someone to be standing next to your satellite and cause interference, as long as the someone is another satellite. (But it isn't easy to tell them to stop... :P )
Re:Target practice? (Score:5, Funny)
I don't know, personally I shudder to see something like that.
A funnel (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Title is wrong, not GPS (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Target practice? (Score:5, Funny)
(I kid, I kid)
Re:Title is wrong, not GPS (Score:3, Funny)
Well, we don't really care about its other functions since they were moved to other C-band satellites without making the news. You can't move WAAS to a C-band-only satellite, you need the special L-band payload.
GPS doesn't work as well without it, but the real reason I used "Geostationary GPS" in the title was that Slashdot would not let me have enough characters in the title to say something more accurate.
Re:I know I've made some very poor decisions recen (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Target practice? (Score:2, Funny)
When I saw "Epileptic Orbit" all I could think was Seizures in Circles...
Re:Not necessarily... (Score:3, Funny)
a short, relatively unintelligible message that gets interpreted through wishful thinking to something of meaning.
my god, twitter reinvented ouija.
Re:Where'd my cable channels go? (Score:5, Funny)
Are you kidding? Imagine this happening during the last episode of Lost.. It would make the Rodney King riots look like a day at the beach...
Re:Double Bastard (Score:5, Funny)
Duhh, nuke the debris with a second one. ;-)
Re:Light pressure (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Title is wrong, not GPS (Score:3, Funny)
Well it's a good thing all of us pilots know how to fly planes without RNAV and GPS approaches. Right? You did pay attention in IFR training, right?
I am sure a lot of them are incapable of flying VFR without GPS now. Look at all those car drivers who end up in rivers because the GPS shows a way across.
Re:Target practice? (Score:3, Funny)
We could always send up a mission to retrieve the dead satellites with the space shutt- Never mind.
Re:Target practice? (Score:3, Funny)
"Morbo is not spelled that way!" - Morbo
Re:Bastard (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Target practice? (Score:3, Funny)
At least he didn't say it was exponential. It literally makes my blood boil when people misuse that word.
Re:Not necessarily... (Score:5, Funny)
It's a thing people used to wear on their belts after onions went out of fashion.
Re:Where'd my cable channels go? (Score:5, Funny)
Unless this is PART of the last episode of Lost...MAN they're good!
Re:Target practice? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Target practice? (Score:2, Funny)
One, things other than atmosphere can cause drag.
Two, space (unlike the gap between your ears) isn't a perfect vacuum.
Re:A funnel (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Target practice? (Score:3, Funny)
The problem is Futurama is returning in a month and a half. We cannot possibly advocate losing broadcast satellites!
Re:Light pressure (Score:1, Funny)
Stupid Planck Constant.
Re:Light pressure (Score:1, Funny)
Take a look through his posting history and try to find a single post in which he's NOT an asshole. It's like a drinking game for puritans.