Europe's satellite disintegrates in crucial geo orbit, draws flak from Russia for adding to space junk

A large European communication satellite that provided communication services to Europe, Central Africa, Middle East, Asia and Australia, has disintegrated, adding to space junk . The breaking up of Intelsat -33e high throughput (HTS) geostationary communications satellite, operated by Intelsat and designed and manufactured by Boeing Space Systems , at the geostationary orbit at 35,000 km altitude, where satellites of several countries including India are closely parked, has raised alarm from Russia.

Russian space agency Roscosmos , in a release, said, “The obtained data regarding the Intelsat-33e debris indicate that there is a potential threat to all operating spacecraft, including the geostationary orbital cluster of the Roscosmos state corporation.”

Initial reports on Oct 19 said Intelsat-33e, weighing 6,600 kg, lost its power source, which led to a complete shutdown of the satellite. Later, US Space Forces-Space confirmed the satellite appeared to have broken up into at least 20 pieces.

However, Roscosmos said Russia's near-Earth space hazardous situations warning system had detected about two dozen unidentified space objects near the spacecraft's position in orbit. “A significant increase in the number of space objects in the orbital plane of the lost Intelsat-33e telecommunication satellite has been identified. Roscosmos specialists have spotted more than 80 fragments,” Roscosmos stated.

Preliminary analysis showed that the closest spacecraft to Intelsat-33e were the Express-AT1, Yamal-402, Express-AM6, and Electro-L satellites. As of last year, India has 29 operational satellites in the geostationary orbit (GEO), which provide crucial communication and surveillance services to the country.

The amount of space debris in orbit around Earth is increasing rapidly. The European Space Agency estimates there are more than 40,000 pieces larger than 10cm in orbit, and more than 130,000,000 smaller than 1cm.

Intelsat-33e was launched in 2016 to provide communications across Europe, Asia, and Africa. The satellite experienced a propulsion issue shortly after launch and reached orbit later than expected. Another propulsion problem in 2017 decreased its estimated 15-year lifespan by 3.5 years.

This is the second Boeing-made high-throughput “Epic” satellite to falter for the McLean, Virginia-based firm. In April 2019, Intelsat experienced the total loss of its Intelsat 29e spacecraft, which had powered connectivity for aeronautical, maritime, and wireless operators in Latin America, Caribbean and North Atlantic regions.