[SatNews] Intelsat's Galaxy 15, a communications satellite that had been drifting through geosynchronous orbit for months, disrupting operations of other nearby satellites, is no longer wandering aimlessly. On December 23, 2010, Intelsat reported that the satellite's battery had completely drained, which caused the satellite's command unit to reset. This allowed the satellite to, once again, accept commands from the ground. Intelsat engineers immediately placed the satellite into a protective safe mode. Back in April 2010, engineers lost control of the satellite, with speculation being that a solar storm was the causative culprit. Galaxy 15 started drifting in GEO while continuing to broadcast on its C-band transponders. This forced other satellite operators to enact contingency plans as Galaxy 15 passed by their satellites, although no interference or other problems were ultimately reported. Intelsat will now conduct diagnostic tests on the Orbital-built satellite to determine whether the satellite can be placed back into service.
Satnews Daily
January 13th, 2011
Intelsat... Control Gained Of Galaxy 15
[SatNews] Intelsat's Galaxy 15, a communications satellite that had been drifting through geosynchronous orbit for months, disrupting operations of other nearby satellites, is no longer wandering aimlessly. On December 23, 2010, Intelsat reported that the satellite's battery had completely drained, which caused the satellite's command unit to reset. This allowed the satellite to, once again, accept commands from the ground. Intelsat engineers immediately placed the satellite into a protective safe mode. Back in April 2010, engineers lost control of the satellite, with speculation being that a solar storm was the causative culprit. Galaxy 15 started drifting in GEO while continuing to broadcast on its C-band transponders. This forced other satellite operators to enact contingency plans as Galaxy 15 passed by their satellites, although no interference or other problems were ultimately reported. Intelsat will now conduct diagnostic tests on the Orbital-built satellite to determine whether the satellite can be placed back into service.