Ecuador's EXA space agency said it has given up trying to recover signals from the Andean nation's first satellite, which went silent after a brush with space debris.

Ecuador's first satellite, the Pegaso, went silent after it was side-swiped by debris from a Russian rocket launched in 1985. EFE/File

Pegaso, a cube weighing just 2.1 kilos (4.6 pounds), was placed in orbit April 26 and began transmitting video on May 16, providing overhead views of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The nanosatellite was launched from China's Jiuquan space center.

Participants in an August 28 meeting among officials of the space agency, security ministry and State Intelligence Directorate agreed to terminate efforts to reestablish contact with the Pegaso NEE001, EXA said in a statement. The insurance payment enabled Ecuador to recoup the nearly $800,000 invested in building and launching the Pegaso, EXA said.

The device stopped emitting signals on May 23, when it was sideswiped by floating debris from a Russian rocket launched in 1985.