A Boeing satellite belonging to multinational service provider Intelsat mysteriously blew into pieces in geostationary orbit over the weekend.
According to an official update, an “anomaly” caused the satellite — dubbed IS-33e — to be destroyed, resulting in what the company calls a “total loss.”
“Migration and service restoration plans are well underway across the Intelsat fleet and third-party satellites,” the update reads.
It’s unclear what exactly caused the satellite to break up. The US Space Force announced it was “tracking around 20 associated pieces” but “observed no immediate threats.”
US-based space tracking company ExoAnalytic Solutions told SpaceNews that it’s tracking 57 associated pieces of debris.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/large-boeing-satellite-suddenly-explodes-175520731.html
Report of US satellite destroyed: https://t.co/cAz3Cr4MrM
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