The Galaxy 15 telecommunications satellite, which remained electrically active while in an uncontrolled drift in geostationary orbit for more than eight months, was rendered unable to take commands by an electrostatic discharge that fouled its on-board software. The exact cause of the electrostatic discharge, which disabled components in the satellite’s baseband equipment subsystem, may never be known. Similar phenomena affect other satellites in orbit from time to time, although Galaxy 15 is believed to be the first to have reacted the way it did.Read more at SpaceNews.com.
Electrostatic Discharge Cripples Galaxy 15 Satellite
