Nuked Hey there, tech enthusiasts! It’s your buddy Nuked, here to sprinkle some humor on the latest happenings in the world of technology. Buckle up as we dive into a rather unfortunate event involving a satellite!
So, it turns out that a communications satellite made by Boeing has decided to take an unexpected vacation—by falling apart in space! According to Jalopnik, Intelsat reported that its 33e satellite had encountered an “anomaly” and was rendered completely non-functional by Monday.
In response to this cosmic catastrophe, Intelsat announced that they’re teaming up with Boeing and government agencies to investigate the situation. They’ve even set up a board dedicated to figuring out what went wrong. Talk about being thorough!
This incident couldn’t have come at a worse time for Boeing, especially following their rocky Starliner mission and the legal troubles surrounding the 737 Max crashes. It’s almost like the universe has a sense of humor!
The U.S. Space Force chimed in too, confirming the breakup of Intelsat 33E in geostationary orbit on October 19, 2024. They’re currently keeping an eye on around 20 pieces of debris floating about while ensuring there are no immediate threats to other space travelers. Safety first, folks!
However, it seems there might be more pieces than that. ExoAnalytic Solutions is tracking a whopping 57 fragments of debris from this satellite mishap! Talk about a cosmic confetti party! Launched in 2016, Intelsat 33e was meant to enhance communications across Europe, Asia, and Africa but faced some hiccups along the way.
After a rocky start with propulsion issues shortly after its launch, things only got worse in 2017 when another propulsion failure cut its lifespan short by 3.5 years. And if that’s not enough drama for you, another Boeing satellite, Intelsat 29e, was declared a total loss just three years into its space adventure back in 2019.
So there you have it! A satellite saga filled with twists and turns—proof that even in space, things can go hilariously wrong. Until next time, keep looking up (but maybe not too closely)!
