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Echostar 8 Deorbit

nelson61

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Dec 8, 2007
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Echostar 8 is not being used for service and has been parked at 77W .
It has lost it's ability to maintain station keeping and will be "deorbited" (raised to a non geostationary orbit) in the next few days.
 

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Reactions: TheKrell and Scott Greczkowski
You say "raised" but the document you provided says "orderly removal of the satellite to a disposal orbit". Hopefully that orbit ends with the re-entry of Echostar 8 and removing it from the cloud of debris in orbit around the Earth.
 
Disposal orbit normally refers to outside geo, where it will slowly move away from earth. Requires less fuel than safely moving to reentry.
 
Reactions: charlesrshell and TheKrell
Not at all. It was being kept as a last ditch possible backup/replacement in case of another satellite failing.
 
Reactions: charlesrshell
Foxbat said:
You say "raised" but the document you pro-ided says "orderly removal of the satellite to a disposal orbit". Hopefully that orbit ends with the re-entry of Echostar 8 and removing it from the cloud of debris in orbit around the Earth.
Click to expand...

A typical satellite permit requires that sufficient fuel reserves are maintained to raise the orbit about 200-300 km above geostationary . After the de-orbit, any excess fuel is vented to prevent explosion in event of a collision sometime in the future.

Echostar 5 is an example of where things went wrong. They ran out of fuel before de-orbiting.
 
Reactions: TheKrell, Foxbat and navychop
nelson61, thanks for the clarification. I just hate the idea of another uncontrolled satellite orbiting our planet.

We saw Neil Degrass Tyson's "An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies" and he opined that one possible reason we haven't been visited by an advanced alien species is the impenetrable shield of space junk around Earth! Not to sound all Bob, but behind the National Debt, Orbital Debris is the other thing I worry about...
 
Reactions: wormil
Bobby said:
I'd like to think that an advanced alien species that has the ability to visit Earth might be able to scoop up any debris that might be in its way....
Click to expand...

Again, I was thinking the exact same thing.

Remember what happened to all those satellites on Independence Day.
 
And a few years ago the requirement that sufficient fuel be left aboard the satellite to de-orbit even FURTHER out than previously allowed. The new requirement was in response to the concern about all the space junk at the previously allowed de-orbit distance. I think this caught Dish (and a few others) off guard as I think Dish could not meet this new requirement because too much fuel had already been used? I think.
 
To the contrary, I would think the space junk would pique the curiosity of any space faring species exploring the galaxy because it indicates some form of civilization to be studied. I would imagine the alien space ship computers can make a flight path around all the junk or even have some form of deflector shields that would just push them away, but I prefer the complex flight path by computer because even we would not want to disturb the junk by either calling attention to ourselves or causing some of the junk to fall to earth or collide with earthling space stations, shuttles, etc.
 
Sounds like someone knows way too much about how these alien invaders think! Has anyone looked to see if that's a mask that DishSubLA is wearing?
 
Reactions: Foxbat
Did a lookup to check deorbit status.

Echostar 8 is parked ~470 km above geostationary and moves west ~ 6 degrees per day.
 
Reactions: TheKrell
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