Getting ready Malaysian Satellite to fall close to outer space to burn in Earth’s atmosphere After a mysterious “glitch” it suffered in its orbit on the third of last June.

A Malaysian satellite fell from space to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere following a mysterious “anomaly” that struck it down in orbit.

According to the space website, the approximately 15-year-old communications satellite Measat-3 suffered an incomprehensible problem on June 21, which led to the disruption of service, and it was brought under ground control on June 24 but has not worked since then. According to updates from the company, with the satellite out of operation and the “root cause” still being investigated by Mesat and satellite maker Boeing, Mesat said on August 6 that it was decided to take the satellite out of orbit.

The nearly 15-year-old Measat-3 communications satellite suffered an unexplained issue on June 21, knocking out service for its customers. It was brought under ground control June 24 but hasn’t been operational since, according to updates from the company.

With the Malaysian Satellite playing dead and a “root cause” investigation still ongoing by Measat and satellite maker Boeing, however, Measat said Aug. 6 it decided to proceed with a deorbit.

The company said: “Additional testing and recovery efforts have found that the satellite cannot enter service again and will be de-orbited in the coming weeks, but the company has not yet released the exact timing of when it plans to bring down the Mesat-3.

ExoAnalytic indicated that there is no debris around the Misat-3 satellite that may have collided with it and caused the problem, in addition to the fact that the satellite is not in danger of colliding with any other space object, and a later report from August 11 indicated that the satellite may have It ran out of fuel earlier than expected in its geosynchronous orbit.

MISAT-3 was launched on December 11, 2006 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the same launch center where the Soyuz spacecraft periodically sends crews to the International Space Station. The spacecraft serves more than 100 countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“Further testing and recovery efforts found that the satellite could not re-enter service. The satellite will be de-orbited in the following weeks,” Measat said in the update. It hasn’t yet released exact timing for when it plans to burn up Measat-3.

Measat-3 launched Dec. 11, 2006 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the same launch center where Soyuz spacecraft periodically send crews to the International Space Station. The spacecraft serves more than 100 countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Satellite TV operator Astro was among the customers affected, according to a local news report citing tweets from Astro.

Most customers were transferred to backup satellites by mid-July, but the satellite was by then tumbling in its orbit since at least July 1, according to ExoAnalytic Solutions, a space tracking company. “It’s rare to see one come back from this stage,” Bill Therien, ExoAnalytic Solutions executive vice president of engineering, told SpaceNews July 17.

ExoAnalytic further noted there was no debris around Measat-3 that hinted at an in-space collision that may have caused the service problem. The satellite also has no near-term collision risk with any other space object, ExoAnalytic said. A later report from SpaceNews on Aug. 11, quoting insurers, suggested the satellite may have run out of fuel earlier than expected in its geosynchronous orbit.

Measat said Aug. 6 it is readying a new satellite called Measat-3D, built by Airbus Defence and Space, “for early 2022.”

Source Space.com

By Arsalan Ahmad

Arsalan Ahmad is a Research Engineer working on 2-D Materials, graduated from the Institute of Advanced Materials, Bahaudin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arsalanahmad-materialsresearchengr/