Intelsat Re-establishes Contact with Rogue WAAS GEO Satellite

Intelsat announced that on 23 December 2010, the power from the Galaxy 15 battery completely drained during its loss of earth lock and the Baseband Equipment (BBE) command unit reset, as it was designed to do. Shortly thereafter Galaxy 15 began accepting commands and Intelsat engineers began receiving telemetry in their Satellite Operations center.

According to the announcement, they have placed Galaxy 15 in safe mode and reported that it no longer poses any threat of satellite interference to either neighboring satellites or customer services. After completing initial diagnostic tests, we will load updated commanding software to the satellite. They expect to relocate the satellite to an Intelsat orbital location where engineers at their Satellite Operations Control Center will initiate extensive in-orbit testing to determine the functionality of every aspect of the spacecraft.

Galaxy 15 contained one of two WAAS GEO transponders leased by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to transmit GPS integrity and correction data to aviation and ground users.

On April 5, 2010, Intelsat reported it had lost communications with Galaxy 15. Shortly thereafter, the FAA announced that Galaxy 15 (PRN 135) would discontinue transmitting WAAS GPS integrity and correction information within a few weeks. Surprisingly, the uncontrolled Galaxy 15 ended up staying on track well enough to continue broadcasting WAAS integrity and correction data until 16 December, when broadcasts ceased. During that period it had drifted from 133°W longitude to 98°W longitude.

On 29 December, the FAA confirmed that they are considering bringing Galaxy 15 back into WAAS service, but that it depends on how long it takes to move it back to its intended orbit location. The FAA said It also depends on the results of the testing efforts in pinpointing the initial failure.