Source: Wired
America’s Space Weakness -- David Axe, The Diplomat
On August 15, 2010, the U.S. Air Force almost lost a $2-billion communications satellite. A team of military and contract space operators eventually saved the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite, built by Lockheed Martin. But the rescue, admittedly an impressive technological feat, is also a window into the greatest weaknesses of the world’s leading space power, according to one space insider.
The seven-ton “AEHF-1,” part of a planned six-satellite constellation meant to support radio communication between far-flung U.S. military units, had been in orbit just one day when the problems began. The satellite started out in a highly-elliptical, temporary orbit. The plan was to use the spacecraft’s on-board engine to boost it to a permanent, geo-stationary orbit. But when the Air Force space operators at Los Angeles Air Force Base activated the engine, nothing happened. The Government Accountability Office would later blame the failure on a rag left inside a fuel line by a Lockheed worker.
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More News On How The Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite Was Saved
Risky rescue for crippled Air Force satellite -- Wired
The fight to save AEHF 1 produces remarkable rescue -- Space Flight Now
Fight to Save US Military Satellite Ends in Remarkable Rescue -- Space.com
The piece of cloth that nearly sank an Air Force satellite -- The Vergehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Space soldiers save satellite from FLAMING DEATH -- The Register
WNU Editor: An excellent post on how the Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite was saved is here.
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