Skynet-1A: Why did the UK's oldest space satellite end up thousands of miles from where it should have been?
www.bbc.com
Britain's oldest satellite is in the wrong part of the sky, but no-one's really sure who moved it.

Summary

The UK’s oldest satellite, Skynet-1A, launched in 1969, has mysteriously shifted from its original orbit over Africa to a high-risk position over the Americas.

It’s suspected that in the 1970s, Skynet-1A was intentionally moved west, possibly by U.S. controllers, but records confirming who made this decision and why are missing.

Now inactive, the satellite poses collision risks to active satellites, as it occupies a congested orbit at 105 degrees West longitude.

The UK may eventually need to consider relocating Skynet-1A or removing it altogether to mitigate risks from space debris.

  • CarbonIceDragon@pawb.socialEnglish
    49·
    15 days ago

    from the sound of it, no, the article suggests that someone probably commanded them to fire back in the 70s while the thing still worked, and its just unclear when exactly this was and who did it.

      • MartianSands@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        14·
        14 days ago

        No, it would have been detected by various systems pretty much immediately. Those systems are military though, and probably wouldn’t tell the general public about the movement of military satellites

        It’s also conceivable that it was detected in that orbit but not recognised, so it was treated as a mystery object