Recently, a news about the disintegration of Boeing satellite in the air has been discussed by netizens. What is the suspected disintegration of Boeing satellite? What is the reason for the disintegration of Boeing satellite? Let's take a look at the specific situation with Xiaobian.
Intelsat 29e (is-29e), a high-throughput geostationary orbit communication satellite operated by INTELSAT, recently broke down and finally disintegrated. The satellite is' made by Boeing 'and has been in service for only three years.
How does Boeing satellite disintegrate in the air
Intelsat said that since April 7, the is-29e propulsion system has failed and the propellant has leaked, and the communication with the earth has been interrupted. Doug Hendrix, CEO of exoanalytical solutions, a space situational awareness company, also announced at the 35th space summit that the company had observed debris flying from the is-29e. The company released a video taken by its telescope observation system showing the is-29e disintegrated after a propellant leak.
Causes of satellite disintegration
Che Zheng, head of the orbital dynamics group of the R & D Department of Shaanxi Xingyi Space Technology Co., Ltd., told Science and Technology Daily that there are usually three reasons for satellite disintegration: first, the pressure bearing capacity of the propellant storage device is weak, and its structure is damaged by high-pressure liquid propellant jet; The second is that the reaction moment of propellant leakage makes the satellite rotate rapidly, and after a certain speed, the centrifugal force makes the vulnerable parts of the satellite fall apart; the third is that the leaked propellant explodes when it meets with electricity, which makes the satellite disintegrate.
Jiang Yu, of the State Key Laboratory of aerospace dynamics, said that during the disintegration of is-29e, the fragments gradually separated, more like the disintegration caused by rotational acceleration. The results of modeling and calculation show that there are 9-10 debris more than 0.5 meters generated by this event. These fragments drift eastward by an average of 0.4307 degrees per day, but the structure connected with the propellant tank is still accelerated by the reaction force of propellant leakage, and the drift speed may reach 1.3 degrees per day. This part of the structure will drift from 50 degrees west longitude to 34 degrees west longitude before May 1.
The reporter learned that the observation result of exoanalytical solutions company is that the satellite drift speed after disintegration exceeds 1 degree per day, which is very close to the calculation result of Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu said that the amount of debris generated by rotational disintegration is far less than that generated by collision, but such drifting debris is very dangerous, which may threaten other satellites in geostationary orbit, especially debris more than 0.5 meters. It is necessary to monitor their movement and take timely measures to prevent more debris from secondary collision and cause greater losses.
The disintegration of Boeing satellite will have a very negative impact on the safe and stable operation of other satellites in geostationary orbit.
According to Jiang Yu's simulation calculation, if the large debris produced by this rotational disintegration collides with Telstar 11n satellite at 37.5 degrees west longitude, 108 pieces of debris more than 10 cm and 450 pieces of debris more than 5 cm will be produced. These debris will have a very negative impact on the safe and stable operation of other satellites in geostationary orbit.
Developed by Boeing, is-29e is the first satellite of the "epic" series of high-throughput communication satellites of the international communications satellite organization. It is more than 7 meters in length and the size of a commercial vehicle. Its total weight is more than 6.5 tons and its cost is 400 million US dollars. It was launched in January 2016 and has a design life of more than 15 years. Now it has been in service for only 3 years and has' died prematurely '. It is worth noting that the is-33e, the second star of the 'epic' series, which is also manufactured by Boeing, also suffered from propulsion system failure after its launch in September 2016. Although it finally survived the crisis with no danger, its life expectancy was shortened by 18 months due to excessive fuel consumption.