[Satellite News 06-04-10] Since losing control of the Galaxy 15 satellite April 5 after a solar flare instigated an anomaly, FSS operator Intelsat has faced simultaneous challenges beyond the loss of the satellite itself. The first was engaging in a cooperative effort with other operators and its own customers to determine the best way to avoid interference as Galaxy 15 drifted further from its 133 degrees West orbit. The second challenge was dealing with fast-spreading rumors that the satellite would interfere with, and possibly disrupt, major U.S. pay-TV broadcasting platforms and services provided by SES World Skies’ AMC-11.
    Unfortunately for Intelsat, the first challenge received much less attention in the media and in professional circles than the second.
    Intelsat CTO Thierry Guillemin told Satellite News that the panic stirred over Galaxy 15’s potential to disrupt U.S. pay-TV services largely was “unfounded,” as the operators involved developed a strategy, led by SES CTO Alan Young, almost immediately after Intelsat lost control of the satellite.
    “We communicated our situation with everyone involved from day one,” said Guillemin. “We worked with both SES and customers and had several options to prevent any service disruption. Some of the claims that were floating on blogs and media sites outside of the satellite-specific press painted a completely inaccurate picture, considering that we have experience dealing with these situations and have been successful in the past with similar service transitions.”
    The rumors Guillemin referred to may have confused “interference” with “service disruption.” Intelsat already transitioned Galaxy 15’s media traffic to Galaxy 12 and relocated the satellite to the 133 degrees West orbital slot just four days after the Galaxy 15 anomaly.
    Internally, the operators’ technical teams did not let themselves get distracted from their initial task. SES World Skies and Intelsat’s plan, announced May 17, involved both orbital maneuvers and service transmission shifts to prevent any disruption and interference.
    Both elements of the plan proved to be successful. Intelsat supported SES during its avoidance maneuvers by providing signal turnaround services at Intelsat’s Clarksburg, Md., teleport via a 19-meter uplink-tracking antenna, which was used by all of SES’s AMC-11 customers. The extremely high-signal directivity provided by the 19-meter antenna focused more carrier energy directly to AMC-11 while reducing that same carrier energy away from Galaxy 15. AMC-11 now is matching the eastward drift of Galaxy 15 in order to maintain a minimum separation between the two satellites. SES-1 also has moved to the opposite side of Galaxy 15, and customers will either be able to maintain services on AMC-11 during its drift or repoint antennas to SES-1.
    Guillemin said the experience proves that satellite operators learn from these types of issues and become more prepared to deal with them when they happen. “All technical situations are different, of course. As these situations evolve, we learn that, based on what we have done on AMC-11, we are well prepared for the next few flybys that we have over the next few months.”
    SES’ Young called the cooperation between the two operators and their customers an “extraordinary technical initiative that underscores our commitment to finding innovative solutions to minimize the impact of an unexpected event like this on our customers. A team of our best engineers and scientists is working around the clock to ensure the success of this unprecedented mission.”
    Galaxy 15 will leave AMC-11’s orbital box June 7, and Guillemin said future flybys with other spacecraft would be easier to deal with. “There are several factors that will make them easier. The first is that the satellites involved are Intelsat satellites, so we only have to coordinate with ourselves, which is the easiest situation. The second is that the drift rate of Galaxy 15 is increasing over time. It will double and triple before the end of August, drifting by other satellites faster and faster, but the inclination of the orbit is also increasing, which increases the separation from the other satellites and minimizes interference.”
    Guillemin said that Intelsat’s wider sensitivity range on its satellites provided an advantage to the operator when dealing with potential interference. “When one of the satellites has a problem, we always have the ability to increase the sensitivity of the other active satellites. We decrease the uplink power we transmit to them and minimize the power that the disabled satellite would receive in any event. This is a big factor in minimizing interference now and in the future.”
    While the situation’s resolution received much less attention than the potential threat of the drifting Galaxy 15, Guillemin is confident in the operator’s ability to deal with these situations and that the company “will continue to provide a lot of information on the Web site to our customers and affiliates so that rumors have less chances to exist among professionals.”