The old Skynet-1A military satellite, launched in 1969 by the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense, has been moved. Surprisingly, the British government claims it wasn’t responsible for this action.
Context. Skynet-1A was the first British satellite. Although it’s no longer operational, its original purpose was to establish secure communications between London and British military forces stationed in remote locations like Singapore.
At the end of its operational life, Skynet-1A was expected to decay into a gravitational hole at 75 degrees East longitude over the Indian Ocean. However, that’s not what happened.
Half the planet has moved. A gravity hole is a specific region in geostationary orbit where satellites tend to cluster due to variations in the Earth’s gravitational field.
According to the laws of orbital mechanics, Skynet-1A was expected to fall into the gravity hole over the Indian Ocean. However, it has moved to a location 105 degrees West longitude, now positioned over the American continent.
A simple explanation. It’s very unlikely for the satellite to have reached its current position without human intervention. BBC News reports that someone may have ordered its thrusters to be activated sometime in the 1970s to facilitate this movement.
Rachel Hill, a researcher at University College London, suspects U.S. involvement. At some point, while the British station was undergoing maintenance, control of the satellite was temporarily transferred to U.S. personnel. She believes American scientists may have moved the satellite then.
Graham Davison, a former Skynet-1A engineer, acknowledges the possibility that control of the satellite could’ve been transferred to the U.S. However, he doesn’t recall any specific details about it.
Why is this a problem? In its unexpected final orbit, Skynet-1A poses a hazard. The British satellite isn’t maneuverable and has been inactive for decades, yet it frequently approaches operational satellites.
“It’s still relevant because whoever did move Skynet-1A did us few favors,” space consultant Stuart Eves said in an interview with the BBC. According to space agreements, the UK remains liable for any collisions, even if the British Ministry of Defense says it had no involvement in its displacement.
There’s another possibility. The UK’s Ministry of Defense claims that the British National Space Operations Centre constantly monitors Skynet-1A. However, the unusual nature of its displacement has led astrodynamicist T.S. Kelso to propose another theory. He suggests that the object being tracked may not actually be Skynet-1A.
A change of attitude. In the 1970s, little attention was given to the sustainability of Earth’s orbit or space debris management. Today, with space becoming increasingly congested, space agencies are adopting responsible practices to either de-orbit inactive satellites or relocate them to graveyard orbits.
Additionally, numerous startups are emerging with technologies designed to capture and de-orbit defunct satellites, such as Japan’s Astroscale.
Image | NASA| MoD | Scott Tilley
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