Intelsat notified satellite trackers that the 15-year-old Spaceway-1 had been successfully decommissioned well above the threshold for the GEO graveyard orbit.
Risk of explosion for Spaceway-1 was minimal while the battery remained powered down, but operating on direct solar power would not be possible starting in late February when several weeks of eclipses in its geostationary orbit would require periodic shadow passes.
By 2020-02-10 Spaceway-1 had completed a 500-kilometer climb to a graveyard orbit.
DirecTV originally planned to leave Spaceway-1 at 300 km above the geostationary arc but later increased the planned altitude to 500 km, possibly to consume or vent more fuel.
Spaceway-1 operated from geostationary orbit approximately 36,0 m above the equator.
Spaceway-1 has been retired to a graveyard orbit 500 km above the geostationary arc.
Spaceway-1 will start regularly crossing Earth's shadow beginning 2020-02-25, initiating an extended period of brief eclipses that require battery power.
Spaceway-1 is raising its altitude toward a graveyard orbit about 300 km above active geostationary communications satellites.
DirecTV told the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that the company needs to decommission Spaceway-1 by 2020-02-25 to avoid the risk of an explosion.
DirecTV’s Spaceway-1 satellite began relocating from the geostationary arc on 2020-01-29.
As of Friday morning following 2020-01-29, Spaceway-1 was approximately 100 to 120 km above the geosynchronous arc and drifting west about 1.4 degrees per day.
DirecTV filed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission that using the battery becomes unavoidable when Spaceway-1 starts experiencing eclipses in geostationary orbit in late February, creating a risk of catastrophic battery failure if the satellite is not relocated and decommissioned by then.
Spaceway-1 was originally used by DirecTV to broadcast television channels and was later dedicated to providing backup capacity over Alaska.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved DirecTV’s 2020-01-19 request to relocate Spaceway-1 into a graveyard orbit above GEO and deferred a decision on allowing the operator to forgo expelling the satellite’s remaining onboard fuel before permanent shutdown.
Spaceway-1 was the first of three virtually identical Spaceway satellites built by Boeing and launched between 2005 and 2007.
DirecTV is relocating Spaceway-1 to a disposal orbit 300 km above the geosynchronous arc while the satellite can still operate using power directly generated by its solar panels and bypassing the battery.
Spaceway-1 was launched in 2005 on a Sea Launch Zenit 3SL rocket.
Spaceway-1 is a Boeing-built High Power 702 model satellite.
DirecTV determined that the risk of a catastrophic battery failure makes it urgent that Spaceway-1 be fully de-orbited and decommissioned prior to the 2020-02-25 start of eclipse season.
Spaceway-1 originally provided high-definition television direct broadcasting services from an orbital slot at 102.8 degrees west longitude.