It doesn't have enough fuel. Even if it hadn't used 14 years worth of propellant for stationkeeping, it would not have enough fuel to deorbit. As far as I know, no geostationary satellite has ever been deorbited because it requires an impractical amount of fuel to do.
The satellite should not explode once it gets to the graveyard orbit because the batteries will be disconnected and there will be no load on the batteries.
Orbital debris is a very serious concern in the geostationary belt. Old satellites need to be moved out to make way for new ones. This fact is also why there will never be any amateur satellites placed in the geostationary belt. No regulatory body is going to let an amateur group place a satellite there. We are at the mercy of finding a commercial or government host satellite to get an amateur payload into geostationary orbit.
73,
Paul, N8HM
On Fri, Jan 24, 2020 at 3:13 PM Daniel Holmes via AMSAT-BB [email protected] wrote:
Stupid question…why put them in a graveyard orbit where they are now debris vs deorbiting satellites? Especially in this case where there’s a non-zero chance it’ll explode and throw more debris in all directions.
Dan
Daniel Holmes, [email protected] "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!" -- Lord John Whorfin
On Jan 24, 2020, at 10:58 AM, Paul Stoetzer via AMSAT-BB [email protected] wrote:
The more common term used in this context is "graveyard orbit." Relocation to 300 km above the GEO altitude is what FCC regulations require at the end of life of any geostationary satellite.
73,
Paul, N8HM
On Fri, Jan 24, 2020 at 12:52 PM jim--- via AMSAT-BB [email protected] wrote:
Zach Metzinger posted:
Here's an interesting article from the newsfeed:
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/directv-races-to-deco...
Odd that they are calling a new orbit 300km above the geo arc as a disposal orbit. That does not sound right to me - as the article pointed out...
73
Jim Walls - K6CCC [email protected]
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Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb