Intelsat 33e loses power in geostationary orbit

TAMPA, Fla. – The Intelsat 33e satellite has lost power in geostationary orbit and the satellite is no longer providing communications to customers across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia-Pacific, its operator announced Oct. 19.

Intelsat said it is working with satellite maker Boeing to address the anomaly, but “believes the satellite is unlikely to be recoverable.” An Intelsat spokesman said the satellite was not secured at the time the order was issued.

The company said in a brief press release that it is working to transfer customers to other satellites in Intelsat’s fleet or spacecraft operated by third parties.

Intelsat 33e was launched in August 2016 and entered service in January 2017 at 60°E, about three months later than scheduled after a problem with its main propulsion engine.

A second propulsion problem that arose during in-orbit tests helped delay about 3.5 years of the satellite’s initially estimated 15-year life.

Intelsat 33e is the second in Intelsat’s EpicNG (Next Generation) series of high-throughput satellites.

The first satellite, Intelsat-29e, was declared completely lost in 2019 after just three years in orbit. This failure has been linked to either a meteorite impact or faulty wiring that resulted in an electrostatic discharge following increased solar weather activity.

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