The Anik F2 satellite that provides my internet access decided to shut off and pout for 36 hours. For reasons unknown on 6:30 am Wednesday it turned off, went into safe mode and rotated to point at the sun instead of at the Earth. That ensures it gets enough solar power but of course it also stops all traffic except for the low gain antenna control link.
Anik F2 was launched in 2004 and is owned by the Canadian company Telesat. When it went off line a huge number of people were affected including about 1/2 million internet subscribers on Wild Blue, Hughes and Galaxy Broadband. It shut down some ATMs, some news wires, Shaw Satellite TV, TV backhauls for programming content and news feeds, Airports in northern Canada, schools in remote areas, weather information, Bank data transfers and much more.
Fortunately they were able to control it and restart the system. That take at least 24 hours to allow time for the satellite to return to normal pointing. That is usually done by using flywheels so it is a slow process.
I now have my internet service back along with all the other users of the data services it provides.
It brings up a very big question though. What the heck is plan B?
The unfortunate thing about this "anomaly" is they say they have no idea what caused it. That is not a good thing. I am a firm believer in the idea that machines do not fix themselves unless explicitly designed to do so.
If that satellite croaks for good it will be a very big problem for a large number of people and businesses as well as governments. It is one of the largest and most powerful communications satellites in the sky with the possible exception of some military hardware.
If Anik F2 goes down for good the cost will be in the multi-billions and it will takes years to replace the capacity.
This isn't your ordinary comm satellite. It has a total raw bandwidth of 7.3 gigahertz not including compression techniques. Including the solar panels it is about 150 ft wide and weighs about 6.5 tons.
Anik F2 was launched in 2004 and is owned by the Canadian company Telesat. When it went off line a huge number of people were affected including about 1/2 million internet subscribers on Wild Blue, Hughes and Galaxy Broadband. It shut down some ATMs, some news wires, Shaw Satellite TV, TV backhauls for programming content and news feeds, Airports in northern Canada, schools in remote areas, weather information, Bank data transfers and much more.
Fortunately they were able to control it and restart the system. That take at least 24 hours to allow time for the satellite to return to normal pointing. That is usually done by using flywheels so it is a slow process.
I now have my internet service back along with all the other users of the data services it provides.
It brings up a very big question though. What the heck is plan B?
The unfortunate thing about this "anomaly" is they say they have no idea what caused it. That is not a good thing. I am a firm believer in the idea that machines do not fix themselves unless explicitly designed to do so.
If that satellite croaks for good it will be a very big problem for a large number of people and businesses as well as governments. It is one of the largest and most powerful communications satellites in the sky with the possible exception of some military hardware.
If Anik F2 goes down for good the cost will be in the multi-billions and it will takes years to replace the capacity.
This isn't your ordinary comm satellite. It has a total raw bandwidth of 7.3 gigahertz not including compression techniques. Including the solar panels it is about 150 ft wide and weighs about 6.5 tons.
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