Turns Out, 'Zombie Satellite' Not as Evil as It Appeared

It may have captured the imagination of science-fiction enthusiasts around the world, but fears that an out-of-control "zombie satellite" could wreak havoc in space have turned out to be largely unfounded, according to the company that owns it.
 

The trials and tribulations of Galaxy 15 developed a near cult following in the weeks after the craft malfunctioned this spring. (It helped, perhaps, that one of the signals broadcast via the satellite was the SyFy channel.) It's been nicknamed the "zombie satellite" because its electronic brain was fried but its communication payload is still functioning.
 



 
The real danger with the zombie satellite is not that it would crash into other spacecraft -- something Good describes as "physically impossible" -- but that it would interfere with signals from other satellites as it drifts.
 
This week Galaxy 15 completed a successful fly-by of another communications satellite, Galaxy 13, with no disruption. Starting next week, Galaxy 15 will start a fly-by of yet another satellite, Galaxy 14 -- only now Intelsat is much more confident that things will go smoothly.
 
The closest pass between Galaxy 15 and Galaxy 14 is expected to take place on July 30, but the company isn't bracing for the worst. "We do know what we're doing," Good said.
 
In the meantime, military researchers using new data obtained from NASA satellites say there is proof that it was a solar storm that fried Galaxy 15's brain this spring.
 
Researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory describe Galaxy 15 as the "first casualty" of the new solar cycle, which produced an eruption of magnetic energy on April 3. The news is not surprising: Experts had pinned the likely blame on a solar storm ever since Galaxy 15 first stopped responding to commands from Earth.
 
Intelsat, however, says it's still not clear a solar storm was the cause.
 
The question now is, what lies ahead for the zombie satellite? At a certain point, its solar panels will no longer face the correct direction. That will eventually drain the satellite's battery, and when that happens, the payload will shut off.
 
According to Good, computer simulations run with Orbital, which built the satellite, indicate that could happen in late August, "plus or minus 20 days."
 
At that point, Good said, there's a chance that the satellite's internal computer will essentially reset itself, and then the craft will spring back to life and be ready to take commands.
 
In the worst case, Galaxy 15 will go from being a zombie satellite to being utterly lifeless, just floating in space. "In the best case," Good said, "we get it back."