Anchors Aweigh as Space Debris Heightens RiskAnchors Aweigh as Space Debris Heightens Risk

Is your satellite provider headed for a collision too, or will space junk foil your VSAT operations?

The Soviet satellite that collided with an Iridium satellite Wednesday is coincidental to our DirecTV outage that was due to rain, I hope. There are hundreds of thousands of pieces of space junk and with this collision, 600 more are added. How experts determined 600, I don't know. Is your satellite provider headed for a collision too, or will space junk foil your VSAT operations?I remember speaking with folks at the former Satellite Business Systems (SBS) about debris and I also remember the time that RCA lost a satellite that was insured by the good folks at Lloyd's of London. What I don't recall are the solutions to gather and/or control space junk. Not only is space junk a growing concern, but the altitude and crowding of satellites in orbit today is one more concern that leaves the user of satellite services with little comfort.

For the last couple of years Verizon has been hawking DirecTV and attempting to move into the market by offering TV FIOS. DirecTV can't make money if their birds are down or splattered across the galactic skies. I can't help but wonder whether or not DirecTV and Verizon have contingency plans in place, or if DirecTV has a plan to move out of space and into the underground by way of fiber.

Then for businesses that do use DirecTV and other satellite services, what contingency plans do you have in place? How much would it cost to operate under those contingent plans for extended periods or indefinitely?

Other questions stir the pot because I know the cost of going into space isn't in most budgets and if NASA can't afford to, it's unlikely that DirecTV, Iridium or anyone else can afford to either. After all, they don't have their own rockets.Is your satellite provider headed for a collision too, or will space junk foil your VSAT operations?