Astranis suffers glitch with Arcturus
July 24, 2023
By Chris Forrester
A satellite launched at the beginning of May 2023 has suffered a problem in orbit.
Arcturus was launched with its main mission to provide broadband services to serve Alaska with broadband.
However, San Francisco-based Astranis, which owns the craft, has revealed that it has suffered problems with the satellite’s solar panels. Astranis CEO John Gedmark said the satellite had “abruptly experienced” a pointing issue with the solar array drive assembly, the mechanical component that rotates the solar arrays relative to the sun.
As a result of this issue, the solar arrays are no longer capable of providing adequate power to the spacecraft. The company estimates that it can only generate enough power for about six to 12 hours per day.
“This is a frustrating situation. The Arcturus spacecraft is in a safe state and fully under our control, the payload and our other Astranis in-house designed components are all working perfectly, and the tanks are fuelled for years of on-orbit operation,” Gedmark said. “But unless something major changes, the mission of providing Internet connectivity in Alaska will be delayed.”
Astranis has implemented a ‘Plan B’ which is to speedily launch a second satellite (‘UtilitySat’) as an on-orbit back-up. This satellite, as well as three others, will launch before the end of 2023.