12 Channels Having Technical Difficulties

[Mojo Jojo]

The following message is appearing on the channels listed below:
"This channel is currently having technical difficulties. DIRECTV has notified the program provider about the problem. There is no need to call DIRECTV."

559 IFC-Unstable Signal; now has slide message.
558-Sundance
339-Fuse
316-ShopNBC
298-Boomerang
297-Cartoon Network West
263-Documentary Channel
260-We
256-TCM
254-AMC
238-Reelz Channel
209-ESPN 2
206-ESPN

 

[r10fret]

Problem at 133 west with the galaxy 15 satellite which was hit by solar flair last month and they have been trying to get everthing moved over to galaxy 12.

 

[Jimbo]

ESPN's are working fine, haven't checked any of the others.

 

[Stan Sherman]

This might have something to do with the issue:
An adrift Intelsat satellite that stopped communicating with its ground controllers last month remains out of control and has begun moving eastward along the geostationary arc, raising the threat of interference with other satellites in its path, Intelsat and other industry officials said.


In what industry officials called an unprecedented event, Intelsat's Galaxy 15 communications satellite has remained fully "on," with its C-band telecommunications payload still functioning even as it has left its assigned orbital slot of 133 degrees west longitude 36,000 kilometers over the equator.


Galaxy 15 stopped responding to ground controllers on April 5. The satellite's manufacturer, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Virginia, has said an intense solar storm in early April may be to blame. It was launched into space in 2005.


The first satellite likely to face signal interference problems from the adrift Galaxy 15 is the AMC-11 C-band satellite owned by SES of Luxembourg and stationed at 131 degrees west, just two degrees away from Galaxy 15's starting position.

 

[Skyboss]

Could be this>

Looks like they are going to try and light up Galaxy 15 sometime today in a last ditch effort to kill it.

Galaxy 15 Still Adrift Poses Threat to Its Orbital Neighbors | SpaceNews.com

On May 3, Intelsat will play what as of April 30 appeared to be its last card by blasting Galaxy 15 with a more powerful signal intended not to salvage the satellite, but to force it into a complete shutdown. That attempt will last about 30 minutes. It will not be repeated, both because a second attempt is viewed as unnecessary — the treatment works or it does not — and because sending out powerful radio frequency signals carries the risk of interfering with other satellites in the area.

Even if the May 3 action succeeds, Galaxy 15 will remain a problem as it continues to wander the geostationary arc. But it is a problem that satellite operators know how to deal with. Industry experts say there are several dozen spacecraft, sometimes called “zombiesats,” that for various reasons were not removed from the geostationary highway before failing completely.

Depending on their position at the time of failure, these satellites tend to migrate toward one of two libration points, at 105 degrees west and 75 degrees east. Figures compiled by XL Insurance of New York, an underwriter of space risks, say that more than 160 satellites are gathered at these two points, which Bednarek described as the orbital equivalent of valleys.

My comments: 160 space turds floating out there dead? I know there's a bunch out there, but at somepoint they'll need to do something about them.

 

[r10fret]

"zombiesats?" YIKES! G12 has officially taken over for G15 at 133 west.

 

[jcrandall]

I can see it now:

"I told you not to push the red button!"