On October 21, Intelsat announced the complete failure of its Intelsat-33e satellite, which stopped functioning on October 19. The company is working to determine what caused the incident and is shifting affected clients to alternative platforms. Following the failure, the U.S. Space Force reported tracking about 20 fragments from the satellite, as noted on X (formerly Twitter).
The sudden malfunction is unexpected, as the satellite had only operated for seven years, far below the typical lifespan of 15 to 20 years for similar satellites. Intelsat is collaborating with Boeing, the satellite’s manufacturer, and government agencies to investigate the issue. Launched on August 24, 2016, via an Ariane 5 rocket, the satellite began service in early 2017 and was positioned in geostationary orbit, 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth, where it maintained a fixed view over the same region.
While Intelsat did not reveal how many customers were impacted, it confirmed that clients across Europe, Africa, and parts of the Asia-Pacific region are being contacted. Additional debris may have emerged following the failure. The Swiss tracking firm s2a Systems reported spotting 40 pieces, while U.S.-based ExoAnalytic Solutions identified 57 fragments, with CEO Douglas Hendrix warning that these fragments could pose risks to other satellites in geostationary orbit.
This loss adds to prior challenges for Intelsat-33e, whose operational lifespan had already been reduced from 15 years to 12.5 years due to propulsion issues identified in 2017. A previous satellite in the same fleet, Intelsat-29e, also experienced a malfunction in 2019 after only three years, possibly caused by wiring problems, increased solar radiation, or a micrometeoroid impact.
Fortunately, the breakdown of Intelsat-33e does not affect lower-altitude constellations like SpaceX’s Starlink, whose satellites orbit at around 342 miles (550 kilometers)—well below the geostationary range of the failed satellite.