UK’s oldest satellite moved. No one knows who moved it

Skynet-1A, the oldest British satellite, was moved into outer space, but nobody knows who moved it or how. The satellite was originally placed into orbit over the eastern coast of Africa in 1969 to transmit encrypted messages for British troops. When Skynet-1A malfunctioned a few years later, scientists expected gravity to pull it further east, causing it to crash into the Indian Ocean.

To everyone's surprise, Skynet-1A is still hanging over the planet, now over North and South America, hovering at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers. According to orbital laws, it is unlikely that this military satellite could have reached its current position by itself. Almost certainly, in the mid-1970s, someone activated Skynet-1A's engines, directing it westward, leading to the conclusion that it was intentionally moved.

Scientists are baffled by Skynet-1A's new position, as celestial mechanics indicate that the probability it arrived there due to accidental drift is negligible. The satellite is located at 105 degrees west longitude, in a so-called "gravitational well," wandering back and forth like a ball rolling across the bottom of a bowl. Unfortunately, because of this, it regularly comes dangerously close to other satellites.

"This issue is still important because whoever moved Skynet-1A hasn't done us any favors," Dr. Stuart Eves, a space affairs consultant in Britain told BBC. 

According to Eves, Skynet-1A's new position has increased the risk of it colliding with another satellite, as it regularly comes close to other satellite traffic. "Since the old satellite is dead, there's a risk it could collide with something. And since this satellite is 'ours', we are still responsible for anything it might do," he said.

The question remains: who gave such a command, and with what authorization and purpose? Eves reviewed old satellite catalogs, studied documents from the National Archives, and spoke with satellite engineering experts from around the world—but found no clues.

Rachel Hill, a PhD student at University College London, reviewed documents about Skynet-1A and the National Archives regarding its control and movement. Her studies have led her to a very logical possibility. She speculates that plausible explanations exist for how Skynet-1A has arrived at its present location, including the possibility that it was moved when RAF Oakhanger was down for maintenance.

"A Skynet team from Oakhanger would go to the USAF satellite facility in Sunnyvale (colloquially known as the Blue Cube) and operate Skynet during 'Oakout'. This was when control was temporarily transferred to the US while Oakhanger was down for essential maintenance. Perhaps the move could have happened then?" she is cited as saying by Express.co.uk.

In the early 1970s, engineer Graham Davison managed Skynet-1A from the British Royal Air Force's center RAF Oakhanger in Hampshire. According to Davison, the Americans initially controlled Skynet-1A when it was launched into space. "Essentially it was double control, but when or why Skynet-1A may have been handed back to the Americans, which seems likely—I unfortunately don't remember," he said, BBC reported.

Veterans of the program that put Skynet-1A in space believe the satellite revolutionized UK telecommunications capacity, enabling secure communication between London and British forces in distant locations, such as those in Singapore. “From a technological point of view, the satellite was more American than British, since it was built and launched by the United States," Professor Aaron Bateman notes, according to Dagens Nyheter.

Regardless of how Skynet-1A ended up where it is now, it was allowed to "die" in a very inconvenient place, whereas it should have been moved to an "orbital graveyard." The term "graveyard orbit" refers to a region at an even higher altitude in the sky where old space debris is moved so that there is no risk of collision with active satellites.

Transferring to a graveyard orbit is now a standard procedure, but in the 1970s, no one paid attention to sustainable space development. Attitudes have changed since then, because the space around the Earth has become more crowded. At the 105th degree of west longitude, where Skynet-1A is located, active satellites may encounter space debris within 50 kilometers of their position up to four times a day. Although this seems like a large distance, at the speed these non-functioning objects move, such proximity begins to cause concern.

An official from the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence stated that Skynet-1A is under constant monitoring by the United Kingdom's National Space Operations Centre, and satellite operators are informed about the probability of dangerous proximity to take action if necessary. Ultimately, the British government may have to decide to transfer this old satellite to a safer location.

Technologies for collecting space debris are being developed, with the UK Space Agency funding projects specifically for lower orbits. Britain is currently allocating budget for such projects in lower orbits. The United States and China have proven that aging equipment can be captured even at the high orbit occupied by Skynet-1A.

“Space debris pieces are like ticking time bombs. We must avoid what I call 'super dispersive' events. When these objects explode or collide with something, they produce thousands of pieces of debris that create danger for other space objects that are important and vital," said Moriba Jah, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. 

Sources: BBC, Dagens Nyheter, Express.co.uk

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq