Bangladesh’s first satellite, BS-1, was saved from a potentially dangerous collision with debris from an old Indian satellite after engineers at Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) carried out calculations and a manoeuvre from its ground control station in Gazipur.
The debris came as close as 852 metres to BS-1 on August 13, according to BSCL Managing Director Muhammad Imadur Rahman in an interview with The Daily Star today.
A warning about the approaching debris was received by BSCL’s ground control station around August 8-9 from Space-Track, a US-based space surveillance and tracking platform, Imadur said.
“Normally, there are some debris in space that keep moving around,” he said. Space-Track, which BSCL is a member of, regularly provides information when such objects pose a potential threat to satellites.
The debris approaching BS-1 was from INSAT-1A, India’s first satellite, which was launched in 1982 and later lost control, according to information shared by BSCL.
Once the warning was received, engineers at BSCL’s Gazipur control centre began assessing the satellite’s position, the expected trajectory of the debris and the possibility of a collision.
“We had to do all of these calculations, all the studies,” Imadur said. “Anyway, here the thing is, there is no room for mistakes.”
The engineers remained in continuous contact with Space-Track as the estimated time and distance of the closest approach became clearer.
The situation required BS-1 to be manoeuvred from its existing position to avoid the approaching debris.
“Then, considering that, we had to do some manoeuvre, the satellite manoeuvre, moving from the current location and so on,” Imadur said.
The closest approach took place on August 13. The debris passed within 852 metres of BS-1, he said.
The entire operation was conducted by Bangladeshi engineers from the ground control centre, without operational assistance from the French company Thales, which built the satellite.
“Thales was the company that originally made the satellite, but we did not take any help from them,” Imadur said. “Our engineers have done this completely.”
BS-1 was manufactured by Thales Alenia Space and launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre in May 2018. For the first three years after its launch, Thales engineers supported its operation. But BSCL took over full operational control in 2021.
“Our satellite was launched in 2018. So, for the first three years, there was support from Thales,” Imadur said. “Since 2021, we have been doing everything by ourselves.”
He said some support was available until 2024, but BSCL now handles the satellite’s operations independently.
The satellite can be controlled from the ground, with BSCL engineers operating it from its facility in Gazipur.
The August incident was not the first time BS-1 faced a potential collision with an object in space. Imadur said a similar incident occurred in 2021, while space-tracking agencies have also issued warnings about other debris passing close to the satellite.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/news/bangladesh-satellite-saved-space-debris-local-engineers-4293136
