Posted: Tue, Aug 31, 2004, 11:04 AM ET (1504 GMT)
A recently-launched communications satellite has encountered a drop in pressure in one of its propellant tanks that may shorten its on-orbit lifetime. Officials with Spanish satellite operator Hispasat said that its Amazonas satellite, launched August 5, has lost pressure in one of two oxidizer tanks on the spacecraft. If the problem is not corrected, it could reduce the amount of propellant available for stationkeeping operations, which in turn would reduce the 15-year operational lifetime of the spacecraft. Hispasat said that engineers with EADS Astrium, who built the Eurostar 3000-class spacecraft, are looking into the problem. Amazonas has reached its position in geosynchronous orbit at 61 degrees west and is expected to enter commercial service in mid-September despite the propellant problem.
