How To Destroy $135 Million Almost Instantly
from the drop-a-satellite dept
Whoops. Last year, workers at Lockheed Martin, attempting to move a $239 million satellite, dropped the satellite 3 whole feet, causing $135 million worth of damages. An investigation into the matter now blames workers who failed to follow anything resembling procedure in checking to see if the device was secured before moving it. Still, who sets up a $200+ million satellite in a way that a simple 3 foot drop will cause $135 million worth of damages?
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
3 foot drop...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: 3 foot drop...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Satellites are fragile...
Uh, no-one if they follow procedures...
Satellites are fragile. They have bracing and internal chassis that holds them together during relocation and launch (about 24 bolts, apparently), but their "skin" is usually a mixture of extremely expensive solar collectors, reflective material, antennae, and given that it's a weather satellite, high precision optics (the article mentioned that two such instruments were damaged), ... the list goes on. Satellites are also usually heavy - so letting them fall a meter gives a fair bit of momentum to bash in some of those expensive bits sticking out - thus damaging internal componentry as well.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
More than 3 feet
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
OOOP's
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Satellite Doom with a View
Maybe there's some securitycam tapes floating around, let's hope something appears. It'd be a perfect start to a new season of "America's Funniest Corporate Videos".
[ link to this | view in chronology ]