During Orbcomm’s second-quarter results call (on 3 August), it was revealed that three different Orbcomm OG2 (second generation) spacecraft had recently suffered anomalies resulting in a loss of communications on all three spacecraft.
The first new anomaly occurred during April 2017 affecting a satellite that had previously suffered from a solar array issue in 2016. This caused a loss of communications with the satellite.
Communications were also lost with a second Orbcomm OG2 satellite in June. This spacecraft had originally been launched December 2015.
A third Orbcomm OG2 satellite failed in July having been launched three years earlier in July 2014.
Orbcomm is continuing to investigate the causes and the possibility of recovering the spacecraft. If they are not recoverable, the company has stated that the remaining fleet capacity will still be “multiple times more capable than current demand”. Orbcomm does not intend to file an insurance claim since the spacecraft were only covered for their launches plus one year in orbit.
Corporate logo of Orbcomm Inc. Courtesy of Orbcomm.
