The BBC has reported that the satellite has mysteriously moved by 36,000km and now sits above the Americas. It is believed that during the mid-1970s it was ordered to move, but it is unknown who issued the command.
Without this interference the satellite would likely have ended up in a ‘gravity hole’ above the Indian Ocean. However, it is now in a gravity hole above South America. As reported by Heise, in this gravity hole, it swings as if it is going around a dish.
This discovery has prompted discussion concerning space debris, as it becomes an increasingly pressing issue. While, according to the BBC, it is now standard practice to place disused satellites into ‘orbital graveyards’ this was not given much thought during the 1970s.
There are currently no laws concerning the removal of space debris, however, the 1972 Liability Convention states that the ‘launching state’ bears responsibility for the damage caused by debris. In 2023, NASA reported that there are 6,000 tonnes of materials in low Earth orbit due to the high cost of removal programmes.
Moriba Jah, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Texas, has voiced his concern over ‘super-spreader events’. This refers to incidents in which a piece of debris is hit scattering smaller pieces of debris into orbit.
