Dish Launch Goes Well, But Loses Another Satellite

Yesterday was a strange day for me, it was strange because I knew something that I felt was true, but no one would verify if what I knew was true or not.  It was because of what I knew I went into last’s night launch of Echostar XI with an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach.

I set my alarm clock last night for 12:45 am so I could wake up and catch the launch of the new Echostar 11 satellite.  I am glad I woke up, as it was an amazing launch to watch and I was able to enjoy the launch with about 100 readers and friends who were online in a chat room watching the launch together.

At about 11:30 am yesterday I started getting reports that the Echostar II satellite at Dish Networks 148 degree orbital location failed over night.  This rumor seemed to have some legs as overnight Dish moved all the channels from the Echostar II satellite to the Echostar I satellite which is also parked at 148.  As the day went on I was getting more and more information on the failure including log files showing that telemetry was lost to the satellite.

I tried contacting Echostar numerous times to confirm or deny the news and didn’t receive any replies to my inquiries.  To me the lack of a response was a telling sign, as the folks at Echostar have one of the best PR departments in the industry.  As the old saying goes, sometimes silence says a lot.

We called last night’s chat event a launch party. But honestly no one was celebrating, as there was a feeling in the air of uncertainty.  At my web site we have been discussing the possible loss of Echostar II for a good part of the day.  Most of the folks in the chat were on pins and needles, as they knew this satellite had to make it or Dish Network was in some major trouble. It wasn’t until they announced that they received signal from the new satellite did everyone finally get excited.

Sea Launch did last night’s launch and broadcast and they did an amazing job.  Everything was well scripted and planned out and more importantly it made this launch feel important.  Hats off to Paula Korn from Sea Launch who pulled the entire launch together.

Just a few minutes ago Echostar released an 8k to the SEC announcing the news I was following yesterday and that was that Echostar II satellite was declared a total loss.

Echostar recently filed with the FCC for approval to move the Echostar II satellite to the 77 degree orbital location “where it will operate as a Mexican-licensed satellite, and to provide service from the satellite into the U.S.” and from what I understand they were (ironically) granted that permission to move the satellite late yesterday afternoon.

The satellite was going to be moved to the 77 degree location for use in Dish Networks upcoming “Eastern Arc” all MPEG4 service.  Now with the failure of Echostar II it throws a big wrench in those plans.

The good news again is that last nights launch was a success and with any luck the new satellite will have a long life of 15 years.  To those folks at Echostar I offer both my condolences and congratulations to them.  They have had a rough year with their satellites, but I can’t wait to see what the new Echostar XI satellite can do!