Sky is Falling, ‘Lost’ Finale Threatened

From Boston.com:

Drifting satellite threatens US cable programming

Communications company Intelsat said it lost control of the Galaxy 15 satellite on April 5, possibly because the satellite’s systems were knocked out by a solar storm. Intelsat cannot remotely steer the satellite to remain in its orbit, so Galaxy 15 is creeping toward the adjacent path of another TV communications satellite that serves U.S. cable companies.

Galaxy 15 continues to receive and transmit satellite signals, and they will probably overlap and interfere with signals from the second satellite, known as AMC 11, if Galaxy 15 drifts into its orbit as expected around May 23, according to the two satellite companies.

May 23rd, are you kidding me? Cable TV service may be disrupted on the very day of the ‘Lost’ series finale? Is this an insidious plot by Charles Widmore?

No, this will not stand. Whatever company launched the satellite in the first place, private contractors, NASA, the military… whoever… Somebody needs to launch a rocket up there right now to fix this thing. I am not… I repeat, AM NOT… going to miss the ‘Lost’ finale for anything.

I currently have no equipment set up to receive Over-the-Air TV transmissions. Quick, somebody give me the rundown on everything I’ll need to set a back-up plan in place. What antenna should I buy? Do I need a receiver/decoder box? How much is this going to cost me?

7 comments

  1. Josh

    AMC 11 does not carry ABC, so you are safe. Google AMC 11 and you can see which channels would be affected.

    • Josh Zyber
      Author

      Is it network specific, or cable provider specific? I tried Googling it, but only found a reference that the satellite’s owner “would not name any of the cable television channels or providers that could be affected or say how long the interference could last.”

      If you have a link with a list of affected channels, that would be much appreciated.

    • Josh Zyber
      Author

      My nearest friends who DON’T use cable have a 13″ TV with rabbit ears. As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure if they even bothered to add an analog converter box.

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