US warning helps Bangladesh satellite avoid dangerous space debris

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Bangladesh’s first communications satellite, BS-1, was moved out of the path of debris from India’s defunct INSAT-1A after the US space surveillance network warned that the object was approaching dangerously close.

The alert was issued on August 9, prompting engineers at Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL) to monitor the debris for four days and determine the safest way to manoeuvre the satellite. On August 13, BS-1 was shifted slightly to the left and remained in the adjusted position until the debris had passed, after which it was returned to its original location.

BSCL said the debris came as close as 852 metres to BS-1. Managing Director Muhammad Imadur Rahman said the US tracking information enabled the engineering team to respond effectively and avoid a possible collision.

The incident highlights the growing risks posed by space debris, which includes fragments of old satellites, launch vehicles and other spacecraft remaining in orbit. Such objects can travel at extremely high speeds and threaten operational satellites. In 2009, Russia’s inactive Cosmos-2251 collided with the US communications satellite Iridium-33, destroying both and creating thousands of additional debris fragments.

The debris near BS-1 was identified as coming from INSAT-1A, one of India’s early communications satellites. According to Indian Space Research Organisation records, INSAT-1A was launched on April 10, 1982, but developed problems within months and was deactivated on September 6 that year. Parts of the satellite have continued to orbit Earth.

Following the US warning, BSCL engineers continuously tracked the debris and assessed the possible consequences of moving BS-1. They had to determine the safest direction and distance for the manoeuvre while also ensuring that the satellite could later be returned to its designated position.

BSCL said the satellite suffered no significant damage during the operation. The company described the successful manoeuvre as an achievement for its engineering team.

BS-1 is monitored around the clock from BSCL’s main control centre at the Joydebpur ground station in Gazipur. More than 50 engineers work there in shifts, monitoring the satellite’s condition, position and operations and carrying out manoeuvres when necessary.

This was not BS-1’s first close encounter with another object in orbit. BSCL said the satellite faced a similar threat from debris associated with a Russian satellite in 2021, while a US satellite passed unusually close to it in 2025.

Built by France-based Thales Alenia Space, BS-1 was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 12, 2018. It was initially known as Bangabandhu Satellite-1 before its name was changed following the 2024 July Uprising.

The satellite cost Bangladesh around Tk3,000 crore and made the country the 57th nation to own a communications satellite. It has 40 transponders, half available for domestic use and the remainder leased to users abroad, generating foreign-currency earnings. Bangladesh’s television channels are among its major users.