Ecuador tried to save the satellite and hit the universe

The Ecuadorian Space Agency (EXA) is trying to contact their only satellite after it stops sending and receiving signals because it stabs trash in space.

>>>Satellite Ecuador collided with Soviet missile fragments

Pegaso , Ecuador's first and only satellite, has a cube-like shape with 10cm each side. The satellite - with a mass of 1.2kg - was launched in China on April 25. It flew at a height of 650 km to transmit the images that it took to the earth, and played the Ecuadorian national anthem.

A few days ago Pegaso hit a cloud of dust from an old rocket launched by the Soviet Union in 1985, the BBC reported.

EXA announced their satellites still moving in orbit after hitting the dust, but its solar panels suffered damage.

The Ecuadorian government invested $ 700,000 to launch the artificial satellite Pegaso to orbit Earth in April. (Photo: info.ec)

"Pegaso's antenna has lost its direction and it is rotating in two axes," said Ronnie Nader, EXA director.

Nader confirmed that the satellite could not send or receive signals, but he hoped EXA experts would contact him.

"We are still working hard to stabilize Pegaso's movement and record its signal," EXA said.

The accident took place in the context of EXA wanting to launch the second artificial satellite in August this year. Thousands of Ecuadorians have used social networks to express their support for EXA. However, some argue that it is a mistake for the government to invest $ 700,000 in the Pegasus launch.

The US Aerospace Agency (NASA) estimates that 170 million pieces of cosmic trash (with a length of 1mm or more) are flying around the earth. They are satellites that stop functioning, parts of missiles, debris and many types of components. About 30,000 cosmic trash is more than 10cm in length. Radar can detect them, but can not detect smaller pieces of trash.

In the 6th space waste conference in Darmstadt, Germany in April, experts warned that the frequency of collisions between artificial satellites and spacecraft with space junk would increase in the future. Models show that the amount of space waste over 10cm in length will increase by 30% over the next 200 years. With this momentum, every 5 to 9 years, people will witness a collision between artificial satellites and cosmic garbage in the low orbit of the globe (less than 2,000 km above the ground).