[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

(meteorobs) Spaceball, baseball




I decided to forward this since we have had a satellite-baseball thread 
lately!

Wayne

In article 
<Pine.LNX.3.93.971109105303.19865A-100000@nova.astro.utorontodot ca> 
Andrew Yee <ayee@nova.astro.utorontodot ca> writes:>From: Andrew Yee 
<ayee@nova.astro.utorontodot ca>>Subject: Space Clutter Increases Risks for 
Insurers of Satellites (Forwarded)>Date: Sun, 9 Nov 1997 10:53:37 -0500

>A.M. BEST COMPANY, INC.
>Ambest Road, Oldwick, NJ 08858

>CONTACT: Jeffrey Dunsavage
>(908) 439-2200, ext. 5618
>Dunsavj@ambest.com

>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

>Space Clutter Increases Risks for Insurers of Satellites

>OLDWICK, N.J., Nov. 4, 1997 -- The number of man-made objects orbiting
>the Earth is rising, increasing the likelihood of collisions and unplanned
>re-entries. This bodes ill for insurers of satellites and spacecraft,
>according to an article in the November property/casualty edition of 
Best's
>Review.

>Less than a month before the woes of the Russian space station Mir made
>headlines, a 500-pound piece of debris passed within 1.5 miles of a
>satellite worth tens of millions of dollars. While 1.5 miles may not seem
>like a "near miss," NASA alerts its space shuttles of a possible collision
>when anything comes within 31.1 miles.

>Early this year, a bit of debris the size of a paint fleck collided with 
the
>space shuttle Discovery, punching halfway through its windshield. Several
>months before that, a French-made Cerise satellite collided with a
>discarded rocket body and was destroyed. This was the first insured loss
>of an in-orbit satellite caused by orbital debris. But with the private 
launch
>industry growing and the number of satellites in low-Earth orbit 
increasing,
>it is unlikely to be the last.

>Satellite insurance is a highly specialized market, accounting for $800
>million to $900 million in annual premiums and nearly $1 billion in
>capacity. More than two dozen companies offer the coverage, including
>Munich Re, Assurances Generales de France, Skandia, various Lloyd's
>syndicates, American International Group and Ace Ltd.

>At first glance, offering in-orbit coverage appears an easy way to make
>money. Satellites that survive their first six months in orbit are likely 
to
>survive 10 to 12 years, during which time the insurers collect steady
>premiums. However, one loss of $200 million or $300 million can more
>than wipe out the collected premiums.

>Recent launch activity is raising the ante, Best's Review says. "Six 
months
>ago, there were only seven insured low-Earth orbit satellites," says Chris
>Kunstadter, senior vice president of New York-based U.S. Aviation
>Underwriters Inc. "Now there are 37."

>Most of these satellites belong to Motorola Corp.'s Iridium project, a $5
>billion network of 66 satellites designed to provide wireless 
communication.
>Once Iridium is up, Motorola plans to launch M-star, a 77-satellite 
network
>to provide global broadcasting services. Under one projection, the
>likelihood of collisions could rise to one every 18 months once the 
Iridium
>constellation is fully developed.

>"A collision in low-Earth orbit not only takes out that satellite, but 
puts
>a bunch of debris into that orbit, " Mr. Kunstadter says. "Other things 
that
>are in that orbit might hit that debris and cause a cascading effect."

>Best's Review is published monthly by A.M. Best Co. Members of the media
>can obtain a copy of this article in its entirety by calling Jeffrey 
Dunsavage
>at (908) 439- 2200, ext. 5618. All others should call Customer Service at
>(908) 439-2200, ext. 5742.

>A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is America's oldest and most widely
>recognized insurance rating and information source.


>---
>Andrew Yee
>ayee@nova.astro.utorontodot ca