Taxpayer Funded Satellite Had 'Deep-Seated Problems' From Launch
The government paid about $30 million towards MethaneSAT which lost contact on 20 June and is believed to be unrecoverable.
New Zealand joined the mission in 2019, hoping to boost science, track farm emissions, and grow our space sector.
The mission has been plagued by delays, first to its launch date and then to the arrival of its promised data about global methane emissions.
The University of Auckland has been waiting to take over the mission control at its new, partly taxpayer-funded Te Pūnaha Ātea Space Institute.
The announcement of the satellite's demise came just two days after the latest deadline for handing control over to university staff and students.
University of Auckland physics professor Richard Easther did not work directly on the project but says MethaneSAT has had persistent issues.
He told Morning Report losing contact with the satellite was not good news.
"There seems to be a consistent effort to put a sort of happy face on the situation but the concern that we have as a community is that MethaneSAT as a space craft seems to have had fairly persistent and deep-seated problems, pretty much from launch."
Some of this relates to the decision to use sub systems that don't have what's known as flight heritage, he said.
He said for most of the year it had been in orbit, it was not functioning properly.
While some good has come out of the mission, it was a lot less than expected, he said.
New Zealand Space Agency deputy head Andrew Johnson said every space mission faces risks and unfortunately some had been realised in this mission.
Losing contact was "extremely disappointing news, there's no hiding that at all".
But the legacy of this investment would live on, he said, like the mission control centre set up at University of Auckland.
"That's now given New Zealand the capability to participate in missions in the future."
Johnson said he doesn't think the MethaneSAT team mislead anyone.
"The reality is all missions face issues, there is a technical judgment about what constitutes 'normal' and that's been an evolving situation but I think when they have had those issues, they have been willing to talk about them and we've certainly had plenty of discussions with them behind the scenes as well."
This mission was an important step forward in New Zealand's space industry, he said.
'We have been transparent'
Chief scientist at Environmental Defense Fund and mission lead for MethaneSAT Dr Steven Hamburg told Morning Report they did not know what went wrong.
"We got a communication with the satellite over the North Pole on the 20th of the month and all things were normal and it was over the Pacific so when it got to Antarctica, the next station, there was no communication and we've had none since."
Asked about the criticisms of lack of communication, transparency has been key to the mission, he said.
"And we have been transparent. All the data's made public and we did transfer it back to the manufacturer of the bus which allowed us to try and make it more efficient in its operating....we wanted to automate a lot of processes so we could automate the amount of data that we were going to collect.
"They were working on that when unfortunately we lost contact."
There was a very small chance they would be able to reactivate the satellite and get it back.
"We were able to observe it using another satellite to look at it and it does not currently have power and so we are working it, we continue to work it but we have to be realistic, the probability of recovery is... diminishing."
There has been substantial data collected, he said.
"The earth science New Zealand team is working with that data and that's really a first because of the very high precision we have with MethaneSAT, allowing us to see much lower emission rates and at very fine spacial scales, they have a look at emissions across large regions from the agricultural sector that we never had before."
EDF, the environmental non-profit behind the satellite mission, says an investigation is underway.
"Launched in March 2024, MethaneSAT had been collecting methane emissions data over the past year. It was one of the most advanced methane tracking satellites in space, measuring methane emissions in oil and gas producing regions across the world.
"The mission has been a remarkable success in terms of scientific and technological accomplishment, and for its lasting influence on both industry and regulators worldwide.
"The engineering team is conducting a thorough investigation into the loss of communication. This is expected to take time. We will share what we learn."
RNZ has been asking about problems with the satellite since September and was previously told its issues were "teething problems".
Asked if the public had been kept adequately informed, Minister Judith Collins said she had nothing to add and questions should go to the New Zealand Space Agency, which is part of the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment.
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An Auckland University physics professor says a taxpayer-funded satellite that is lost in space had persistent and deep-seated problems. The government paid about $30 million towards MethaneSAT which lost contact on 20 June and is believed to be unrecoverable. New Zealand joined the mission in 2019, hoping to boost science, track farm emissions, and grow our space sector. The mission has been plagued by delays, first to its launch date and then to the arrival of its promised data about global methane emissions. The University of Auckland has been waiting to take over the mission control at its new, partly taxpayer-funded Te Pūnaha Ātea Space Institute. The announcement of the satellite's demise came just two days after the latest deadline for handing control over to university staff and students. University of Auckland physics professor Richard Easther did not work directly on the project but says MethaneSAT has had persistent issues. He told Morning Report losing contact with the satellite was not good news. "There seems to be a consistent effort to put a sort of happy face on the situation but the concern that we have as a community is that MethaneSAT as a space craft seems to have had fairly persistent and deep-seated problems, pretty much from launch." Some of this relates to the decision to use sub systems that don't have what's known as flight heritage, he said. He said for most of the year it had been in orbit, it was not functioning properly. While some good has come out of the mission, it was a lot less than expected, he said. New Zealand Space Agency deputy head Andrew Johnson said every space mission faces risks and unfortunately some had been realised in this mission. Losing contact was "extremely disappointing news, there's no hiding that at all". But the legacy of this investment would live on, he said, like the mission control centre set up at University of Auckland. 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We will share what we learn." RNZ has been asking about problems with the satellite since September and was previously told its issues were "teething problems". Asked if the public had been kept adequately informed, Minister Judith Collins said she had nothing to add and questions should go to the New Zealand Space Agency, which is part of the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment.
