A satellite that has lost all ground control but keeps transmitting or drifting through an occupied orbit, threatening neighboring spacecraft.
A drifting satellite, sometimes called a zombie satellite, is a spacecraft that has lost all ground control, typically after an electronic or software failure, yet remains physically intact and sometimes keeps transmitting on its original frequencies. Unlike a conventional total loss, the asset is not destroyed: it represents both a certain loss of service for its operator and an active hazard to third parties, since it drifts with no possible maneuvering through orbits occupied by other satellites, particularly the geostationary belt where orbital slots are tightly coordinated. Any frequency interference it continues to emit further complicates matters for neighboring operators. For insurers, this scenario raises a classification question: a total loss despite the absence of physical destruction, once control is irrecoverably lost, which connects to the concept of constructive total loss. It also raises an unusual liability question, since an uncontrolled object can damage a third-party satellite with no possibility of an avoidance maneuver on the faulty side.
In April 2010, Intelsat's Galaxy 15 satellite lost all ground control while continuing to transmit on C-band, drifting for months through the geostationary belt and threatening to interfere with neighboring operators' satellites along its path.
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