Russia restores control over derailed weather satellite

Russian state space corporation Roscosmos has found and restored control over a meteorological satellite whose course had changed due to presumably collision with a micrometeorite.

The Meteor-M satellite was found to "have changed its orbital parameters and switched to undirected flight mode with a high angular velocity" on Dec. 18, Roscosmos was quoted by Russia's Sputnik news agency as saying.

Experts linked the satellite maloperation with external influence, from presumably a collision with a micrometeorite, the space corporation said in a statement.

The satellite's power was cut before it entered the visibility zone of the Russian monitoring system. The ground controllers then established a connection with the spacecraft and restored its functional capability, it said.

The modification work involved "deceleration of angular velocity, switching to normal operation, receiving telemetric and specific information," it said.

The satellite, designated as Meteor-M 2-2 in a number sequence after 2,2-1, is one of a group of three Russian Meteor-M satellites in orbit that is on the Meteor-3M mission to monitor the hydrometeorological situation on Earth.