Envisat, the European Space Agency’s $3 billion, 17000-plus
pound earth observation satellite will be the biggest–physically
at least–risk to satellites operating in polar orbits for the
next 150 years. What happens in 150 years to change things? It
burns in. You would think the ESA has considered using whatever
maneuver fuel is available to try and move Envisat to a less
dangerous position, right? Right? Or is more likely that because
this is a $3 billion mission the ESA will wring every bit of
performance they can out of Envisat and then, to quote Fleetwood
Mac, will tell the satellite “you can go your own way”? The
Space News link talks of Envisat having to maneuver to avoid a
3000-plus pound Chinese upper stage. That debris field would
likely have been one for the ages.