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DirecTV satellite is at risk of explosion due to battery issues
DirecTV has one month to remove a satellite from geostationary orbit, so it doesn't take other satellites down with it if it ends up exploding. The AT&T-owned TV service fears that its Spaceway-1 satellite (a Boeing 702HP model) might explode due to battery issues that started manifesting in December. According to SpaceNews, DirecTV explained in an FCC filing dated January 19th that an anomaly caused "significant and irreversible thermal damage" to the satellite's batteries.
