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Bezos' methane satellite lost in space

The group operating the satellite said that an $88 million satellite that was backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos and that detected emissions from the oil and gas industries of the powerful greenhouse gas, methane, has been lost in orbit.

Environmental Defense Fund, who led the initiative, stated that MethaneSAT was collecting emission data and images at drilling sites, pipelines and processing facilities in the world since March. However, it went off track around 10 days ago.

EDF stated that it does not expect the satellite to be recovered, as it has lost power.

Amy Middleton is the senior vice president of EDF. She said: "We see this as a setback and not a failure." "We have made so many progresses and learned so much that we would not have these learnings if we had not taken this risk."

Launching MethaneSAT on March 20, 2024 marked a major milestone in EDF's campaign to hold more than 120 nations accountable for their pledges to reduce methane emissions in 2021.

The report also sought to enforce a promise made by 50 oil and gas firms at the Dubai COP28 Climate Summit in December 2023, to eliminate methane emissions and gas flaring.

Methane has a powerful greenhouse gas. Its warming power is 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide in a period of 20 years.

Scientists believe that capping oil and gas leaks in wells and on equipment is one of the fastest and most effective ways to combat global warming.

MethaneSAT is not the only satellite project that publishes data on methane emission sources. However, it's supporters claim it provides more details on these emissions and has partnered with Google in order to create an publicly available global map of emissions.

ENGINEERS INVESTIGATING

EDF said that it reported the lost satellite on Tuesday to federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Space Force.

According to the EDF, the cost of building and launching the satellite was $88 million. The Bezos Earth Fund had granted $100 million to the organization in 2020. Arnold Ventures and the Robertson Foundation, as well as the TED Audacious Project along with EDF donors also provided major financial support. The project also had a partnership with the New Zealand Space Agency.

EDF stated that it has insurance to cover any losses and that its engineers are investigating the incident.

The organization stated that it would continue to use resources, such as aircraft equipped with methane detection spectrometers to search for methane.

The company also stated that it is too early to determine whether or not it will launch another satellite, but MethaneSAT was a proof of concept for a highly sensitive tool "that could see total methane emission, even at very low levels, across wide areas."

The United Nations reported in a recent report that despite efforts to increase transparency about emissions, "super-emitters of methane" rarely take action when they are alerted.

As the United States, under Donald Trump's second term in office, has ended its program to collect data on greenhouse gases from major polluters as well as rescinded Biden era regulations aimed at curbing Methane, there is less pressure to act. (Reporting and editing by Barbara Lewis, Alison Williams, and Valerie Volcovici)

(source: Reuters)