Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Problems when satellites last too long

How long is too long?

Of the 245 Boeing satellites that have been launched into service, 166 have exceeded their design life. That's more than two-thirds of the spacecraft built at the facility since the 1960s. A third of all satellites have lasted at least twice as long as expected.


so, 1/3 failed early for some reason (does this include launch failures?)
1/3 lasted somewhere between their "expected" service life and twice as long
1/3 lasted more than twice as long

The average of all that is only a little more than unity. Maybe as much as 50% more than the nominal life.

if you bought a car, or a washing machine, or a DVD player and it failed in 18 months, after a 1-year warranty expired, you'd reckon you'd been dudded.

Things should REGULARLY last ten times their design life...

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