MethaneSAT Satellite, Launched by SpaceX, Goes Silent and Is Declared Lost

The MethaneSAT satellite, which was launched into orbit by a SpaceX rocket in March 2024, has been declared lost after losing power and becoming unrecoverable.

The $88 million satellite, developed to track global methane emissions with high precision for at least five years, has fallen silent in the past two weeks, according to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the organization behind the project.

A Short but Impactful Mission
MethaneSAT, supported by tech giants like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Google, was equipped with advanced spectrometers capable of detecting methane leaks with high accuracy and pinpointing their sources.

Despite its short operational life, the satellite made significant contributions to climate science.

Steven Hamburg, EDF’s Chief Scientist, told The New York Times that even the one year of data collected by MethaneSAT was extraordinary. “In this first year, our goal was to prove that greenhouse gases could be directly measured in a way that had never been done before. We succeeded,” he said.

The satellite’s data revealed that oil and gas facilities in North America and Central Asia were emitting far more methane than previously estimated. The collected data has been made publicly available, allowing researchers and regulators to take action.

Legacy of MethaneSAT
Despite the loss, EDF emphasized that the mission was a scientific and technological success. “The mission has had a lasting impact on both industry and regulatory bodies worldwide,” the organization stated in a press release. EDF also confirmed that the data collected by MethaneSAT will continue to be processed, and new reports will be shared in the coming months.

Investigation Ongoing
EDF officials are investigating the cause of the communication failure that led to the satellite’s loss. While the exact reason remains unclear, the organization remains committed to advancing methane monitoring technologies and addressing climate change.