Whatever happened to AsiaSat 3? It is nearly a year since Asia Satellite Holdings' third satellite was launched and failed to reach the correct orbit slot over the region.
The satellite was abandoned and AsiaSat collected its US$200 million in insurance, which it is spending on building a replacement vehicle, AsiaSat 3s, to be launched next year.
Meanwhile, AsiaSat 3 was left in space, apparently useless but under the control of its makers, US-based Hughes Space and Communications.
Although the satellite was functioning, it was in a highly inclined elliptical orbit that made it impossible to use for its original purposes.
In April, Hughes obtained the rights to the satellite, renamed it HGS-1 and looked for ways to make it generate revenue.
Engineers at Hughes sent the satellite to the moon. Or, more accurately, around the moon. The plan was to use lunar gravity to help the satellite back from its angled earth orbit to one more parallel with the equator.