Mysterious “Dead” Satellite Sends Powerful Signal to Earth After Decades

Scientists detected a mysterious, powerful radio pulse from Relay 2, which is a NASA satellite that has been inactive since the 1960s.

The brief flash, lasting less than 30 nanoseconds, was so intense that it outshone all other sky objects momentarily.

Using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, researchers pinpointed this signal to within 20,000 kilometres of Earth, matching Relay 2's location.

Since the satellite has been dead for decades, the pulse likely originated from an external cause, such as an electrostatic discharge or a micrometeorite impact, NDTV has reported.

Now this discovery could help develop new methods to monitor space debris and satellite damage.