On Oct 31, 2006, we reported this item from the SEESAT newsgroup, "Kevin Fetter reported on the SEESAT newsgroup that INMARSAT 2-F1 (20918) located at 143 deg east has been retired from service and moved into the geo graveyard."
This morning Chris Swan, Senior Satellite Controller, INMARSAT Ltd., dropped us some email that says that was in error. "We have in fact recently sent INMARSAT 2F3 to its graveyard orbit, 2F1 continues in geostationary orbit," writes Chris.
So there you have it straight from the horses mouth. Contrary to many reports, including information in The Satellite Encyclopedia, INMARSAT 2F3 (1991-084B/21814) is retired from service, and INMARSAT 2F1 (1990-093A/20918) is still operational.
