I was reading in the Wall Street Journal today, and a small item caught my eye. It seems that Dish just launched a HD SAT the other day, in part to catch up with DirecTV. Ooops, seems it didn't reach the right orbit due to an "error" during launch.

This means:
1. The new HD channels Dish has been talking about are not coming out any time soon.

2. Dish engineers think they can get it into correct orbit using fuel on board. Problem is, this fuel is usually used only to "keep" a SAT in correct orbit. By using the fuel to actually move the SAT a substancial distance, they will cut the usable life of the SAT by a wide margin. If they can get it to correct orbit, it should be able to broadcast, but only until fuel runs out and it drifts away. Not good either way.

Any chance Pix was helping with the telemetry on this one. I've been amazed with his electrical engineering prowess with regards to woofers and tweeters. Perhaps he was a consultant on this launch?