"Following the launch of the Company's PAS-8 satellite, an error of the satellite's manufacturer was discovered that affected the geographical coverage or flexibility of all of the Ku-band transponders on the satellite. [PAS-8's Ku-band capacity uses three steerable beams two of which cannot be aligned properly.--Ed.] The impact of the error is being evaluated by the Company, and it is currently believed that certain of 26 the transponders will not be marketable for their intended purpose, although the affected transponders may be capable of generating revenue at a reduced rate. The power of the transponders is not affected. The Company anticipates making an insurance claim for its losses. The C-band beams have not been affected by the error." (PanAmSat filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.)
A report from Taiwan claims that on 10 September 1999 between 09:50 and 12:25 UTC all C and Ku band services on PAS-8 were unavailable, indicating the satellite went out of control temporarily. The same PAS-8 customer reported another outage on 12 September 1999.
PanAmSat has confirmed the first outage, stating that PAS-8 on 10 September 1999 "experienced an interruption of transmissions of approximately 3 1/2 hours...in which the spacecraft experienced improper pointing relative to earth." Their statement added that "Loral built and operates the satellite."