Question: We're ever involved in a satellite gone wrong?

Laurence O'Rourke answered on 29 Feb 2016:

not really – I benefited from one going wrong in fact. When I was a Young Graduate in the ESA Technology centre in Holland, the Ariane 5 Rocket blew up with 4 satellites on top. It was the first launch. As no-one wanted to put their satellites on the 2nd launch, a few Young graduates (including myself) proposed to build a small satellite for the second launch. We called it YES – Young Engineers Satellite – we did in fact built it, travelled to Kourou to see it put on the rocket and we then operated it when it arrived to orbit. Amazing stuff. To lose a satellite which can be your work for many many years is devastating for those involved; I feel very lucky not to have had it happen to me – but out of misfortune can come good fortune and I was lucky to be on the side of fortune for YES.