Astra 1C

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Astra 1C
Mission typeCommunications
OperatorSociété Européenne des Satellites / SES Astra
COSPAR ID1993-031A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.22653
Websitehttps://www.ses.com/
Mission duration12 years (planned)
18 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeBoeing 601
BusHS-601
ManufacturerHughes Space and Communications
Launch mass2,790 kg (6,150 lb)
Power3.5 kW
Start of mission
Launch date12 May 1993, 00:56:32 UTC
RocketAriane 42L (V56)
Launch siteCentre Spatial Guyanais, ELA-2
ContractorArianespace
Entered serviceJuly 1993
End of mission
DisposalGraveyard orbit
Deactivated2011
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[1]
RegimeGeostationary orbit
Longitude19.2° East
Transponders
Band18 (+6) Ku-band
Bandwidth26 MHz
Coverage areaEurope
 

Astra 1C was a geostationary communications satellite launched in 1993 by the Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), now SES Astra. The satellite remained in service until 2011 and is now derelict.

History

Astra 1C was the third communications satellite placed in orbit by SES, and was originally deployed at the Astra 19.2°E orbital position.[2]

The satellite was intended to be replaced in 2002, along with Astra 1B, by Astra 1K but this satellite failed to reach its intended orbit. It was eventually relieved of its remaining television/radio payloads by Astra 1KR in 2006.[3]

In November 2006, prior to the launch of Astra 1L to the 19.2° East position, Astra 1C was placed in an inclined orbit and moved first to 2.0° East for tests, and then in February 2007 to 4.6° East, notionally part of the Astra 5°E cluster of satellites[4] but largely unused.

After November 2008, the satellite operated back at 2.0° East,[5] in an inclined orbit. On 2 November 2011, the satellite was taken out of use as Eutelsat, the rightholder for the 3° allocation, came on air with Eutelsat 3A and current rules ask for a minimum of 2° separation. In the summer of 2014, the satellite was moved to 73° West, close to SES' AMC-6 satellite,[6] to 1.2° West,[7] to 152° West,[8] to 40° West next to SES-6,[9] to 91° East in January 2015 [10] and continuously moving west by approximately 5.2° per day to reach 164° East at the end of 2015.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "ASTRA 1C". N2YO.com. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  2. ^ Astra 1C fact sheet
  3. ^ "ASTRA 1KR SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED" (Press release). SES ASTRA. 21 April 2006. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Astra 1C factsheet". The Satellite Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  5. ^ Astra 1C in SES fleet information Archived 2014-02-13 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 3 June 2013
  6. ^ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed August 2, 2014
  7. ^ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed 30 September 2014
  8. ^ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed 28 October 2014
  9. ^ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed 30 November 2014
  10. ^ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed 30 January 2015
  11. ^ Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed December 30, 2015

External links