Astra 1C

Astra 1C
SATCAT № 22653
Spacecraft properties
Bus HS-601
Manufacturer Hughes
Launch mass 2,790 kilograms (6,150 lb)
Power 3,300 watts
Start of mission
Launch date May 12, 1993 (1993-05-12Z) UTC
Rocket Ariane 42L V56
Launch site Kourou ELA-2
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Geosynchronous
Perigee 36,185 kilometres (22,484 mi)[1]
Apogee 36,214 kilometres (22,502 mi)[1]
Inclination 7.01 degrees[1]
Period 1456.94 minutes[1]
Epoch 22 January 2015, 10:49:44 UTC[1]
Transponders
Band 24 Ku-band
(18 main, 6 backup)
Bandwidth 26 megahertz
TWTA power 63 watts
EIRP 51 decibel-watts

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

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

After November 2008, the satellite operated back at 2.0°E,[5] in inclined orbit. On November 2, 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°W, close to SES' AMC-6 satellite,[6] to 1.2°W,[7] to 152°W,[8] to 40°W next to SES-6,[9] to 91°E in January 2015[10] and continuously moving west by approximately 5.2° per day to reach 164°E at the end of 2015[11]


Transponder usage

At Astra 19.2°E

Transponder Frequency Channels carried
33 10,964 H ZDF (1993-)
34 10,979 V UK Living (1993–2001), Chinese Channel (1994–1995), Television X - The Fantasy Channel (1995-2001)
35 10,994 H The Children's Channel (1993–1998), The Family Channel (1993–1997), China News and Entertainment (1993–1994), Challenge (1997–2001), TV Travel Shop (1998-2001), CNBC Europe (1998-2001)
36 11,009 V Minimax (1993–1997), Documanía (-1997), Phoenix (1997-)[12]
37 11,023 H Cartoon Network UK/Europe (1993-1999), Cartoon Network UK (1999-2001), TNT Classic Movies UK/Europe (1993-1999), TNT UK (1999-2000), TCM UK (2000-2001)
38 11,038 V QVC UK (1993-)
39 11,053 H WDR Fernsehen (1993-)
40 11,068 V Cineclassics (1993–1997), Hessen Fernsehen
41 11,082 H Discovery Channel UK (1993–2001), CMT Europe (1993–1994), TLC UK (-1997), Discovery Home & Leisure UK (1997–2001), BR-alpha
42 11,097 V Bravo (1993–2001), EBN (1995-1998), The Adult Channel (1993-1995) Trouble (1997–2001), CNBC Europe (1998), Playboy Channel (1995-1997)
43 11,112 H MDR Fernsehen (1993-)
44 11,127 V Galavision (1993–1997), Sky Travel (1997-2001), Sky Movies Gold (1997-1998), VIVA, Sky Cinema (1998-2001)
45 11,141 H Bayerisches Fernsehen (1993-)
46 11,156 V Nickelodeon UK (1993–2001), TV Asia (1993-1994), The Paramount Channel (1995-1997), Paramount Comedy Channel (1997-2001)
47 11,171 H Sky Sports 2 (1994-2001), Sci-fi Channel UK (1995-1997), Sky Soap (1994-1997), Sky Sports Gold (1995-1996), Sky Travel (1994-1997), The History Channel UK (1995-1997), RBB Berlin, 1-2-3 TV
48 11,186 V Südwest 3 (1993-)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "ASTRA 1C Satellite details 1993-031A NORAD 22653". N2YO. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  2. Astra 1C fact sheet
  3. "ASTRA 1KR SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED" (Press release). SES ASTRA. April 21, 2006. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  4. "Astra 1C factsheet". The Satellite Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  5. Astra 1C in SES fleet information Accessed June 3, 2013
  6. Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed August 2, 2014
  7. Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed September 30, 2014
  8. Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed October 28, 2014
  9. Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed November 30, 2014
  10. Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed January 30, 2015
  11. Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions Accessed December 30, 2015
  12. Sat-UK #142 01.11.97

External links

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