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Americom
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Program: Americom. Objective: Communications. Overview: Communications satellite network. Major Events:
- 1999 November 13 - GE 4. Spacecraft: AS 2100. Launch Site: Kourou. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 44LP.
Provided C and Ku-band communications services for GE Americom, replacing Spacenet 4. Stationed at 101 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 74 deg W in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 101.12 deg W drifting at 0.008 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 101.02W drifting at 0.004W degrees per day.
- 2000 September 14 - GE 7. Spacecraft: AS 2100. Mass: 3,320 kg (7,310 lb). Launch Site: Kourou. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5G.
Direct Broadcasting satellite. GE Americom satellite to provide cable TV distribution coverage to the USA. Equipped with 24 C-band transponders. Its dry mass was 912 kg and it carried 1023 kg of fuel at launch. The satellite is an A2100A model built by Lockheed Martin/Sunnyvale, the first lightweight A2100 with a mass about half that of earlier A2100 satellites. By September 19 GE 7 was in a 35,832 x 35,869 km x 0.1 deg orbit drifting over 146 deg W. Stationed at 137 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 137 deg W in 2000. As of 4 September 2001 located at 136.92 deg W drifting at 0.003 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 137.03W drifting at 0.000E degrees per day.
- 2000 December 20 - GE 8/Aurora III. Spacecraft: AS 2100. Mass: 1,414 kg (3,117 lb). Launch Site: Kourou. Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5G.
GE 8 was a C-band TV and data distribution satellite for GE Americom. The Lockheed Martin A2100A spacecraft had a launch mass of 2015 kg, a dry mass of 919 kg, and was equipped with 24 C-band transponders. By December 26 GE 8 had reached an 18656 x 35760 km x 0.4 deg orbit on its way to geostationary orbit. It was jointly owned by AT&T Alascom for Alaskan communications, and was also called Aurora III. Americom and Alascom were originally both RCA subsidiaries. Alascom continued to use the Americom network while GE operated the satellite. The 2.2 tonne (with fuel) spacecraft carried 24 C-band transponders to provide voice, video, and broadband data communications to the contiguous USA, Alaska, and the Caribbean after parking over 139 deg-W longitude. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 146 deg W in 2001 As of 5 September 2001 located at 139.01 deg W drifting at 0.000 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 139.03W drifting at 0.003E degrees per day.
- 2003 June 6 - AMC-9. Spacecraft: Spacebus 3000. Mass: 4,100 kg (9,000 lb). Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82K / Briz-M.
Launch delayed from December 2002, then to February 10, 2003, then to February 28, March 15, April 28 and May 19. Finally moved forward from June 12 and 7. Upper stage changed from DM3 after several failures. The fifth burn of the Briz-M upper stage placed the spacecraft in a geostationary transfer orbit of 6,445 km x 35,674 km x 17.2 deg. The satellite used its own engine to place itself in geosynchronous orbit at apogee. Alcatel Spacebus 3000B3 with C and Ku band communications for North America from a geotationary position of 72 deg W. Americom at the time of launch had become a subsidiary of Societe Europeene des Satellites (SES), Luxembourg, which operated the European Astra satellie constellation. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 83.02W drifting at 0.008W degrees per day.
- 2004 February 5 - AMC-10 (GE-10). Spacecraft: AS 2100. Mass: 2,340 kg (5,150 lb). Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Atlas IIAS.
Americom 10 (AMC-10) was a replacement satellite for Satcom C3. It was to be located at 135 deg W. The C-band satellite, to be accompanied by AMC-11 later in 2004, were designed to support SES Americom's cable network in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico. The satellite had a design life of 15 years and carried 24 x 36 MHz C-band transponders. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 134.97W drifting at 0.005E degrees per day.
- 2004 October 14 - AMC- 15. Spacecraft: AS 2100. Mass: 4,021 kg (8,864 lb). Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82M.
Communications satellite for SES Americom, equipped with Ku-band and Ka-band transponders. The Briz-M upper stage made three burns, then released the satellite on October 15 at 03:58 GMT into a 7132 x 35780 km x 18.6 deg orbit. AMC-15's on-board engine would be used to maneuver the spacecraft into its final geostationary orbit. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 105.02W drifting at 0.003W degrees per day.
- 2004 December 17 - AMC-16 (GE-16). Spacecraft: AS 2100. Mass: 4,200 kg (9,200 lb). Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Vehicle: Atlas V.
AMC-16, like AMC-15, was a hybrid Ku/Ka-band satellite built by Lockheed Martin and based on the A2100 spacecraft platform. The spacecraft was to become operational in early 2005 from 85º West with a 15 year design life. The satellite carried 24 x 36 MHz/140 W Ku-band transponders and 12 x 125MHz/75 W spot beams. Coverage included the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. Launch was delayed from December 6 and 16. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 118.75W drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.
- 2005 December 29 - AMC-23. Spacecraft: Spacebus 4000. Mass: 4,981 kg (10,981 lb). Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82M.
Delayed from November, December 1 and 6. AMC-23 was to provide Ku-band multimedia and telecommunications services to Pacific rim countries over a planned 16 year life. A C-band payload was partly leased to the Japanese JSAT system. The Briz-M upper stage separated from the three-stage Proton launch vehicle at suborbital velocity, then conducted five engine burns before delivering the satellite to a 6193 km x 35,615 km x 18.5 deg geosynchronous transfer orbit at 11:48 GMT. The satellite would use its own Astrium S400 apogee engine to circularize the orbit at geostationary altitude. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 171.97E drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.
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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2007 except where otherwise noted.
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