| Anik F3, Up Aerospace, and Shuttle Update |
[May. 1st, 2007|01:18 pm] |
Telesat (Canada) satellite Anik F3 went from launch to operation in about 21 days - fairly unheard of nowdays for a geostationary communications satellite. Anik F3 went into service today at 118.7 degrees West longitude and the entire Ku-band portion of the tri-band (C, Ku, Ka) satellite is leased by Echostar to provide some DISH Network services.
Most satellites take a month to go from the elliptical transfer orbit that the satellite is launched into the final circularized geostationary orbit. Also during the course of the month, the satellite is drifted to an interim orbital slot so in-orbit testing of the satellite can be done without interferring existing satellites. Usually it is a month and a half by the time the satellite is launched and in-orbit testing is completed until the satellite is moved into its final licensed orbital slot and put into operation.
DISH Network was using SES Americom's AMC-16 satellite at 118.7 degrees West lontitude on a temporary authority from the FCC and from Industry Canada until Telesat could launch Anik F3. Because Anik F3 was not placed in an interim orbital slot for in-orbit testing, some DISH Network services were interrupted during overnight periods so Anik F3 Ku-band transponders could be tested. Since AMC-16's Ka-band payload was turned off and there is no C-band service from that slot until Anik F3 arrived, Anik F3 C-band and Ka-band payloads were able to be tested without having to disrupt services.
AMC-16 is currently being drifted back to its permanently licensed slot of 85 degrees West longitude.
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In other news, UP AEROSPACE successfully launched it's XL-2 mission using their Spaceloft XL rocket on Saturday, April 28, 2007. It was the first successful launch attempt in two tries for Up Aerospace and the first successful launch from the new Spaceport America near Upham, New Mexico.
On board the XL-2 suborbital flight were science payloads and the remains of 200 people, including Star Trek actor James Doohan and former NASA astronaut Gordon Cooper.
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As for Space Shuttle Atlantis on flight STS-117, external tank repairs from hail damage are ongoing and NASA is anticipating a return to flight around June 8th if all continues to go well. The recent change to the mission is that the astronaut swap scheduled for a later shuttle mission has been moved to STS-117. During the swap, NASA astronaut Suni Williams will return from her International Space Station mission and NASA astronaut Clay Anderson will join the ISS crew. |
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