|
||
SES Americom Retires Spacenet-4 After 15 Years of Service |
||
|
PRINCETON, N.J., April 20, 2006/Satnews Daily/ ¾ SES Americom, an SES Global Company (Luxembourg and Paris Euronext exchanges:SESG), conducted its last operations on the Spacenet-4 (SN-4) satellite, safely de-orbiting the satellite more than 200 km beyond the geosynchronous orbital belt.
Since late 2000, the satellite provided C-band intercontinental connectivity across the Pacific Ocean from 172 degrees E.L. to customers delivering content between East Asia and the U.S. west coast. In operation since 1991, SN-4 exceeded its expected service life by more than 50% due to efficient management of on-board fuel.
Spacenet-4 was a valuable spacecraft in the SES fleet and provided consistent services to a great variety of customers while it operated over the U.S. at 101 degrees West. During its 15 years of service, SN-4 supported broadcasters, cable programmers, government agencies, educational institutions, advanced aeronautical and maritime services, and private corporate networks delivering television, data, Internet access and distance learning.
“It's a great reflection on the quality of the spacecraft, as well as the quality of the team that operated it, that we could depend on SN-4 for so long,” said Dany Harel, SES Americom vice president of Space Systems and Operations.
The Series 3000 spacecraft was built by GE Astro Space, now Lockheed Martin, with a design life of 10 years. Initially operated by GTE Spacenet, a VSAT services company acquired by GE Americom in 1994, Spacenet-4 was launched on a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida in April 1991. The communications payload on the spacecraft was comprised of six 72 MHz and twelve 36 MHz C-band transponders plus six 72 MHz Ku-band transponders. SN-4's original mission was at 101 degrees W.L., where it operated until early 2000 when it was relocated to 81 degrees W.L. and later that year, to 172 degrees E.L.
The satellite's primary Tracking, Telemetry and Control operations were performed at Americom’s Satellite Control Center at Woodbine, Maryland. In the long service history of the spacecraft, its customers included Connexion by Boeing, Gannet, L-3 Communications, MCI Worldcom, The New York Times, Turner Broadcasting, and the U.S. Government (including Departments of Defense and Justice).
Recent Stories: Scripps Launches HGTV-HD, Food Network-HD on SES Americom’s HD-Prime Crawford Partners with SES Americom to Offer One-Stop Origination and Distribution Solution SES Americom and NDS Ink Deal to Provide IP-Prime with IPTV Content Protection Software |
||
