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Satnews Daily
October 18th, 2010

SS/L... Maneuvering Meets Expectations (Satellite)


[SatNews] The XM-5, a satellite provided to SIRIUS XM Radio by Space Systems/Loral, is performing post-launch maneuvers according to plan.

The satellite's solar arrays deployed on schedule last week, following a successful launch on Thursday from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan aboard a Proton Breeze M launch vehicle provided by International Launch Services (ILS). The satellite fired its main thruster twice since that time to begin maneuvering into geosynchronous orbit. XM-5 is a 20-kW satellite that will be positioned at 85.2 degrees West following completion of in-orbit testing. XM-5 is intended to serve as an in-orbit spare for the existing fleet of SIRIUS and XM satellites, ensuring that SIRIUS XM's services are reliably delivered to close to 20 million SIRIUS and XM subscribers. The satellite will also help with delivery of services such as XM NavTraffic®, which provides real-time traffic information to vehicles in markets across North America. The XM-5 satellite is designed using the SS/L 1300 spacecraft platform, which has a long history of reliability and provides the power and flexibility for a broad range of applications. With the launch of XM-5, there are 63 SS/L-built 1300 satellites currently in orbit.