Boeing-Built Anik F1 Satellite Ready for Launch – Most Powerful Communications Satellite Built Yet
The most
powerful communications satellite built to date, 17.5-kW Anik F1
satellite built for Telesat Canada, is scheduled for launch on Nov.
20, 2000, on an Ariane rocket from the Guiana Space Center in French
Guiana.
The 30-minute launch window opens at 3:56 PST, (6:56 EST and 23:56
GMT).
This will be the third launch in 33 days for Boeing Satellite
Systems, Inc., the company formed when The Boeing Company
purchased Hughes Space and Communications Company last month. This is
the company’s 10th launch for the year.
“Anik F1 is the first Boeing 702 to join the Telesat Canada fleet
and is the largest-capacity satellite we’ve built to date,” stated Tig
H. Krekel, President of Boeing Satellite Systems.
“We built the first Telesat satellite nearly 30 years ago and this
newest generation reflects the integration of decades of experience.
Anik F1 offers 15 times the power and almost four times the capacity
of those first-generation models,” Krekel added. “Our tradition of
setting precedents continues.”
“We look forward to the successful launch and deployment of Anik
F1, Telesat’s sixth generation of geostationary satellites,” said
Larry Boisvert, Telesat Canada’s President and Chief Executive
Officer. “Anik F1 is crucial for the provision of continuity of
service for Canada and new areas, such as the Americas. With Anik F1,
Telesat is moving from being a purely domestic service provider to one
that serves all of the Americas — from the northern borders of Canada
to the southernmost tip of South America.”
Anik F1 takes full advantage of the technological advances
incorporated into the Boeing 702 model spacecraft. The powerful
17.5-kilowatt satellite will operate in geosynchronous orbit at 107.3
degrees West longitude. To generate such high power, the two
five-panel solar wings employ high-efficiency dual-junction gallium
arsenide solar cells developed by Spectrolab, another Boeing company.
When fully deployed, the wings span 132.5 feet.
The Anik F1 payload consists of 84 transponders providing
broadcast services to North America, and telecommunications, Internet
services and broadcast services to South America. The Ku-band carries
48 active transponders with 115-watt traveling wave tube amplifiers
(TWTAs) and the C-band carries 36 active transponders with 40-watt
TWTAs.
Two nadir antennas will provide Ku- and C-band coverage for South
America. Services to North America in Ku-band will be provided by one
west antenna, and in C-band by one east antenna. When fully deployed,
the spacecraft measures 29.5 feet in width. At liftoff, Anik F1 will
weigh 10,384 pounds. Once on orbit, the satellite will weigh 6,647
pounds.
Standard on the Boeing 702 is the advanced xenon ion propulsion
system (XIPS(TM)), which provides 10 times greater efficiency than
conventional liquid bipropellant fuel systems. Four 25-cm thrusters
will provide Anik F1’s on-orbit maneuvering during the satellite’s 15
years of contracted life.
Telesat, Canada’s national satellite communications company, and
Boeing Satellite Systems, formerly Hughes Space and Communications
Company, have a long history of success working together, dating back
to the early 1970s when Hughes built Telesat’s first satellites, the
Anik A series.
Later, Hughes built Telesat’s Anik C series, as well as the Anik D
satellites in cooperation with Canada’s Spar Aerospace in the 1980s.
The name “Anik” is taken from the Inuit language, and means “little
brother.”
Earlier this year, Telesat Canada ordered its second Boeing 702
satellite, Anik F2. Anik F2 will offer fixed satellite services,
including Internet access and multimedia services, across North
America using 108 active transponders, 52 of them in Ka-band,
following its launch in late 2002.
With more than 30 years of engineering and technical experience,
Telesat is the world’s most experienced commercial satellite operator.
The company made history in 1972 with the launch of Anik A1, the first
domestic commercial communications satellite in geostationary orbit.
Telesat now provides telecommunications and broadcast distribution
services in the Americas and is a leading consultant, operator and
partner in satellite ventures around the globe. Telesat is a member of
the BCE Media group and a wholly owned subsidiary of BCE Inc., one of
the world’s leading telecommunications companies.
BSS is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial
communications satellites, and is also a major provider of space
systems, satellites, and payloads for national defense, science and
environmental applications.
The company was formed in October 2000 when Boeing acquired the
Hughes Electronics satellite manufacturing companies, which included
Hughes Space and Communications Company, Hughes Electron Dynamics,
Spectrolab, Inc., and Hughes Electronics’ 50 percent share of HRL
Laboratories.
The Boeing Company, headquartered in Seattle, is the largest
aerospace company in the world and the United States’ leading
exporter. It is the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial
jetliners and military aircraft, and the largest NASA contractor.
The company’s capabilities in aerospace also include rotorcraft,
electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch
vehicles, and advanced information and communication systems.
The company has an extensive global reach with customers in 145
countries and manufacturing operations throughout the United States,
Canada and Australia.
