Boeing-Built ASTRA 2C Satellite to Launch
ASTRA 2C, a Boeing
601HP spacecraft built for Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES), is
scheduled to launch on June 16, 2001.
The satellite will be launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on a
Proton rocket provided by International Launch Services (ILS). The
launch is scheduled for 7:49 a.m. at the Baikonur launch site, (1:49
a.m. GMT; 6:49 p.m. PDT on June 15.) Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) is
a unit of The Boeing Company.
“Boeing Satellite Systems is proud of its longstanding
relationship with SES,” said Randy Brinkley, president of BSS. “Our
relationship with SES started in 1993 with the successful launch of
the company’s first Boeing 601 satellite. Since then, we have built a
total of nine satellites for SES, with ASTRA 2D, SES’ first Boeing 376
satellite model, launched just six months ago. We are also under
contract for ASTRA 3A, a second Boeing 376 satellite, with its launch
scheduled for early 2002.”
The 8,500-watt ASTRA 2C satellite carries 40 Ku-band transponders,
each with 98.5-w minimum traveling wave tube amplifiers. At beginning
of satellite life, 32 transponders will be operational, with 28 at end
of life. The unique, flexible payload design of ASTRA 2C enables SES
to operate 32 channels at a given time, selectable from a total of 56
channels possible.
This design enables SES to adjust its payload configuration
throughout the life of the satellite in order to meet customer
transponder requirements. The spacecraft will provide pan-European
coverage from SES’ orbital slots at 19.2 or 28.2 degrees East
longitude. At launch, the satellite will weigh 8,029 pounds (3,643
kilograms). Once deployed in orbit, the spacecraft will measure 85
feet in length and 33 feet in width.
The SES Group operates a satellite services network providing
seamless broadband communications spanning four continents. Based in
Luxembourg, Societe Europeenne des Satellites S.A.
(Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SES) (Frankfurt Exchange: SDSL) is the
operator of ASTRA, Europe’s leading direct-to-home Satellite System,
and a strategic shareholder in premier satellite operations like
AsiaSat (34.10%), NSAB in Scandinavia (50%), and Star One in Latin
America (19.99%).
BSS is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial
communications satellites and a major provider of space systems,
satellites, and payloads for national defense, science and
environmental applications.
The Boeing Company, with headquarters 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.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Live video of the launch will be carried on the
Telstar 5C satellite, transponder 23. You are welcome to use the feed
in your news broadcasts.
