Third Sirius Satellite Radio Spacecraft Successfully Launched
Sirius-3, the third
satellite designed and built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for Sirius
Satellite Radio, was successfully launched at 2:59 p.m. EST, Thursday,
November 30, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a
Proton/Block DM rocket.
This launch completes the three-satellite constellation that will
deliver Sirius’ high quality radio broadcasting to motorists
throughout the continental United States, beginning in 2001. SS/L has
delivered all three high-powered, digital audio radio satellites on
orbit this year.
From its three orbiting satellites, Sirius (www.siriusradio.com)
will directly broadcast up to 100 channels of digital-quality radio to
motorists throughout the continental United States for a monthly
subscription fee of $9.95. Sirius will deliver 50 channels of
commercial-free music in virtually every genre, and up to 50 channels
of news, sports, talk, comedy and children’s programming. Sirius’
broad and deep range of almost every music format as well as its news,
sports and entertainment programming is not available on conventional
radio in any market in the United States.
Sirius has alliances to install three-band (AM/FM/SAT) radios in
Ford, Chrysler, BMW, Mercedes, Mazda, Jaguar and Volvo vehicles as
well as Freightliner and Sterling heavy trucks. Numerous manufacturers
will furnish radios to automakers, and will also provide adapters to
electronics retailers that will allow radios in existing vehicles to
receive Sirius broadcasts.
Sirius will be able to broadcast seamless coast-to-coast coverage
throughout the country because its three SS/L-built satellites orbit
directly above the continental United States which maximizes the
spacecrafts’ visibility from the ground and minimizes the effect of
urban and geographical features on the broadcast signal.
The Sirius satellites have been custom designed for satellite
radio broadcasting and are based on the SS/L 1300 series satellite
buses, which have an excellent record of on-orbit reliability.
Sirius-1 was launched in June and Sirius-2 in September. Arrangements
for all three launches on the Proton rockets were provided by
International Launch Services. The spacecraft are designed to provide
15 years of uninterrupted service life.
SS/L’s satellites use bipropellant propulsion and momentum-bias
systems for excellent stationkeeping and orbital stability, providing
long useful orbital life. A system of high-efficiency solar arrays and
lightweight batteries provides uninterrupted electrical power. SS/L
satellites have accumulated nearly 800 years of reliable on-orbit
service.
Space Systems/Loral, a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications
, is a premier designer, manufacturer, and integrator of
powerful satellites and satellite systems. SS/L also provides a range
of related services, including mission control operations and
procurement of launch services. Based in Palo Alto, California, the
company has an international base of commercial and governmental
customers whose applications include broadband digital communications,
wireless telephony, direct-to-home broadcast, environmental
monitoring, and air traffic control. SS/L is ISO 9001 certified. For
more information, visit www.ssloral.com
Loral Space & Communications is a high technology company that
concentrates primarily on satellite manufacturing and satellite-based
services, including broadcast transponder leasing and value-added
services, domestic and international corporate data networks, global
wireless telephony, broadband data transmission and content services,
Internet services, and international direct-to-home satellite
services. For more information, visit www.loral.com.
