AKA: 8K82K / 11S861-01;D-1e;SL-12;UR-500K. Status: Active. First Launch: 1994-01-20. Last Launch: 2006-06-17. Number: 41 . Payload: 1,880 kg (4,140 lb). Thrust: 8,847.00 kN (1,988,884 lbf). Gross mass: 712,460 kg (1,570,700 lb). Height: 59.00 m (193.00 ft). Diameter: 4.15 m (13.61 ft). Span: 7.40 m (24.20 ft). Apogee: 40,000 km (24,000 mi).
Payload: 1,880 kg (4,140 lb) to a GEO. Launch Price $: 70.000 million in 1994 dollars.
Direct broadcasting satellite (new generation of satellites) intended for development of the Russian television system and international cooperation. Also tested SPT-100 plasma engine. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 71 deg E in 1994-1996; 36 deg E in 1996-1999; 42 deg E in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 37.30 deg E drifting at 0.121 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 67.44E drifting at 0.298E degrees per day.
First launch of new Ekspress communications satellite. Replaces Gorizont series. Ekspress 1 reached its checkout location of 70 degrees E at the end of October 1994 and was moved to its operational position at 14 degrees W shortly after the start of 1995. Stationed at 14.00W in 1995-2001. As of 2007 March 10 located at 95.05E drifting at 1.636W degrees per day.
Geosynchronous. Stationed over 58.0W. Used HS-601 XIPS ion engine for station keeping. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 58 deg W in 1997-1999 As of 5 September 2001 located at 156.02 deg W drifting at 1.125 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 26.11E drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.
Geosynchronous. Kupon is the first communications satellite for the Russian banking system, and the first commercial communications satellite sold by the Lavochkin, who have in the past been more commonly associated with planetary probes and early warning satellites. Kupon, owned by the Russian Federation Central Bank (and possibly Global Information Systems of Moscow), relays financial data for the Bankir network. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 55 deg E in 1997-1998 As of 1 September 2001 located at 86.25 deg E drifting at 0.142 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 78.29E drifting at 0.156E degrees per day.
The spacecraft was left in a high inclination useless orbit by a failure of the DM-3 stage and became an insurance writeoff. Two trips around the Moon to remove the inclination under its new owner (Hughes) saw it back into very limited service (as HGS-1) by August 1998 over the Indian Ocean and available for sale at bargain rates. Operated in geosynchronous orbit at 150-154 deg W in 1998; 60 deg W in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 59.68 deg W drifting at 0.024 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 8 located at 169.58W drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.
Geostationary at 148.0 degrees W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 128 deg W in 1998; 148 deg W in 1998-1999; 110 deg W in 1999; 119 deg W in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 118.91 deg W drifting at 0.001 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 77.02W drifting at 0.001W degrees per day.
The first burn of the Proton's Block DM3 put the spacecraft into a 220 x 36,007 km x 51.6 deg transfer orbit. Astra 2A satellite was a Hughes HS-601, owned by Societe Europeene de Satellites, based in Luxembourg. Luxembourg has not registered any of the Astra satellites with the United Nations, in violation of treaty requirements. Geostationary at 28.3 degrees E. Used HS-601 XIPS ion engine for station keeping. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 28 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 28.21 deg E drifting at 0.001 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 28.20E drifting at 0.028W degrees per day.
The Proton launch vehicles Block DM3 fourth stage put the Panamsat PAS 8 into a 6784 km x 35941 km x 17.3 degree transfer orbit. PAS 8 had 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders and was to be located over the Pacific after its R-4D apogee engine manoeuvred the orbit to geostationary altitude and inclination. Geostationary at 166.1 degrees E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 166 deg E in 1998-1999 As of 4 September 2001 located at 166.05 deg E drifting at 0.003 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 165.96E drifting at 0.002E degrees per day.
Loral Skynet's Telstar 6 had a mixed C and Ku band communications payload. The Block DM3 upper stage released Telstar 6 in a 6638 km x 35,756 km x 17.4 degree geosynchronous transfer orbit. After the first burn of its on-board R-4D engine on February 18, Telstar 6 was in a 15,037 km x 35,800 km x 7.9 deg transfer orbit heading for its final geosynchronous slot at 93 deg W Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 93 deg W in 1999. As of 2 September 2001 located at 93.01 deg W drifting at 0.004 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 93.03W drifting at 0.007W degrees per day.
A replacement for Asiasat 3, placed in the wrong orbit by a Proton launch in 1997, Asiasat 3S carried C and Ku band transponders. The Blok DM3 upper stage placed it a 9,677 km x 35,967 km x 13.1 deg geosynchronous transfer orbit. Asiasat's on-board R4D apogee engine was to be used to raise perigee to geostationary altitude. Mass in transfer orbit was 3,463 kg, down to 2,500 kg after insertion in geostationary orbit. Operated in geosynchronous orbit at 105 deg E from 1999. As of 4 September 2001 located at 105.52 deg E drifting at 0.008 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 105.46E drifting at 0.017W degrees per day.
Telesat Canada's Nimiq television broadcasting satellite was placed into a 7050 km x 35790 km x 15.9 degree transfer orbit. The Nimiq was to use its liquid apogee engine (Royal Ordnance Leros 1) to reach geosynchronous orbit. Telesat Canada also operated the Anik Canadian domestic communications satellites, the first of which was launched in 1972. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 91 deg W in 1999. As of 4 September 2001 located at 91.11 deg W drifting at 0.002 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 91.18W drifting at 0.012W degrees per day.
Geosynchronous communications satellite. Stationed at 19 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 19 deg E in 1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 19.12 deg E drifting at 0.002 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 19.23E drifting at 0.019W degrees per day.
The first two Yamal communications satellites were placed into a 197 km x 36,311 km x 49.3 degree transfer orbit The DM-2M fourth stage made two successful burns, placing the satellites in circular 36,000 km geosynchronous orbits. Yamal 101 reportedly ran into problems after it was deployed. RKK Energia built the new Yamal satellites for AO Gazcom of Moscow, a joint venture of RKKE and RAO Gazprom, the Russian natural gas monopoly. The two satellites will support internal communications for RAO Gazprom. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 89 deg E in 1999. As of 30 August 2001 located at 112.86 deg E drifting at 1.484 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 42.96E drifting at 1.484W degrees per day.
Geosynchronous communications satellite. Stationed at 75 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 75 deg E in 1999. As of 2 September 2001 located at 74.98 deg E drifting at 0.005 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 75.00E drifting at 0.004W degrees per day.
Geosynchronous communications satellite for the ACES consortium (PSN of Indonesia, PLDT of the Phillipines, Lockheed Martin, and Jasmine of Thailand). The satellite had two large 12-m diameter L-band antennae for cellular telephone relay. Stationed at 123 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 123 deg E in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 122.97 deg E drifting at 0.023 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 123.10E drifting at 0.005W degrees per day.
GO Kosmicheskaya Svyaz geosynchronous communications satellite, to be assigned to the Ekspress 6A slot at 80E. Replaced the first Ekspress A, lost in a launch failure in 1999. Russian satellite bus with a ommunications payload from Alcatel France. Stationed at 80 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 80 deg E in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 80.02 deg E drifting at 0.008 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 102.77E drifting at 0.018W degrees per day.
Sesat (Siberia-Europe Satellite) used an MSS-2500-GSO (Gals/Ekspress) satellite bus built by NPO PM of Krasnoyarsk, with an Alcatel Espace France payload of 18 Ku-band transponders. The satellite had 8 Fakel SPD-100 plasma thrusters for stationkeeping. Eutelsat operated their Hot Bird fleet of European television broadcast satellites since the 1980's, but the venture into broadcasting to Siberia represented a new step for them. Stationed at 36 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 39 deg E in 2000. As of 4 September 2001 located at 35.97 deg E drifting at 0.005 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 35.92E drifting at 0.004E degrees per day.
Launch delayed from June 23. Geosynchronous communications satellite. Stationed at 11 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 11 deg W in 2000. As of 5 September 2001 located at 10.99 deg W drifting at 0.005 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 11.00W drifting at 0.005E degrees per day.
Digital Audio Radio Satellite, used for transmission of S-band radio broadcasts direct to receivers in cars in the United States. Sirius 1 was inserted into an initial 6,166 x 47110 km x 63.4 deg transfer orbit by the Proton-K's Blok DM3 upper stage. The satellite's R4D liquid apogee engine made several burns to raise the orbit to 24,388 x 47,097 km x 63.3 deg by July 8. This elliptical, inclined 24 hour orbit had a 24 hour period, designed to keep the satellite between longitude 60W and 140W, with apogee over the northern hemisphere. Stationed at 66 deg W. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 66 deg W in 2000. As of 6 September 2001 located at 65.59 deg W drifting at 0.015 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 65.37W drifting at 0.004E degrees per day.
Sirius Radio's Sirius 2 was launched into a 144 x 168 km x 64.8 deg parking orbit. The Blok DM3 stage then made two burns to deliver Sirius 2 to an elliptical 6192 x 47057 km x 63.4 deg orbit. The was to provide digital radio broadcasts to mobile users in North America. Stationed at 64 deg W. As of 31 August 2001 located at 64.56 deg W drifting at 0.003 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 67.77W drifting at 0.049E degrees per day.
Ku-band communications satellite to provide broadcast services for eastern Asia. Stationed at 108 deg E. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 108 deg E in 2000. As of 4 September 2001 located at 108.22 deg E drifting at 0.009 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 108.21E drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.
Communications satellite. Stationed at 72 deg W. The GE 6 was a Lockheed Martin A2100 series satellite with a mass of 3552 kg at launch and 1900 kg dry. It was to provide broadcast and data services in North America. The DM3 upper stage made two burns and placed the GE 6 in a 5850 x 35726 km x 18.7 deg intermediate transfer orbit at 0441 UTC on October 22. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 72 deg W in 2000. As of 3 September 2001 located at 72.01 deg W drifting at 0.008 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 72.00W drifting at 0.005W degrees per day.
Direct Radio Broadcasting satellite. Launch delayed from early October due to delays in delivery of engines. Stationed at 66 deg W. The third Sirius digital radio broadcast satellite was a Loral FS-1300 series vehicle and was placed in an initial elliptical 63 degree orbit by the Proton upper stage. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 66 deg W in 2000. As of 30 August 2001 located at 64.69 deg W drifting at 0.027 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 65.64W drifting at 0.010E degrees per day.
Launch delayed from April 4. PAS 10 (PanAmSat 10) was an American geosynchronous communications spacecraft. The 3.7 tonne (with fuel) satellite carried 48 transponders (24 in C-band and 24 in Ku-band) to provide direct-to-home video channels to Europe, Middle-East, and South Africa after parking over 68.5 deg-E longitude. PAS 10 replaced PAS 4. As of 5 September 2001 located at 68.50 deg E drifting at 0.001 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 9 located at 68.45E drifting at 0.002W degrees per day.
Launch delayed from June 11. Astra 2C was a European (SES - Societe Europeene des Satellites, Luxembourg) geosynchronous communications Boeing 601HP spacecraft. The 3.7 tonne (including 1.2 tonne of fuel), 8 kW satellite was the fifth in the Astra series. It carried 32 Ku-band transponders to provide voice, video, and data links to Western Europe through a pair of 3 m diameter dishes, after parking over 28.2 deg-E longitude. As of 5 September 2001 located at 19.13 deg E drifting at 0.005 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 19.23E drifting at 0.024W degrees per day.
Communications satellite. Moved from Proton M to Proton K booster. Launch delayed from November 26, 2001, and March 4, 2002. The three stage Proton booster put the DM3 upper stage and payload on a suborbital trajectory. The first DM3 burn reached a circular 160 km orbit at 1742 UTC. The second burn at 1838 UTC raised apogee to about 35800 km, and a third burn near apogee at 2339 UTC raised perigee to about 3500 km and lowered inclination to 25 deg. Blok DM3 separated from the Intelsat 903 payload at 0008 UTC on March 31. By April 5, Intelsat 903 was in a 31653 x 35817 km x 0.7 deg near-synchronous orbit. Intelsat 903 had a launch mass of 4726 kg and a dry mass around 2350 kg, and carried C and Ku band antennas. It was built by SS/Loral using a derivative of the FS-1300 platform. As of 2007 Mar 5 located at 34.50W drifting at 0.011W degrees per day.
Direct Broadcasting satellite. Launch delayed from October 2000, February, May 21 and October19, 2001, as the user and launch provider moved the payload from Proton to Atlas 2AS and then back again to Proton. The DM3 upper stage made two burns to put the DirecTV satellite in a 6568 x 35809 km x 17.7 deg transfer orbit. The Loral FS-1300 class satellite used its R-4D apogee engine to reach geostationary orbit at 129 W by May 19. The DirecTV satellite broadcasting company was a subsidiary of GM/Hughes. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 110.11W drifting at 0.004W degrees per day.
Launch delayed from May 2002. The Ekspress A1R Russian domestic communications satellite was built by NPO PM and Alcatel for Kosmicheskiya Svyaz, the Russian satcom operator. The Proton's parking orbit was off-nominal but the 11S861-01 Blok DM-2M upper stage corrected for this and delivered the payload to the correct orbit. Parking orbit was about 180 x 185 km x 51.6 deg; transfer orbit after the first DM-2M burn was 328 x 36133 km x 47.4 deg; orbit at spacecraft separation was 36102 x 36171 km x 0.2 deg. Two SOZ ullage motors were left in the transfer orbit. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 14.07W drifting at 0.008W degrees per day.
Launch delayed from June 16 and 22, July 18, August 2 and 20 due to payload problems. Echostar 8 was an American geostationary communication spacecraft. The 4.7-ton satellite was to provide digital TV broadcast to North America through its 16 spot beams and 41 transponders in the Ku-band after parking over 110° W longitude. As of 2007 Mar 11 located at 110.01W drifting at 0.003W degrees per day.
Delayed from December 2001 and July 15, August 16 and 25. Astra 1K was to be a European (Luxembourg-based) geostationary communications spacecraft. The 5.0-ton, 13-kW spacecraft was the most massive of civilian communications spacecraft ever launched. Its 52 Ku-band and two Ka-band transponders could cover 1,100 channels and were to replace three earlier Astra satellites. However the DM-3 upper stage, after operating successfully to place itself and the satellite in parking orbit, failed to ignite for transfer orbit injection, leaving the spacecraft stranded in parking orbit. In an effort to prevent imminent re-entry, the spacecraft was raised to a circular orbit at an altitude of 290 km. Three options were considered: force re-entry over the Pacific Ocean; retrieval by a US shuttle; or use of all the fuel aboard the satellite to attempt to move it to a geostationary orbit at 19.2° E longitude. The decision was taken in December to deorbit the spacecraft, resulting in a huge insurance loss and bringing into question both continued use of the Block D series of upper stages and the 'bigger is better' comsat philosophy.
Russian Satellite Communications Company spacecraft, to be stationed at 40 deg E, providing 28 C, Ku, and L band transponders for a wide range of communications and data services. The Ekspress-AM uses an improved Ekspress-M or 727M bus, first used on the Sesat satellite, while the earlier models used the KAUR-4 MSO-2500 bus. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 39.98E drifting at 0.006W degrees per day.