Amazonas 1

Spacecraft n°:

Spanish spacecraft n°: 8

Launch data: Designation  28393 / 04031A Launch date  04 Aug 2004 - 22:32 UT Launch site  B, LC200/39 Launch vehicle  Proton-M/Briz-M (S/N: 535-07) Mission  Commercial: Communication Geostationary orbit on 19 Aug: Perigee / Apogee  35782 x 35792 km Eccentricity  1.19E-04 Inclination  0.06° Period  1436.05 min

Mission details:

• The Amazonas Latin American satellite, is the fifth and most powerful satellite launched by the Spanish telecommunications satellite organisation Hispasat so far. It provides a full range of both fixed and broadcast communications services, including TV broadcasting, business services, VSAT and data broadcasting, to the whole of the American continent, together with a transatlantic link for Europe and North Africa.
• Prime contractor, Astrium designed and built the spacecraft and supplied both the platform (based on the Eurostar-3000S version of the company’s Eurostar series) and the payload.
• 36 Ku-band, 27 C-band transponders; North and South American continents; Spanish language.
• Amazonas has lost pressure in one of two oxidizer tanks on the spacecraft. If the problem is not corrected, it could reduce the amount of propellant available for stationkeeping operations, which in turn would reduce the 15-year operational lifetime of the spacecraft. Amazonas has reached its position in geosynchronous orbit at 61 degrees west and is expected to enter commercial service in mid-September despite the propellant problem.