Arabsat 1B

Saudi Arabia

Spacecraft n°:

Saudi Arabian satellite n°: 2

Launch data:

Designation	15825 / 85048C
Launch date - time	17 Jun 1985 - 11:33:00 UT
Launch site	KSC, LC39A
Launch vehicle	Space Shuttle STS-51G
Mission	Communications
Geostationary orbit	26°E
Mass at launch	1270 kg

Set out by crew on -- Jun 1985
In Oct 1992 the satellite started drifting East and was completly lost in early 1993.

Spacecraft data:

Prime contractor	Aerospatiale, MBB
Platform	Spacebus-1000
Customer	Arab Satellite Communication (Arabsat)
Mass at launch	1270 kg
Mass in orbit	800 (BOL) --> 600 kg
Dimension	1.5 m by 1.6 m by 2.3 m
Basic shape	box
Solar array	2 deployable solar arrays, span 21 m
Equipment	25 C-band transponders, 2 S-band transponders
DC power	1,4 kW
Design active lifetime	7 yrs

End of life

Out of service	early 1993
Cause	Out of control

Arabsat 1B was launched by the U.S. Space Shuttle and was operated near 26 degrees E from June, 1985, until the summer of 1992 when it, too, no longer continued station-keeping operations.

Ref.: #14, #78a - update: 13.11.11

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