Estrela do Sul 1

Spacecraft n°:

Brazilian spacecraft n°: 17

Means Star of the South
Also called Telstar 14 and Skynet Brasil 1

Launch data:

Designation	28137 / 04001A
Launch date	11 Jan 2004 - 04:12:59 UT
Launch site	Odyssey platform 154°W 0°N in the Pacific
Launch vehicle	Zenit-3SL (#12)
Mission	Commercial: Communications
Geostationary orbit on 3 Feb 2004:
Perigee / Apogee	31382 / 36732 km
Inclination	0,09°
Period	1348,65 min
Geostationary orbit on July 2010:
Perigee / Apogee	35783 x 35789 km
Eccentricity	7,12E-05
Inclination	0.02 deg
Period	1436.08 min

Was to be launched on Delta 4, but the launcher was removed from the commercial launch market.

Prime contractor	Space Systems Loral (SSL)
Operator	Loral Skynet do Brasil --> Telesat
Platform	LS-1300
Mass at launch	4694 kg
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape
Dimension
Equipment	41 Ku-band transponders
Solar array	2 deployable solar arrays
Stabilization
DC power
Design lifetime	15 yrs

Out of service:	July 2012
Cause:

41 Ku-band transponders; direct-to-home video and internet to Brazil and North America.

The satellite, also called Telstar 14 by Loral, carries 41 high-powered Ku-band transponders with several transmission beams. In addition to the dedicated service to Brazil, the Mercosul Beam covers southern portions of South America; the Andean Beam serves northwestern South America; the NAFTA Beam extends from Central America to Canada and the North Atlantic Beam will be used for Connexion by Boeing's Internet-to-aircraft service.
Loral Skynet do Brasil, Ltd. is the first private Brazilian satellite company to offer Ku-band satellite services. The company has a ground station in Rio de Janeiro that will provide tracking, telemetry and control.
Originally slated to fly aboard the third Delta 4 rocket mission, Estrela do Sul was switched to Sea Launch by Boeing Launch Services -- the marketer of both vehicles. Delta 4 is no longer in the commercial satellite launch business.

The Estrela do Sul 1 spacecraft was delivered into Earth orbit by a three-stage Ukrainian-Russian rocket flown by Sea Launch. Liftoff of the 200-foot-tall booster from the Odyssey launch platform stationed on the equator about 1,400 miles south of Hawaii occurred at 11:13 p.m. EST (0413 GMT).
The Energiya DM-SL stage reached initial orbit of around 180 x 913 km x 0 deg at 0426 UTC. A second burn at 0502 UTC put the satellite in geostationary transfer orbit.
Right after the launch, the north solar array failed to completly deploy while the south panel deployed correctly. Those wings have got 6 panels in a cross shape. In late January, it was placed in GEO but the problem remains. Only 17 of the 41 transponders are usable.

Main transponders	32
Backup transponders
Power	100 W (TWTA)
Bandwidth
Coverage	Brasil beam (18 transp.) Andean beam (0 to 2 transp.) NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) beam (8 to 13 transp.) Mercosul beam (1 to 3 transp.)
Polarization

Main transponders	9
Backup transponders
Power	100 W (TWTA)
Bandwidth
Coverage	Brasil beam (0 to 3 transp.) Andean beam (0 to 1 transp.) Mercosul beam (2 to 6 transp.)
Polarization

Ref.: #3(SD379,380), #7(JR518), #12, #14, #226 - update: 23.12.12