OTS 1

Spacecraft n°:

ESA spacecraft n°: 10

Launch data: Designation  77F04 Launch date  13 Sep 1977 Launch site  CC, LC-17A Launch vehicle  Delta-3914 (#134) Mission  Communication Decay  13 Sep 1977

Spacecraft data:

End of life

Mission details:

• OTS 1 and 2 (Orbital Test Satellite) were an experimental communications satellites inherited by ESA in 1975 from its predecessor, the European Space Research Organization (ESRO).
• These were the first GEO communications satellites to carry six Ku-band (14/11 GHz) transponders and were capable of handling 7,200 telephone circuits. With a mass of approximately 445 kg on station, the O TS bus was hexagonal with overall dimensions of 2.4 m by 2.1 m. Two solar panels with a span of 9.3 m provided 0.6 kW of electrical power. British Aerospace was the prime contractor from the European MESH consortium which developed the OTS vehicle.
• The OTS 1 was lost at launch in Sept. 1977