Echostar 16

Spacecraft nr:

US spacecraft nr:

Launch data: Designation  39008 / 12065A Launch date  20 Nov 2012 - 18:31 UT Launch site  Baikonur, LC-39/200 Launch vehicle  Proton-M/Briz-M Mission  Commercial: Communications / Direct Broadcasting Geostationary orbit: Perigee / Apogee  35776 x 35796 km Eccentricity  2,37E-04 Inclination  0.05 deg Period  1436.06 min

Description:

• ECHOSTAR 16 will raise its orbit to an altitude of 22,300 miles (35,888 km) over the equator in the next few weeks. The craft will also extend its solar panels and activate its communications gear for testing. The satellite, which weighed 14,660 pounds (6,650 kg) at launch, was manufactured by Space Systems/Loral. The spacecraft will be positioned at 61.5 degrees west longitude in the geostationary belt for its 15-year design life. It will be leased by EchoStar Corp. to Dish Network, a leading provider of direct-to-home television programming in the United States. EchoStar 16 also carries a disc with 100 images of humanity and nature, part of a project by artist Trevor Paglen called "The Last Pictures." The images were micro-etched on a silicon disc encased in a gold-plated shell.
• An all Ku-band satellite with 32 high-power transponders, EchoStar XVI will utilize SS/L’s flight-proven LS-1300 spacecraft bus and be located at 61.5° west longitude.

Mission details:

• Echostar Corp.'s Echostar XVI satellite was placed in geostationary transfer orbit on Nov 21, 2012 after launch by an International Launch Services/Khrunichev Proton-M/Briz-M from Baikonur. By Nov 29 it was in GEO over 67W.
• The SS/Loral 1300 class satellite carries a Ku-band television payload, and has a dry mass of 3520 kg plus 3130 kg of propellant. This is the 90th satellite of this class to be launched since Superbird A in 1989. The manufacturer, SS/Loral of Palo Alto, has just been sold to MDA Corp. of Richmond, British Columbia.