EchoStar 18

Launch data: Designation  41592 / 16039B Launch date  18 June 2016 - 21:38:32 UTC  (6:38 p.m. French Guiana time) Launch site  Ko, ELA-3 Launch vehicle  Ariane-5ECA Mission  Commerc.: Communication (Direct Broadcasting) Geostationary orbit: Perigee / Apogee  35692 x 35788 km Eccentricity  1,14E-03 Inclination  0.08 ° Period  1436.3 min

Spacecraft data: Prime manufacturer  Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) Platform  SSL-1300 Operator  Dish Network Corporation (EchoStar) Mass at launch  6300 kg Dry Mass   kg Basic shape   Dimension (m)   Equipment  High power multi-spot beam, 61 Ku-band transponders Solar array  2 deployable solar arrays Stabilization   Propulsion   DC power   Design lifetime  15 yrs Location: Date Position Remarks  Dec 2016   109.9° W

The EchoStar 18 satellite is seen during launch preparations in French Guiana. ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – JM Guillon

Description:

• EchoStar 18 is a Direct Broadcast Service (DBS) satellite built for EchoStar Corporation. It will replace EchoStar 10 at the 110° West location. EchoStar 18 features an high power multi-spot beam, Ku-band payload with 61 transponders.

Mission details:

• The Ariane 5´s liquid propellant tanks were pressurized for flight, and the rocket´s first stage Vulcain 2 main engine fired at 2138:32 GMT (5:38:32 p.m. EDT) as the clocks reached zero.
  Seven seconds later, after the Vulcain main engine passed a computer health check, the Ariane 5´s twin solid rocket boosters ignited with a thump of sound, propelling the 180-foot-tall (55-meter) rocket into the sky over Kourou, French Guiana, a few minutes before sunset.
  Riding 2.9 million pounds [12.9 million N] of thrust, the Ariane 5 climbed through scattered clouds backdropped by an orange sky, soared into the upper atmosphere and dropped its two solid rocket boosters less than two-and-a-half minutes into the mission.
  A nose cone covering the EchoStar 18 and BRIsat satellites jettisoned about a minute later, and the Ariane 5´s first stage Vulcain 2 engine shut down about nine minutes after liftoff as the rocket streaked across the Atlantic Ocean at hypersonic speed.
  The HM7B engine powering the rocket´s upper stage took over to accelerate the launcher and its satellite passengers to nearly 21,000 mph [33,796 kph] (about 9.3 kilometers per second).
  The 13,889-pound (6.3-metric ton) EchoStar 18 spacecraft separated from the Ariane 5 launcher´s upper position about 29 minutes into the flight, followed at the 42-minute point by deployment of BRIsat from the lower berth of the rocket´s dual-payload holder.
  The mission aimed to put EchoStar 18 and BRIsat into a geostationary transfer orbit ranging in altitude from 155 miles (250 kilometers) to 22,224 miles (35,766 kilometers), with an inclination of 6 degrees.

External links:

• Satellite tracking: Real time satellite tracking