Intelsat IS-18

Spacecraft n°:

Intelsat spacecraft n°:

Launch data: Designation  37834 / 11056A Launch date  05 Oct 2011 - 21:00 UT Launch site  Baikonur, LC-45/1 Launch vehicle  Zenit-3SLB (5th launch) Mission  Commercial: Communication Geostationary orbit: Perigee / Apogee  35775 x 35797 km Eccentricity  2,61E-04 Inclination  0.01 deg Period  1436.1 min

Spacecraft data: Prime manufactor  Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) Platform  Star-2.4 bus Operator  Intelsat, Ltd. Mass at launch  3200 kg Dry Mass  1440 kg Basic shape   Dimension (m)  5.5 m x 3.3 m x 2.7 m Equipment  24 C-band transponders, 12 Ku-band transponders Solar array  2 deployable solar arrays Stabilization  3-axis Propulsion  Monopropellant (hydrazine) system: IHI BT-4 DC power   Coverage  Asia Pacific Region Design lifetime  15 yrs - still active

Location:

Description:

• Intelsat 18 (IS-18) is a new hybrid communications satellite built by Orbital Sciences Corporation for Intelsat, a premier global provider of video and data service via satellite.
• Designed for 15 years of service, Intelsat 18 will be located in geostationary orbit at 180 degrees East longitude and replace Intelsat’s IS-701 satellite launched in October 1993. The spacecraft carries a C-band and a Ku-band payload and has a launch mass of 3,200 kg. The IS-18 satellite hosts 24 C-band transponders to cover Eastern Asia, the Pacific and the Western United States and 12 Ku-band transponders to provide services to the United States, French Polynesia, Australia, New Caledonia and other Pacific Islands.
• The satellite is based on Orbital’s STAR-2 spacecraft platform and will generate approximately 4.9 kW of payload power.
• Intelsat 18 is one of ten Orbital STAR geostationary communications satellites ordered by Intelsat. Others include Galaxy 14, Galaxy 15, Galaxy 12, Intelsat 11, Horizons-2, Intelsat 15, Intelsat 16, Intelsat New Dawn, and Intelsat 23. The flight-proven STAR design is able to accommodate most types of commercial communications payloads.
• C-band - Repeater: 24 active transponders with two groups of 16-for-12 redundant TWTAs, Antenna: 2.5 m x 2.7 m single shell super-elliptical deployable reflector; 1.45 m deck-mounted antenna; Ku-band - Repeater: 12 active transponders with two groups of 8-for-6 TWTAs, Antenna: 2.5 m x 2.7 m single shell deployable reflector. Intelsat 18 has a coverage area centered over the Pacific Ocean to enable direct-broadcast television and other telecommunications services to customers from Southeast Asia to the western United States. French Polynesia's postal and telecommunications department, which has been an Intelsat 701 customer, will be among those transferring to Intelsat 18, Intelsat said.

Mission details:

• A Sea Launch Zenit-3SLB (the land-launched version of the rocket) was launched from Baikonur on Oct 5 into a 5269 x 35769 km x 19.5 deg geostationary transfer orbit. The payload was Intelsat IS-18, a 3200 kg Orbital Star-2.4E satellite with a Ku and C band communications payload for Pacific Ocean communications including a special beam for French Polynesia.
• The new Sea Launch AG has its formal headquarters in Bern, although launch operations remain based in Long Beach. Sea Launch AG seems to be basically the sales company, with the actual launch service carried out in international waters by Energia Logistics Ltd. (ELUS) of Long Beach, using rocket stages provided by Yuzhmash in the Ukraine and RKK Energiya of Moscow.