Intelsat IS-23

Spacecraft nr:

Intelsat spacecraft nr:

Launch data: Designation  38867 / 12057A Launch date  14 Oct 2012 - 08:37 UT Launch site  Baik., LC-81/24 Launch vehicle  Proton-M Briz-M Mission  Commercial: Communication Geostationary orbit on Oct 29.29: Perigee / Apogee  35776 x 35796 km Eccentricity  1,90E-04 Inclination  0.04 deg Period  1435.99 min

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• INTELSAT 23 will replace Intelsat 707, an aging satellite launched in 1996. The new satellite carries 15 active Ku-band and 24 active C-band transponders, and from a position at 53 degrees west longitude in geostationary, the craft will reach customers in the Americas, the Caribbean, Western Europe, Africa, and islands in the Atlantic and Pacific. Built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., Intelsat 23 is designed for a lifetime of more than 18 years, according to Intelsat of Luxembourg, the world's largest communications satellite operator.

Mission details:

• Intelsat's IS-23 satellite, an Orbital Star-2.4 model, was launched on Oct 14, 2012 by a Proton/Briz-M from Baykonur. The satellite will provide Ku and C band communications services for the Americas, Europe and Africa from 53W. This is the first Star-2 class satellite to be directly inserted into geosynchronous orbit by its launch vehicle rather than using liquid apogee burns from transfer orbit. On Oct 19 the satellite was in a 25-hour, 36916 x 37239 km x 0.1 deg drift orbit; by Oct 22 IS-23 had braked to a 24-hour, 35780 x 35948 km x 0.1 deg near-synchronous orbit drifting west over 50 deg W.