QuetzSat 1

Spacecraft n°:

Mexican spacecraft n°: 9

Launch data: Designation  37826 / 11054A Launch date  29 Sep 2011 - 18:32 UT  (22:32 pm EDT) Launch site  Baik, LC-200/39 Launch vehicle  Proton-M / Briz-M Mission  Commercial: Communications Geostationary orbit on Oct 8, 2011: Perigee / Apogee  35722 x 35796 km Eccentricity  2,85E-04 Inclination  0.02 deg Period  1436.1 min

Mission details:

• QUETZSAT-1 is a Mexican satellite to provide services to EchoStar Corp. of Englewood, Colo., and EchoStar's Dish Mexico affiliate. EchoStar has leased the entire capacity of QuetzSat-1 - 32 Ku-band transponders with 20 kilowatts of power - to EchoStar for 10 years to provide broadcasts in Mexico, the United States and Central America. The satellite is thus fully leased, and will begin generating revenue for SES, as soon as it completes in-orbit testing. It is a key component of SES's major expansion program currently under way. The 5,600-kilogram QuetzSat-1 was built by Space Systems/Loral of Palo Alto, Calif., and was financed through a direct loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. The loan, valued at US$171.5 million, paid for the satellite's construction and for a portion of its insurance coverage, arranged by Aon of Chicago.

Mission details:

• QuetzSat SRL de CV is a Mexican joint venure of SES Satellite Leasing (UK) and Grupo Medcom/Mexico. Their first satellite, QuetzSat-1, is a 5514 kg Ku-band Loral 1300 vehicle whose capacity will be leased to Echostar.
• The satellite was launched from Baykonur on Sep 29, 2011 by a Proton-M on its first commercial flight since the Ekspress AM-4 failure, and deployed into a 5909 x 35791 km x 18.6 deg orbit. The Briz-M DTB drop tank was left in a 328 x 17710 km x 49.5 deg orbit.
  By Oct 8, 2011 QuetzSat-1 was in a 35722 x 35796 km x 0.1 deg orbit drifting past 68 deg W.