Astra satellite
| Mission type | Communication |
|---|---|
| Operator |
SES S.A. SES Astra |
| SATCAT № | 19688 |
| Mission duration | 12 years (planned) 16 years (achieved) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | AS-4000 |
| Manufacturer | RCA Astro Electronics (acquired by General Electric as GE AstroSpace as part of acquisition of RCA, later sold to Martin Marietta which in turn merged with Lockheed to form Lockheed Martin Space Systems) |
| Launch mass | 1,780 kilograms (3,920 lb) |
| Power | 1,675 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | December 11, 1988 |
| Rocket | Ariane 4 V27 |
| Launch site | Kourou ELA-2 |
| Contractor | Arianespace |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Decommissioned |
| Deactivated | December 2004 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geosynchronous-belt graveyard orbit |
| Longitude | 19.2° East (1989–2001) 19.4° East (2001) 5.2° East (2001–2004) |
| Slot | Astra 1 (1989-2001) |
| Perigee | 36,286 kilometres (22,547 mi) |
| Apogee | 36,401 kilometres (22,619 mi) |
| Inclination | 11.77 degrees |
| Period | 1464.33 minutes |
| Epoch | January 23, 2015, 14:51:52 UTC |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 16 Ku band |
| Bandwidth | 26 megahertz |
| TWTA power | 45 watts |
| EIRP | 50 decibel-watts |
Astra 1A was the first satellite launched and operated by SES (Société Européenne des Satellites), launched in December 1988. During its early days, it was often referred to as the Astra Satellite, as SES only operated one satellite originally.
The satellite provided television coverage to Western Europe from 1989 through 2004 and was revolutionary as one of the first medium-powered satellites, allowing reception with smaller dishes than before.
Astra 1A was retired and became derelict in December 2004.
Among the channels carried in the early years after launch were the entire four channel Sky Television (later British Sky Broadcasting, after the merger with rival British Satellite Broadcasting on the Marcopolo satellite), the services consisted of Sky One/Sky Channel, Sky News, Sky Movies and Eurosport, the Scandinavian TV3 and TV1000, the German Pro7, Sat.1, RTL plus, 3sat and Teleclub, the Dutch RTL4 as well as FilmNet, Screensport, MTV Europe, The Children's Channel and Lifestyle.
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