Brasilsat-A1
| Mission type | Communication |
|---|---|
| Operator |
Embratel (1985-1995) PanAmSat (1995-2002) |
| COSPAR ID | 1985-015B |
| SATCAT no. | 15561 |
| Mission duration | 8 years (planned) 11 years (completed) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | HS-376 |
| Manufacturer | Spar Aerospace / Hughes |
| Launch mass | 1,195 kilograms (2,635 lb) |
| Dry mass | 671 kilograms (1,479 lb) |
| Power | 982 W |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 08 February 1985, 23:22 UTC |
| Rocket | Ariane 3 |
| Launch site | Kourou ELA-1 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Longitude | 65° W |
| Semi-major axis | 42,180.5 kilometres (26,209.7 mi) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00072 |
| Perigee | 35,779 kilometres (22,232 mi) |
| Apogee | 35,840 kilometres (22,270 mi) |
| Inclination | 0.1° |
| Period | 1,437.3 minutes |
| Epoch | 08 February 1985 |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 24 IEEE C-band (NATO G/H-band) |
Brasilsat A1 was a Brazilian communications satellite which was operated by Embratel. It was constructed by the Spar Aerospace, and is based on the HS-376 satellite bus. The Brasilsat A1 was off duty in March 2002 and was transferred to the graveyard orbit.
The satellite had the shape of a cylinder, where at its top was located a directional antenna that opened after the launching of the satellite. The satellite had a mass in orbit of 671 kg, had a rotation stabilized between 50 and 55 rpm, its propellers used as a propellant 136 kg of hydrazine and was powered by solar cells that supplied 982 Watts at the beginning of its phase of operation, using two NiCd batteries as power reserve. It carried 24 C-band transmitters with 6 spare transmitters. They provided an Effective Incident Radiated Power (EIRP) effective incident radiation power 34 dBW for most of the Brazilian territory.
In the 1980s, Brazil needed its own satellites to exempt foreigners. As a result of this effort, the Brazilian company Embratel contracted in August 1982 the Canadian Spar Aerospace, in partnership with American Hughes, to build its series of satellites Brasilsat A, the series consisted of two satellites, the Brasilsat A1 and the Brasilsat A2. The Brasilsat A1 satellite was the first Brazilian satellite to give Brazil independence in satellite telecommunications services, through the former state-owned Embratel, now privatized. Before it, Embratel only rented third-party satellite transmitters.
The satellite was launched on February 8, 1985, by an Ariane model rocket from the Kourou launch base in French Guiana and placed in a geostationary orbit over Brazilian territory.
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