Spaceway-3 is a
communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Ear ...
which was launched in August 2007. The third satellite in the
Spaceway
The Spaceway system was originally envisioned as a global Ka-band communications system by Hughes Electronics. When the project to build the system was taken over by Hughes Network Systems, a subsidiary of Hughes Electronics, it was transformed ...
series, it includes a
Ka-band communications payload. It is used by
Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar. It is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland and provides satellite internet service. HughesNet has over 1.3 million subscribers in the Americas.
History
Hughes Communication ...
to provide
broadband
In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet.
...
network service.
History
In March 2007, shortly after the failure of a
Sea Launch
Sea Launch was a multinational—Norway, Russia, Ukraine, United States—spacecraft launch company founded in 1995 that provided orbital launch services from 1999–2014. The company used a mobile maritime launch platform for equatorial lau ...
rocket launch in January 2007,
Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar. It is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland and provides satellite internet service. HughesNet has over 1.3 million subscribers in the Americas.
History
Hughes Communication ...
switched launch of Spaceway-3 from a
Zenit-3SL rocket to an
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. It has been used to deliver payloads in ...
launch vehicle.
Launch
Spaceway-3 was launched 14 August 2007 on an
Ariane 5
Ariane 5 is a European heavy-lift space launch vehicle developed and operated by Arianespace for the European Space Agency (ESA). It is launched from the Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) in French Guiana. It has been used to deliver payloads in ...
launch vehicle with
BSAT-3a
BSAT-3a, is a geostationary communications satellite operated by Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) which was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin on the A2100 platform. It is stationed on the 110,0° East orbital slot ...
. It lifted off at 23:44 UTC from
ELA-3 of the
Centre Spatial Guyanais
The Guiana Space Centre (french: links=no, Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximatel ...
. Five hours and 46 minutes later, signals from the spacecraft were successfully received at a ground station in
Hartebeesthoek
The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) is a radio astronomy observatory, located in a natural bowl of hills at Hartebeesthoek just south of the Magaliesberg mountain range, Gauteng, South Africa, about 50 km west of Johanne ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
.
See also
*
Regenerative Satellite Mesh – A (RSM – A)
References
Communications satellites in geostationary orbit
Satellites using the BSS-702 bus
High throughput satellites
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