EchoStar III 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 Earth ...

operated by EchoStar. Launched in 1997 it was operated in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 61.5 degrees west for 12 years.

Current status

EchoStar announced August 2, 2017, EchoStar III "experienced an anomaly of unknown origin" during a relocation maneuver in the previous week "that has caused communications with the satellite to be interrupted and intermittent." EchoStar III is now drifting westward at about 0.1 degrees per day, encountering other geostationary satellites. Echostar also said the satellite "is owa fully depreciated, non-revenue generating asset." EchoStar III was finally placed in a graveyard orbit on .

Satellite

The launch of EchoStar I made use of an Atlas-II AS rocket flying from

Launch Complex 36 Launch Complex 36 (LC-36)—formerly known as Space Launch Complex 36 (SLC-36) from 1997 to 2010—is a launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Brevard County, Florida. It was used for Atlas launches by NASA and the U.S. Air Force ...

at the

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The launch took place at 21:01 UTC on October 5, 1997, with the spacecraft entering a

geosynchronous transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into a GTO as an intermediate step f ...

. EchoStar III carried 16 (or more) Ku band

transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

s to provide direct voice and video

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...

s to small dishes in North America after parking over 79 W or 135 W longitude.

Specifications

* Launch mass: *

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

: 2 deployable

solar array A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and ...

s, batteries * Stabilization: 3-axis *

Propulsion Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived f ...

: LEROS-1C * Longitude: 61.5° west

References

Spacecraft launched in 1997 Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Satellites using the A2100 bus E03 {{US-spacecraft-stub

Current status

Satellite

Specifications

See also

References