Astra 1C was a

geostationary A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitud ...

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...

launched in 1993 by SES. The satellite remained in service until 2011 and is now derelict.

History

Astra 1C was the third

placed in orbit by SES, and was originally deployed at the Astra 19.2°E orbital position. The satellite was intended to be replaced in 2002, along with

Astra 1B Astra 1B was the second of the Astra communications satellites launched and operated by SES (Société Européenne des Satellites) to add extra capacity to the satellite television (direct broadcasting) services from 19.2° East, serving Germ ...

, by

Astra 1K Astra 1K was a communications satellite manufactured by Alcatel Space for SES (company), SES. When it was launched on 25 November 2002, it was the largest civilian communications satellite ever launched, with a mass of . Intended to replace the ...

but this satellite failed to reach its intended orbit. It was eventually relieved of its remaining television/radio payloads by Astra 1KR in 2006. In November 2006, prior to the launch of

Astra 1L Astra 1L, is one of the Astra geostationary satellites owned and operated by SES. It was purchased in June 2003, launched in May 2007 and stationed at SES's primary European TV orbital position at 19.2° East. Starting in February 2025, fo ...

to the 19.2° East position, Astra 1C was placed in an inclined orbit and moved first to 2.0° East for tests, and then in February 2007 to 4.6° East, notionally part of the Astra 5°E cluster of satellites but largely unused. After November 2008, the satellite operated back at 2.0° East, in an inclined orbit. On 2 November 2011, the satellite was taken out of use as

Eutelsat Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it has been the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues. Its subsidiary E ...

, the rightholder for the 3° allocation, came on air with Eutelsat 3A and current rules ask for a minimum of 2° separation. In the summer of 2014, the satellite was moved to 73° West, close to SES'

AMC-6 AMC-6, formerly GE-6, is a commercial broadcast communications satellite owned by SES (company), SES Launched on 21 October 2000, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, AMC-6 became the fifth hybrid C band (IEEE), C-band / Ku band, Ku-band sat ...

satellite, to 1.2° West, to 152° West, and to 40° West next to SES-6. From January 2015, it was continuously moving west by approximately 5.2° per day.Real Time Satellite Tracking And Predictions
Accessed 30 January 2015

References

External links

official SES websiteSES fleet information and mapSES Astra websiteSES guide to channels broadcasting on Astra satellites (archived)
{{Orbital launches in 1993 Astra satellites Derelict satellites orbiting Earth Satellites using the BSS-601 bus 1993 in Luxembourg Satellites of Luxembourg Spacecraft launched in 1993

History

See also

References

External links